Senator Doug Beck’s Legislation to Protect Taxpayers from Attorney General’s Lawsuits Gains Momentum

Jefferson City — State Sen. Doug Beck, D-St. Louis, applauds Missouri House Minority Floor Leader Crystal Quade for filing the House version of Sen. Beck’s legislation to protect taxpayers in local communities and school districts from paying legal costs resulting from lawsuits brought by Missouri’s attorney general. Under the Senate and House legislation, when the attorney general loses a lawsuit against a school district or local community, the attorney general would be required to repay the winner for their legal expenses.

“The attorney general is suing local school districts in an effort to strip parents of local control while sticking them with huge legal bills,” said Sen. Beck. “Local schools are funded primarily with local tax dollars. When local school districts are sued by the attorney general, it’s local taxpayers who have to pay the expensive legal costs. Under our legislation, the attorney general would be held accountable for treating local taxpayers like an ATM. It’s time we return local control to local parents.”

Senate Bill 992 and House Bill 2569 would require attorney’s fees, court costs and all other expenses incurred by a political subdivision or school district resulting from civil action brought by the attorney general to be awarded to that political subdivision or school district if the civil action is terminated in their favor.

Under this legislation, the money used to pay back these local school districts and communities would come from funds appropriated to the attorney general by the Missouri General Assembly and could not be paid from any other designated statutory or administrative fund. By requiring the attorney general to use funds appropriated by the General Assembly, Sen. Beck believes the attorney general would need to exercise fiscal responsibility while being held accountable for his actions.

For more information about Sen. Beck or his legislation, please visit senate.mo.gov/beck.