The Missouri Senate last night stopped just short of approving legislation to restore local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Some amendments were added to the local control bill. They include giving two-thirds of the slots on the police pension board to retired officers and those associated with the police retirement system. GOP Senator Kevin Engler of Farmington says they held off on first-round approval last night in order to give both sides time to review the changes:
“To think that we could do this at 10 o'clock at night and then have everybody signed off on it without reading every version, and the amendments, is unrealistic," Engler said. "We’re interested in getting it right, not getting it done quickly.”
Local control’s passage is also contingent on the Senate confirming Governor Jay Nixon’s appointment to the state board that oversees the St. Louis Police Department. Engler says if that doesn’t happen, the bill will likely die again as it has in years past.
