Governor seeks dismissal of collective bargaining suit

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden asks that a judge dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of his executive order allowing collective bargaining for state workers.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, and 12 others filed suit in Cole County Circuit Court on Sept. 24 seeking to invalidate Holden's June 29 order that granted collective bargaining rights to approximately 30,000 employees.

On Wednesday, assistant attorney general R. Jeffrey Harris, representing the governor, filed a motion to dismiss the suit. It was Holden's first shot in what promises to be a long-running exchange of volleys between the litigants.

"The court should dismiss the lawsuit without even addressing the merits of the plaintiffs' 27-page petition," Harris said in the motion. "In attempting to get an opinion from this court about the alleged unconstitutionality of Governor Holden's order, plaintiffs have stumbled over several procedural hurdles."

Harris raises three points:

Plaintiffs' claims are not ripe for judicial review because the order hasn't yet had an impact.

Plaintiffs lack legal standing to pursue the lawsuit.

The lawsuit essentially seeks to draw the court into a political dispute over which it has no jurisdiction.

'Crucial questions'

"I expect this to be swept away by the judge," Kinder said.

Although motions to dismiss are common legal maneuvers, Kinder said they only are successful in frivolous lawsuits.

Kinder said: "The outcome of this case will define the rights of the governor, as opposed to every lawmaker, to make policy. There are crucial constitutional questions over the separation of powers raised in this suit."

Judge Thomas J. Brown III hasn't yet set a hearing date, and Kinder's attorneys haven't responded to the motion.

In seeking to overturn Holden's order, the lawsuit pursues a number of legal arguments. Chief among them is that the governor usurped the constitutional authority of the General Assembly. Missouri lawmakers have repeatedly rejected legislation on collective bargaining for public employees.

Harris' motion cites cases that upheld a governor's power to issue directives through executive orders to subordinate executive-branch officials.

"Governor Holden did not 'legislate' but merely exercised his authority to govern the executive branch by issuing a directive to the departments and agencies under his control," says the motion. "Because his order is a directive and not legislation, plaintiffs' claims are not ripe."

No dues collected

Harris also says claims that the order allows forced collection of dues from employees who choose not to join a union are speculative because no such collections have been attempted.

Plaintiffs include Democratic state Rep. Quincy Troupe of St. Louis, a number of pro-business interest groups and individual state employees and taxpayers.

Harris says the two lawmakers lack legal standing because they aren't authorized to bring suit on behalf of the Legislature. He said the other plaintiffs lack standing because they haven't demonstrated that, as taxpayers, they have suffered a direct financial loss because of the order.

Harris says the court should stay out of what is a political argument over the propriety of collective bargaining rights for state workers.

"The purpose of the political question doctrine is for courts to stay out of the political fray," Harris said. "Under the political question doctrine, plaintiffs' claims should be dismissed."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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