JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday signed a Missouri House public safety bill that shifts control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to a state-appointed board.

What You Need To Know

  •  
  • House Bill 495 is an omnibus public safety bill that includes a variety of measures, including the return of SLMPD to a state-appointed board no later than July 1, 2026

  • The bill also requires law enforcement authorities to obtain the immigration status of suspected criminals

  • It creates the "Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force", legislation introduced by St. Louis County area State Sen. Angela Mosley last year

  • The bill outlaws stunt driving and organized retail theft

House Bill 495, sponsored by St. Louis County Republican Rep. Brad Christ, establishes a 6-person board to oversee the department, with five members appointed by the governor serving with the mayor of St. Louis. One of the members will not have voting rights. Kehoe has a month to appoint a transition director and 90 days to appoint board members, who will need to be sponsored by St. Louis state senators and approved by the body.

“You can’t legislate lower crime,” Kehoe told reporters Wednesday morning.

“It’s not the governor running the city of St. Louis. This is a citizen-led board that will make decisions of what’s best to keep communities safe  We think that when citizens get to make those decisions, it’s much better than politicians, including myself,” he said.

Kehoe has consistently praised SLMPD Chief Robert Tracy, and said the message to the department was to keep on doing what’s being done.

Tracy said public safety remained the department’s top priority.

“We will work with Governor Mike Kehoe’s Office and the Transition Director while maintaining the highest standards of excellence in policing and delivering quality service to our community," he said in a statement.

Lawmakers sent the measure to Kehoe’s desk on March 12 before leaving for last week’s spring break. 

Both of the department’s unions backed the move, saying it will lead to investments in training and better hiring, retention and promotion policies.

While the department has been roughly 300 officers short of its budgeted strength for several years, mayor Tishaura Jones and Tracy have touted raises in recent years and the return of officers who had left to go to other departments. They have also pointed to reductions in homicides and violent crime over the past two years as proof that local control, the product of a successful statewide vote in 2012, was working.

Jones has said the bill by itself does not improve public safety and blasted it as a “sham” after it was signed.

“The Governor’s signature represents nothing but disrespect for every Missouri voter who supported local control,” Jones said in a statement. “The residents of the City of St. Louis are safer today because my administration has made difficult and bold decisions that have resulted in a historic reduction in crime.”

Republicans in the General Assembly say the numbers haven’t improved on a per capita basis given the city’s population size and decline.

Proponents of a state-appointed board, including Kehoe, point to the requirement of 25 % of the city budget being dedicated to police by Jan. 1, 2028 and the prospect of more officers, although there is not a baseline number of budgeted strength detailed in the bill. Christ, the bill sponsor, admitted it is not a cure-all, but hailed what he described as common sense, adequate funding levels. 

The legislation does not provide more state funding to SLMPD. State Sen. Nick Schroer, who carried the bill in the Senate, told Spectrum News that he has commitments from leadership in both chambers to obtain supplemental funding if needed. House Speaker Jon Patterson told reporters earlier this month that funding for SLMPD would be “adequate and improved.”

What does success look like?

Kehoe has long said that he sees the bill through an economic lens, measuring success through signs of business investment and growth. 

The St. Louis Police Officers Association, which along with the Ethical Society of Police represents SLMPD officers, and backed the change.

“The metric of success to the SLPOA would look like reduced crime, better officer safety, more policemen who are in a better position financially, emotionally, familially, and bringing residents and businesses back to the city,” said Martin Garcia, the local lodge president.

Success won’t be seen through crime numbers, said Rep. Steve Butz, a south St. Louis Democrat who voted in favor of the bill. He says he believes in the statistics showing lower crime numbers in recent years, but says a rolling five-year average shows consistent numbers over the last 50 years.

“That’s not what it’s about,” he said of the statistics. ”It’s a better managed department with better management of that department, a better chance to slow down for sure the exodus of our current officers,and  certainly attract new officers who do want to come back,” he said.

On a day where the talk is about state control, Butz said it’s time for city residents to get vocal about celebrating their wins, including successful Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day parades, and tomorrow’s unofficial holiday, the start of baseball season.

“We’ll have opening day here tomorrow and downtown St. Louis is going to be abuzz and a cool place to be, and that’s even with mediocre expectations for the Cardinals,” he said.