SPONSOR: Murphy
As specified in this bill, the Missouri-St. Louis Metropolitan Airport Authority is given the responsibility for the operation of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport beginning on January 1, 2027. The City of St. Louis will continue to own the airport. The authority will honor all bonds, debts and employee pension plans of the former airport authority.
The bill changes the manner in which members of the authority are appointed. Currently, the Governor is required to appoint four members; St. Louis City to appoint three members; St. Louis County to appoint three members; and the counties of Jefferson, Franklin, and St. Charles to appoint one member each, for a total of 13 members. This bill specifies that the mayor of St. Louis City, the county executive of St. Louis County, the county executive of St. Charles County and the county commissions of Jefferson and Franklin Counties will each appoint one member of the authority for each 130,000 residents in the city or county according to the latest decennial census. In no event will any appointing authority for a city or county appoint a majority of the members of the authority. The first, third, and fifth members initially appointed by an appointing authority will be appointed for a term of four years. The second, fourth, and sixth initial members will be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments subsequent to the initial appointments will be for a term of four years. Each member will be subject to removal by the appointing authority.
This bill also specifies that the City of St. Louis may continue taxing businesses conducting activities within the St. Louis Metropolitan Airport. Any profit from the operation of the airport will continue to be received by the City of St. Louis.
The bill requires the airport authority and the City of St. Louis to enter into negotiations regarding certain employee issues beginning April 1, 2027.
This bill has an effective date of January 1, 2027.
Statutes affected: