JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri House bill that would shift control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a state-appointed board is gaining momentum, moving closer to clearing the chamber.

SLMPD currently operates under control of the St. Louis mayor’s office, though several GOP-backed bills have proposed a board of police commissioners to oversee the department instead. One bill making notable progress is HB 495, sponsored by State Rep. Brad Christ (R-St. Louis County).

On Tuesday, the bill won a second round of approval from the Missouri House and moved to the fiscal review stage, where a committee will evaluate its cost impact. If it clears that step, the bill could return for a third reading and final vote in the House. If approved from there, the bill would head to the Missouri Senate.

To take effect, the bill would also need to follow a similar legislative process in the Senate, pass all steps for a final vote, then ultimately be signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe.

According to HB 495’s language, 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.

In 2012, voters approved a statewide referendum to give control of SLMPD to the St. Louis mayor’s office. Before that, for nearly 150 years, SLMPD was under the control of a state-appointed board, similar to what various bills making rounds have proposed.

FOX 2 reached out to Rep. Christ’s office Wednesday for a comment on HB 494, but did not receive a response on the bill’s progress specifically before publication of this article. However, he offered this previous comment in a December 2024 news release:

“This is about solving a public safety crisis in St. Louis that is affecting the entire state. We need to take the politics out of policing and build a stronger foundation for the SLMPD. This legislation is a step toward restoring order and safety in our communities.”

FOX 2 also reached out to the St. Louis Mayor’s Office, which provided the following statement from spokesperson Rasmus Jorgensen:

“Crime is down in St. Louis across the board, and it has been falling consistently under the local leadership of Mayor Jones and Chief Tracy. Many Republican legislators have admitted that state control will not reduce crime. It’s disheartening to see legislators in Jefferson City seek to overturn the will of a significant majority of Missouri voters who gave local control back to the people of St. Louis. We will continue to advocate for proven local leadership.”

Missouri Senate Bill 44 and Senate Bill 52 have also addressed similar St. Louis police board changes as part of a broader crime package, as discussed in the video attached above from a January 2025 FOX 2 report.