Legislation & Rules Committee

Agenda Legislation & Rules Committee Meeting St. Louis Board of Aldermen Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 3:00 PM Kennedy Room President Megan Green Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez, Chair Alderman Matt Devoti, Vice Chair Committee Members: Alderman Shane Cohn Alderman Bret Narayan Alderwoman Laura Keys Alderman Alisha Sonnier Order of Business I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes To approve the minutes from Tuesday, May 26, 2026, committee meeting. IV. Board Bills for Review (The committee will discuss and take public comment on the following) Board Bill Number 19 Introduced by Alderwoman Jami CoxAntwi An ordinance amending Ordinance 70767 to extend the sunset date of the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program for the City of St. Louis to December 31, 2026. V. Resolutions for Review None VI. Committee Discussions None VII. Acknowledgment of Any Written Testimony VIII. Announcements IX. Excused Members Page 1 of 12 X. Adjournment Page 2 of 12  Minutes Legislation & Rules Committee Tuesday, May 26, 2026 2:00 PM Kennedy Room Minutes are preliminary and may change until finally approved I. Call to Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 2:15pm. II. Roll Call The Chair directed the Associate Clerk to call the roll and the following members answered their names: Mr. Cohn, Mr. Narayan, Ms. Keys, Mr. Devoti and Chair Velazquez. 5 members were present. A quorum was established. III. Approval of Minutes To approve the minutes from Tuesday, March 17, 2026, committee meeting. The Chair entertained a motion to approve the minutes from the Tuesday, March 17, 2026, committee meeting. Mr. Cohn moved to approve the minutes from the Tuesday, March 17, 2026, committee meeting. Seconded by Mr. Narayan. The Chair directed the Associate Clerk to call the roll. The Associate Clerk called the roll and the following votes were recorded: The following voted Aye: Mr. Cohn, Mr. Narayan, Ms. Keys, Mr. Devoti and Chair Velazquez. 5 Aye votes were cast. Page 1 of 5 Page 3 of 12  The following voted No: None The following voted Present: None The Abstained: None The following was present but did not vote. None A total of 5 Aye votes were cast. The motion carried. IV. Board Bills for Review None V. Resolutions for Review None VI. Committee Discussions (The committee will discuss and take public comment on the following) Discussion Item Number 1 Mayoral Appointments to the Clean Energy Development Board: Stephen Westbrooks and Emily Andrews. The Chair gave a brief description of the Mayor’s appointee, Stephen Westbrooks. After no further discussion, the Chair asked the members of the committee for questions and comments. Hearing no questions or comments from members of the committee, the Chair entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Stephen Westbrook to the Clean Energy Development Board out of committee with a Do Pass Recommendation. Ms. Velazquez moved to approve the Mayor's appointment of Stephen Westbrook to the Clean Energy Development Board out of committee with a Page 2 of 5 Page 4 of 12 Do Pass Recommendation. Seconded by Mr. Narayan. The Chair directed the Associate Clerk to call the roll. The Associate Clerk called the roll and the following votes were recorded. The following voted Aye: Mr. Cohn, Mr. Narayan, Ms. Keys, Mr. Devoti and Chair Velazquez. 5 Aye votes were cast. The following voted No: None The following voted Present: None The following Abstained: None The following were present but did not vote. None A total of 5 Aye votes were cast. The motion carried. After no further discussion, the Chair gave a brief description of the Mayor's appointee, Emily Andrews, to the Clean Energy Development Board. After no further discussion, the Chair asked the members of the committee for questions and comments. Hearing no questions or comments from members of the committee, the Chair entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Emily Andrews, to the Clean Energy Development Board out of committee with a Do Pass Recommendation. Ms. Velazquez moved to approve the Mayor's appointment of Emily Andrews to the Clean Energy Development Board out of committee with a Do Pass Recommendation. Page 3 of 5 Page 5 of 12  Seconded by Mr. Narayan. Mr. Narayan requested the previous roll. Hearing no objection to the request for the previous roll, the Chair directed the Associate Clerk to record the votes from the previous roll. The Associate Clerk recorded the previous roll and the following votes were recorded. The following voted Aye: Mr. Cohn, Mr. Narayan, Ms. Keys, Mr. Devoti and Chair Velazquez. 5 Aye votes were cast. The following voted No: None The following voted Present: None The following Abstained: None The following were present but did not vote. None A total of 5 Aye votes were cast. The motion carried. VII. Acknowledgment of Any Written Testimony None VIII. Announcements None IX. Excused Members The Chair excused Ms. Sonnier for necessary absence. X. Adjournment Page 4 of 5 Page 6 of 12 Having no other business to discuss, the Chair entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Velazquez moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Narayan Mr. Narayan requested the previous roll. Hearing no objection to the request for the previous roll, the Chair directed the Associate Clerk to record the votes from the previous roll. The Associate Clerk recorded the previous roll and the following votes were recorded. The following voted Aye: Mr. Cohn, Mr. Narayan, Ms. Keys, Mr. Devoti and Chair Velazquez. 5 Aye votes were cast. The following voted No: None The following voted Present: None The following Abstained: None The following were present but did not vote. None A total of 5 Aye votes were cast. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 2:21pm. Page 5 of 5 Page 7 of 12 Summary Board Bill Number 19 Introduced by Alderwoman Jami Cox Antwi May 8, 2026 An ordinance amending Ordinance 70767 to extend the sunset date of the Minority and Women- Owned Business Enterprise Program for the City of St. Louis to December 31, 2026. Page 8 of 12  BOARD BILL NUMBER 19 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN JAMI COX ANTWI 1 An ordinance amending Ordinance 70767 to extend the sunset date of the Minority and Women- 2 Owned Business Enterprise Program for the City of St. Louis to December 31, 2026. 3 WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis passed Ordinance 70767 which codified the City's M/WBE 4 Program effective June 4, 2018 and included certain programmatic changes recommended in the 5 2015 Disparity Study; and 6 WHEREAS, Ordinance 70767 was amended in part by Ordinance 71094, effective April 7, 2020; 7 and 8 WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis remains committed to using its spending powers in a manner 9 that eliminates the disparities documented in the 2024 Disparity Study; and 10 WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis and the Board of Alderman remain committed to ensuring that 11 all St. Louis citizens participate in its economic growth and development and that no citizen be 12 denied an opportunity to participate in the procurement of goods and services due to race, sex, or 13 gender discrimination; 14 WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis and the Board of Aldermen remain committed to completing 15 the necessary actions to achieve that goal and have determined that extending the sunset date is a 16 necessary step in that effort; and 17 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS AS FOLLOWS: 18 SECTION ONE. The Board of Aldermen finds that the Contract Disparity Study conducted by 19 Keen Independent Research (“Keen”) to determine whether Minority and Women-Owned 20 Business Enterprises (“M/WBE”s) are utilized on City of St. Louis and tax-incentivized prime 21 contracts and subcontracts relative to such firms’ availability within the St. Louis Metropolitan 22 Statistical Area was completed and presented to the City in February 2024. The Board further Page 1 of 4 Board Bill Number 19 Cox Antwi May 8, 2026 Page 9 of 12 1 finds that the Contract Disparity Study revealed statistically significant disparities for African 2 American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American-Owned Business 3 Enterprise construction firms; African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Native 4 American, and Women Owned Business Enterprise professional services firms; African American, 5 Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Women Owned Business Enterprises 6 other services firms; and Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Women 7 Owned Business Enterprises providing goods. Therefore, the Board finds that the Contract 8 Disparity Study supports continuance of an M/WBE program to remedy such disparities. The 9 Board further finds that Keen made recommendations for legislative changes to the M/WBE 10 Program that was established in Ordinance 70767. The purpose of this ordinance is to extend the 11 Sunset Date of the M/WBE Program established by Ordinance 70767 to allow time to complete 12 legislation to implement Keen’s recommendations or otherwise modify or update the M/WBE 13 Program. 14 SECTION TWO. Ordinance 70767 is amended by deleting Section 7 and inserting a new Section 15 7 which shall be and read as follows: 16 SECTION 7. BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL (BAC) AND THE SMALL BUSINESS 17 PROGRAM. 18 i. Business Advisory Council. A Business Advisory Council (BAC) shall be established 19 and appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Alderman to serve as an advocate for 20 M/WBEs to increase access to the procurement process. The BAC shall have five (5) but not more 21 than nine (9) members, each appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Aldermen for 22 staggered terms, with the Chairman designated and appointed by the Mayor. A member may serve Page 2 of 4 Board Bill Number 19 Cox Antwi May 8, 2026 Page 10 of 12  1 more than one term. The BAC members shall be approved by resolution of the St. Louis Board of 2 Aldermen. The BAC shall advise and make M/WBE Program recommendations in the following 3 areas: 4 a. Increasing access to contracting opportunities for M/WBEs; 5 b. Reviewing and advancing initiatives that impact M/WBE participation, and; 6 c. Enhancing the notification process regarding prospective contract opportunities. 7 Rules and guidelines for the BAC shall be consistent with applicable laws for the conduct 8 of its business. The BAC membership and guidelines shall be published on the Minority Business 9 Development and Compliance Office’s webpage. 10 Members shall serve for staggered terms of three (3) years. Initially up to four (4) members 11 shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years, up to three (3) members shall be appointed for a 12 term of two (2) years and up to two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year. 13 Vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Mayor for the remainder of the vacant term. Each 14 member shall serve without compensation. 15 The Mayor shall designate and appoint a Chairman and the committee shall elect a 16 Secretary who shall each serve for three (3) years. 17 One (1) month prior to the end of the Chairman's and the Secretary's terms, successors shall 18 be replaced pursuant to paragraph 4 above. The committee shall adopt rules consistent with 19 applicable laws for the conduct of its business. 20 The committee shall meet quarterly to review compliance with this Ordinance. In addition, 21 the committee shall at a minimum meet twice annually in open public session to receive general 22 testimony from the public. All minutes and records of the committee shall be open to the public. Page 3 of 4 Board Bill Number 19 Cox Antwi May 8, 2026 Page 11 of 12  1 The committee shall monitor the effectiveness of the City's program described in this Ordinance 2 and make such recommendations to SLDC as it sees fit. The actions, decisions and 3 recommendations of the Committee are to further the policies and goals of this Ordinance and shall 4 not be final or binding on the City but shall be advisory only. 5 ii. Annual Funding for M/WBE Program. Subject to annual appropriation, the City’s 6 governing body agrees, and the Comptroller and Budget Director are hereby directed, to include 7 annually in the City budget, to provide city revenues at a minimum sufficient to support the Data 8 Analyst position and the centralized tracking and monitoring system in support of the M/WBE 9 Program. 10 iii. Sunset Provision. The City will require a periodic update of the disparity study to 11 evaluate the effectiveness of the M/WBE Program. The M/WBE Program will sunset on December 12 31, 2026 unless the M/WBE Program is amended or repealed by ordinance before that date. The 13 City will perform a disparity study within three years prior of the sunset date. Page 4 of 4 Board Bill Number 19 Cox Antwi May 8, 2026 Page 12 of 12