STATE AUDITOR GOES TO COURT

Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder will decide whether State Auditor Margaret Kelly can legally avoid disclosing her working papers to a committee of the General Assembly. The committee, chaired by Rep. Don Prost of Caruthersville, is essentially trying to audit the auditor. The committee voted to subpoena Kelly's records after she refused to release them. Kelly filed suit to stop the committee, claiming it is on a "fishing expedition" designed to discredit her fledgling campaign for governor. The committee never actually issued the subpoenas.

The committee vote to issue supoenas divided along partisan lines, with nine Democrats voting yes and six Republicans voting no. Kelly, stressing the need for confidentiality, says the records sought by the committee contain the names of "whistle-blowers, concerned taxpayers, names of government officials as well as employees". Her solution to the committee's assertion of a need to "watch the watchdog," as chairman Prost puts the matter, is for the lawmakers to hire an independent professional accounting firm to audit her office.

As charges fly from both sides concerning grave issues of constitutional checks and balances, most Missourians probably won't view this confrontation as a real nail-biter. Judge Kinder promises a quick ruling after both sides have briefed the issues. Godspeed to him.