A passed proposal would revise the selection process for appellate judges.

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4/16/2012: Radio Story - The Missouri auditor will appeal a court ruling that struck down the fiscal note for a tax ballot initiative.

Intro:	Missouri voters would make the final decision on changing the process in judge selection.
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Wrap: Currently, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission is made up of one Supreme Court judge, three lawyers and three non-lawyers picked by the governor.

Under the proposed constitution, Missourians would make the final decision during this years' ballot.

The passed proposal would replace the Supreme Court judge on the commission with a fourth person chosen by the governor.

Sedalia Republican Representative Stanley Cox is the sponsor of the bill in the House. He says the member of the Supreme Court should not choose their own colleagues.

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Description: "But if we elected a good governor, a governor will choose the right people for the commission. And we will have responsive governor, and the power will be vested in the people."

The measure has passed by both the Senate and the House and now heads to the ballot.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Ruohan Xu.

Intro:	The Missouri legislators gave approval to a measure that would revise the way judges are selected. Put on the statewide ballot, Missourians would vote for final decision.
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Wrap: This measure would replace one of the judges on the Appellate Judicial Commission, with its fourth governor appointed member.

It would increase the number of individuals the Governor nominates in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals from three to four, and decreases the number of lawyers to three.

St. Louis County Democratic Representative Rory Ellinger says it could be a very dangerous law.

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Description: "But I do not want any one person to have that kind of authority. That's more authority then the president of the United States."

The House passed it Thursday with a close vote 84 to 71. The measure now heads statewide vote.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Ruohan Xu.

Intro:	A passed proposal would replace a lawyer with a governor appointed member on Missouri's Appellate Judicial Commission.
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Wrap: Under the measure, the number of individuals the Governor nominates in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals would increase from three to four, and the number of lawyers would decrease to three.

Missouri voters would make the final decision during this years' ballot.

Salem Republican Representative Jason Smith is a lawyer, and he says the measure is a reasonable compromise.

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Description: “By voting yes in this chamber, we are giving the people of Missouri the opportunity, to allow there to be accountability and transparency in the commission process, and how the …the Supreme Court judges and appeals judges are selected.”

Opponents say the measure appeals to be anti-lawyers and could be very dangerous.

After two hours of debate, House gave final approval to the measure Thursday with a close vote 84 to 71.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Ruohan Xu.