The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is one step closer to being under state control.
The Missouri House of Representatives voted 106-47 on Thursday to pass legislation placing control of the St. Louis police under a mostly governor-appointed board.
The House gave initial approval to the bill earlier in the week.
If the bill becomes law in its current form, a five-person board would assume control of the police department. The board would consist of the mayor and four appointed commissioners.
All four commissioners must have lived in St. Louis for at least three years. Other than the mayor, none of the commissioners would be allowed to hold public office.
One of the four appointments is at the sole discretion of the governor.
The mayor’s office, the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police would make recommendations for the other three commissioners.
However, the governor could choose to forgo any of those recommendations and select whomever they want to serve on the commission as long as the person lives in St. Louis.
Speaking after the vote, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Brad Christ, said the makeup of the board is likely to be a discussion point in the Senate.
“I think most of the negotiations will be around the board structure and who's able to be eligible for the board structure,” said Christ, R-St. Louis County.
While similar legislation has stalled the last few sessions, Christ said having Gov. Mike Kehoe’s vocal support helps this year. Kehoe, who grew up in St. Louis, has said state control will improve public safety in the city.
Currently, the department is run by the mayor’s office.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who has vehemently opposed the plan, released a statement Thursday after the bill passed, saying the House “voted to overturn the will of the people.”
“To this day, no lawmaker who supports state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has been able to say how it would make the city of St. Louis safer," Jones said.
The St. Louis department has been under local control since 2013, after Missouri voters approved a ballot measure in 2012. Currently, Kansas City is the only city in Missouri whose police department is under state control.
St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy released a statement saying, “I have traveled to the state Capitol on numerous occasions to testify on what I truly believe — the SLMPD continues to make incredible progress under local control and this administration.”
The St. Louis department announced in January that overall crime in the city was down 15% since 2023. Additionally, the department said St. Louis’ 150 homicides in 2024 is the lowest total since 2013.
House Assistant Minority Leader Marlon Anderson, D-St. Louis, said Democrats offered some amendments that would make the bill more amenable. However, those did not make it onto the bill.
“I'm hoping that our senators can kill it,” Anderson said.
Two Democrats voted in favor of the legislation. Rep. Steve Butz, D-St. Louis, was one of them. He noted that both of St. Louis’ police unions, the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police, testified in favor of the bill.
“At least think about that before you push that button, listen to the voice of ESOP in conjunction with the POA,” Butz said.
The legislation now goes to the Senate, where prior bills on the subject have died.
House passes bill barring DEI funding
Members of the House also passed legislation Thursday that would bar state funds from being used for programs, staffing or other initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Through the legislation, state departments are not prohibited from following federal and state employment and antidiscrimination law or complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Republican Rep. Ben Baker, the bill’s sponsor, said Missouri tax dollars should not be spent on DEI initiatives.
The legislation comes the same week that Kehoe issued an executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the state government.
“Although the governor has said that, we should get this bill passed and put this into statute as well, that way it can't be undone by executive order by the next governor,” Baker said.
Kehoe’s executive order bars state funds from going to those programs and “prevents agencies from considering DEI in their hiring decisions.”
The order also requires all state agencies to review their existing programs, contracts and policies within 90 days to ensure compliance.
Another directive within the order requires state agencies to uphold “the constitutional principle of equal treatment under the law.”
House Democrats repeatedly spoke against the legislation on the floor. Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, said she was disappointed in the bill, adding that it seeks to divide people.
“It's not about race, gender or sexuality. It's a matter of rich versus poor,” Proudie said.
The bill now goes to the Missouri Senate.
Cancer warnings on pesticides
In a more contentious vote, the House advanced legislation that shields companies from having to place specific cancer warnings on pesticides.
The House voted 85-72 to pass the bill, with 24 Republicans joining almost all Democrats in voting against the legislation.
Under the bill, a pesticide label approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be “sufficient to satisfy any requirement for a warning label regarding cancer under any other provision of current law.”
This would apply to any pesticide registered by the EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
Rep. Dane Diehl, R-Butler, who sponsored the legislation, presented the bill for initial approval on Tuesday.
“It promotes companies that we know are making investments right here in the United States, makes sure we have those products, make sure we can feed the world and we [can] continue doing what we do.”
Opponents of the legislation have said the bill protects Bayer, whose U.S. headquarters is in Creve Coeur, from lawsuits over its Roundup weed killer.
Rep. Mark Matthiesen, R-O’Fallon, spoke against the legislation.
“We’re going to yield our authority to the federal government with a department that I despise because they have wronged Missourians left and right for years in this state, to slap a label on a product so the consumers feel like they’re using a safe product,” Matthiesen said. “And I just can’t buy that.”
The bill now goes to the Senate.
