The state's two-page notice of appeal followed a federal court's May 11 finding that Missouri lacked standing and that the case wasn't ripe for review. The lower court, siding with arguments made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, found Missouri hadn't shown it has suffered any injury, because the only way the funds are recouped by the federal government is if the state uses them toward net tax cuts.
Missouri's claims are based on future events that haven't yet occurred and therefore aren't ripe, the federal court said.
The provision in question bars states, territories and localities that accept funds from a roughly $350 billion pot of cash from "directly or indirectly" using the pandemic aid to offset a reduction in net revenue. Otherwise, they risk having to return the amount that is used to offset a tax cut. The funds were passed as part of the American Rescue Plan Act
, or ARPA.The office of Missouri's Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in March, arguing that it would be unconstitutional for the federal government to broadly interpret restrictions on federal dollars stemming from ARPA. The state asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief as to the interpretation of the provision.
The case is Missouri v. U.S. Department of the Treasury et al., case number 4:21-cv-00376, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.
--Editing by Tim Ruel.
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