Eric Schmitt
Eric S. Schmitt is an American politician who has been serving as the 43rd Attorney General of Missouri since 2019. He previously served as the 46th State Treasurer of Missouri from 2017 to 2019. Before that, he was a member of the Missouri Senate, representing Missouri's 15th State Senate District from 2009 to 2017. He had also previously served as an alderman for Glendale, Missouri from 2005 to 2008, where he was one of two aldermen for Ward 3. On November 13, 2018, Schmitt was named Attorney General of Missouri by Governor Mike Parson, after the incumbent, Josh Hawley, was elected to the United States Senate.
Early life and education
Born in Bridgeton, Missouri, Schmitt is a sixth-generation Missourian and a lifelong resident of St. Louis County.Schmitt graduated from DeSmet Jesuit High School in 1993 and from Truman State University in 1997, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in political science. At Truman, Schmitt was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, played football and baseball, and was a founding member of Truman's Habitat for Humanity chapter. He received a scholarship to attend Saint Louis University School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 2000. Schmitt was an editor of the law review and published an article analyzing the Supreme Court decision in Clinton v. New York.
Schmitt lives in Glendale and attends Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church with his wife, Jaime, and their three children, Stephen, Sophia and Olivia. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy at Saint Louis University.
Legal career
Schmitt was admitted to the Missouri bar in 2000. He was a partner at the firm Lathrop & Gage, LLP, in Clayton, Missouri, where he focused on land use, real estate, business disputes, and administrative appeals. In his community, he has been an active member for the boards of DeSmet Jesuit High School, Nurses for Newborns Foundation, St. Louis Crisis Nursery, and a Parents as Teachers Program. He had previously been elected chairman of the Young Lawyer Section Council of the Missouri Bar, led a statewide Giving Tree effort to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and created a Special Needs Advocacy Task Force. He has also been involved with the TS Alliance, the Gateway Chapter of the Autism Society of America, Habitat for Humanity, and local Chambers of Commerce.State Senate (2009–2017)
Schmitt served as an alderman for Glendale, Missouri, from 2005 to 2008. On November 4, 2008, Schmitt was elected to the Missouri Senate. When sworn in, Schmitt became one of the youngest members ever to serve in the state's upper chamber. He represented Missouri's 15th State Senate district, which includes parts of central and western St. Louis County. Following the 2010 census, Schmitt's district was redrawn, although it is still centered around central St. Louis County. On February 28, 2012, Schmitt filed for reelection in the 15th district. He ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections in 2012.Schmitt served in Senate Leadership as Majority Caucus Chairman and was Chairman of the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee. He also served on the Committee on Gubernatorial Appointments; the Committee on Judicial, Civil, and Criminal Jurisprudence; Veterans’ Affairs and Health Committee; and Chaired the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
In addition, Schmitt worked to enact the federal ABLE Act, to provide 529 savings account opportunities to families with children with special needs, to cover their future costs and allow them to be more financially independent and self-sufficient. The Missouri ABLE program allows anyone to make a tax-deductible contribution of up to $8,000 for an individual or $16,000 for married couples to another person's ABLE account. The bill sponsored by Schmitt was signed by the Governor in 2015.
In 2016, Schmitt sponsored a bill that set a limit on the percent of revenue that Missouri local governments could obtain from non-traffic fines. Existing state law had set a revenue limit on the percent of revenue that municipalities could obtain from traffic fines The bill passed the state Senate in a 25–6 vote in January 2016.
Following the unrest in Ferguson, Schmitt identified that too many municipalities were too reliant on fines to fund their budgets. He led the bipartisan legislative effort to bar cities, counties and law-enforcement agencies from setting traffic-ticket quotas as well as taxation by citation. Schmitt worked with Democratic Senator Jamilah Nasheed and others on the legislation, which passed the state Senate in February 2016 and was enacted into law.
Schmitt was absent in the 2013 failed vote to pass the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act, and supported a 2016 failed measure to protect businesses that oppose same-sex marriages for religious reasons.
Tax cuts
Schmitt successfully passed two of the largest tax cuts in Missouri history, which cut the state income tax. The tax cuts have already taken effect.2016 election for State Treasurer
Schmitt did not run for re-election to the Missouri State Senate in 2016 because he was term-limited. Instead, Schmitt filed to run for Treasurer of Missouri in the 2016 elections. Schmitt ran as a Republican and was unopposed in the Republican primary. He defeated opponents Democrat Judy Baker and Libertarian Sean O'Toole in the general election.Missouri State Treasurer (2017–2019)
As State Treasurer, Schmitt oversaw the state's $3.6 billion investment portfolio as its Chief Financial Officer and also managed a number of different programs and initiatives.Missouri Economic Dashboard
The Missouri State Treasurer's Office developed a dashboard that shows economic data and trends, including unemployment, GDP, exports, housing starts, and other indicators.Unclaimed property
Schmitt returned more unclaimed property in his first year than any previous treasurer in Missouri history. Treasurer Schmitt returned $45 million in unclaimed property during his first year in office, surpassing the previous record of $29 million.Most unclaimed property consists of cash from bank accounts, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Missouri ABLE
In 2014, Congress passed the Stephen Beck Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act to allow eligible individuals with disabilities to save money while still allowing those individuals to be eligible for federal needs-based benefits. In June 2015, then-Senator Eric Schmitt passed the state legislation, making the state a leader in the ABLE movement. Missouri ABLE was launched in April 2017.Individuals receiving support through Social Security, Medicaid and other publicly funded programs are often disqualified from that support if they have more than $2,000 worth of resources or assets. The MO ABLE program allows qualified individuals with disabilities to save up to $14,000 a year in an ABLE account without jeopardizing their eligibility for federally funded means tested benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. The funds in the account can be used for disability-related expenses that assist the beneficiary in increasing and/or maintaining his or her health, independence or quality of life.
