Thursday, March 15, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, (573)751-0290
Blunt Concerned with Nixon’s Attempt to Defrock General Assembly of Appropriations Authority
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt today sent a letter to Attorney General Jay Nixon questioning his handling of a case in which he sided with the Western District Court of Appeals to strip away appropriations power from the Missouri General Assembly.
"The legislature is watching this case very closely in hopes that you will not abrogate the power of appropriation,” Blunt wrote in the letter. “Of even greater concern than your failure to defend your client is your failure to defend the principle that only the Missouri General Assembly can appropriate money."
At issue is Nixon’s handling of SEIU vs. State of Missouri in which the Attorney General failed to comply with the request of his client, the State of Missouri, to appeal a decision against an appropriations action by the Missouri General Assembly. The State of Missouri sought an appeal with the Missouri Supreme Court that Nixon denied.
"The court’s opinion was factually and legally flawed and should have been disputed before Missouri’s highest court,” wrote Blunt. “You should have followed the reasonable request of your client."
Nixon’s action came in the middle of the Missouri General Assembly’s debate over House Joint Resolution 1 which would prevent unelected judges from ordering tax increases on Missourians. The House passed the Resolution and it is currently being debated in the Senate. While Blunt and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder have taken a strong position in support of the Resolution, Nixon and other statewide office holders have been silent on the issue.
Letter to Attorney General Jay Nixon
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