A Cole County judge has denied a motion by Democratic Governor Jay Nixon to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by Missouri’s Republican State Auditor, Tom Schweich.
Schweich is suing the Governor over his decision to withhold $170 million from the current year’s state budget. Schweich says Nixon can only withhold funds if state revenues are coming in below estimates, and that there was no evidence at the time that that was the case.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Governor says Judge Jon Beetem’s refusal to dismiss the suit has no impact on the Governor’s duty and authority to, “keep the state’s fiscal house in order.”
Arguments could be heard later this month, though an exact date has not been set.