Missouri residents who contribute to a MO ABLE account may deduct up to $8,000 or $16,000 on the state income tax deduction.
Missouri FIRST
Schmitt launched the Missouri FIRST initiative in March 2018. Missouri FIRST was aimed at allowing Schmitt to invest more in Main Street Missouri by revamping the state's linked deposit program, which partners with local lenders to provide low-interest financing to small business and agricultural operations. The changes implemented through Missouri FIRST focused on cutting red tape, expanding access and modernizing the linked deposit system.MOST 529
As State Treasurer, Schmitt administered MOST 529, a tax-advantaged program that empowers Missouri families to save for a child's K-12 tuition and other qualified higher education expenses. Missourians who contribute to MOST 529 accounts are eligible for a tax deduction of up to $8,000 or $16,000 if married and filing jointly. Earnings in 529 accounts are also not subject to federal income tax, so long as funds are spent on qualified expenses.Prior to the passage of federal tax reform in December 2017, MOST 529 plans were limited to higher education expenses. Included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was language that allowed states to expand their programs to K-12 tuition, which Schmitt implemented in Missouri.
Missouri Attorney General
Schmitt was appointed to the office of Attorney General of Missouri by Governor Mike Parson to succeed Josh Hawley, who was elected to the United States Senate in 2018. Schmitt took office in January 2019.First Amendment
In August 2019, Schmitt withdrew a legal brief that argued that the First Amendment allowed government officials to withhold records from a Sunshine Law request, following criticism from transparency advocates who noted that the brief did not cite any case law. A Freedom Center of Missouri representative raised concern that the argument is similar to a case involving governor Mike Parson, which Schmitt had not yet ruled on.LGBTQ policies
Schmitt is among 14 attorney general signatories on a Supreme Court brief stating that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBTQ people from employment discrimination. Schmitt said his signature "should not be interpreted as speaking to the merits of the issue, but rather the interpretation of the law that is written," and that he believes "every person, no matter their race, creed, ZIP code or gender, should be treated with dignity under the law", however critics dismiss this as "legalese" and "on the wrong side of history." In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was unconstitutional.Religious freedom
In 2019, Schmitt spoke in defense of a Missouri high school coach who was being pursued by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The foundation accused the football coach of violating the U.S. Constitution by leading students in prayer before and after games. In a letter, Schmitt said he would support the coach, school, and school district in a lawsuit if necessary and noted no one was forcing students and players to participate in prayer in public spaces.Human trafficking
Schmitt's Attorney General office has partnered with the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force to combat human trafficking in Missouri.Prosecution of Antonio Muldrew
In January 2020, Schmitt successfully prosecuted a murder case in the City of St. Louis. The jury returned a quick verdict finding Antonio Muldrew guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Ethiopian refugee Abdulrauf Kadir at a convenience store in 2014. This was the first time a Missouri attorney general prosecuted a murder case in the City of St. Louis.Google antitrust investigation
In September 2019, Schmitt and Attorneys General from throughout the U.S. launched an antitrust investigation against Google. The bipartisan group of state Attorneys General accuse Google of prioritizing searches for companies that advertise on the search engine platform.Safer Streets Initiative
The Safer Streets Initiative was unveiled in January 2019 by Schmitt to help get violent criminals off the street faster. The initiative is designed to address violent crime in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield, which have been ranked in the Top 15 for per capita violent crime rates. Schmitt says this is the first partnership in the country between the Missouri Attorney General's Office, U.S. Attorney's Office and various local law enforcement units to address violent crime.Coronavirus response
In a letter to Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, Schmitt expressed deep concern about inmates with violent felonies being released from jail during the coronavirus pandemic. He identified ten examples of violent criminals included in a list of over 100 people about which he said he has serious questions. Schmitt said the record shows Gardner did not object to the release of these criminals and in many cases the victims or their families were not notified about the releases.Schmitt partnered with private sector retailers including Amazon to combat scammers and price gougers attempting to profiteer off COVID-19. The effort led to civil investigative demands for sellers in Missouri charging 2 to 19 times the prices they charged prior to the pandemic on items such as face masks and hand sanitizer.
Schmitt ordered a Springfield-area man to cease-and-desist price gouging on N95 medical face masks. In addition to stopping the man from selling the masks, the effort led to a return to retailers at least 600 masks he had been hoarding.
In March 2020, Schmitt filed a lawsuit against televangelist Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for misrepresentations about the effectiveness of "Silver Solution" as a treatment for COVID-19.
On April 21, 2020 Schmitt filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, on behalf of the State of Missouri against the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, and other Chinese officials and institutions, alleging that their actions to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny the contagious nature of the 2019 novel Coronavirus led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri. Missouri is the first state to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic.