JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri House has passed a bill that would shift control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a state-appointed board. The bill now heads to the Missouri Senate for consideration.

The bill, House Bill 495, sponsored by State Rep. Brad Christ (R-St. Louis County), grew into a broader public safety measure during the committee process leading up to Thursday’s final vote on the House floor.

For more than a century, control of the St. Louis Police was under similar oversight proposed by Rep. Christ: A Board of Police Commissioners consisting of the mayor and a group of commissioners appointed by the governor. 

That Civil War-era arrangement was overturned by voters during the 2012 election, and the City of St. Louis has retained exclusive authority over the department since 2013. 

According to HB 495’s language, if also approved by the Senate and Gov. Mike Kehoe, a five-person board would take control of SLMPD in August. The board would consist of the St. Louis mayor and four commissioners.

To qualify, commissioners must have lived in the City of St. Louis for at least three years and cannot hold any other public office. The governor would have sole discretion over one appointment, while the remaining three would be selected based off recommendations from the mayor’s office, St. Louis Police Officers Association and Ethical Society of Police.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has shared the following statement with FOX 2 on the bill’s House approval:

“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. They also cannot explain why they are so determined to overturn the will of nearly two-thirds of Missourians who voted for local control. Today’s vote is politics at its worst. I’m thankful to Chief Robert Tracy and every member of the SLMPD for all the work they continue to do for the people of St. Louis.”

A news conference is scheduled for later Thursday afternoon on the bill’s progress.