The St. Louis city election board announced that a special primary election for Aldermanic President is scheduled for September 13.

The notice was issued following a legal opinion from City Counselor Sheena Hamilton because of legal ambiguity in the city charter and ordinances on how to proceed, noting a special primary election is required to enable anyone who wants to run for the position to do so as a “nonpartisan” candidate.

On September 13, voters will be able to vote for as many candidates as they want for Aldermanic President, with the two candidates receiving the most votes advancing to the November 8 Special General Municipal Election.

Whoever wins in November would serve until what would have been the end of Lewis Reed’s term, next April.

A separate election will be held then for the office’s next four-year term, preceded by a March primary.

St. Louis will have three special election dates this summer to fill vacancies on the Board of Aldermen: July 19 for Ward 11, August 2 for Ward 21, and August 23 for Aldermanic President and Ward 22.

The 11th Ward seat was vacated by Sarah Wood Martin in April after voters adopted a conflict-of-interest policy.

Ward 21 Alderman John Collins-Muhammad resigned in May, one month before being indicted.

Ward 22 Alderman Jeffrey Boyd and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed resigned last week after being indicted.

The St. Louis City Charter requires vacancies to be filled by special election no sooner than 75 days and no later than 90 days after a vacancy occurs.

Lewis Reed, the longtime president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen resigned five days after being indicted on corruption charges.

Ward 22 Alderman Jeffrey Boyd also resigned after being indicted on two bribery-related offenses and two separate counts of wire fraud.

Ward 21 Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, who was also indicted, resigned last month.

The St Louis City Charter requires these vacancies to be filled by special election no sooner than 75 days and no later than 90 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.

The second regular session of the 101st Missouri General Assembly concluded after passing a congressional redistricting map, which Gov. Parson signed.

The speaker declared the session adjourned sine die as of midnight May 30, in accordance with the constitution.

The passage of House Bill 2909 ends a long stalemate preventing passage of many other legislative priorities this session.

The map will take effect immediately and be used for the primary elections on August 2.

Voters in St. Louis, Missouri passed Proposition R, amending the city charter to include several new conflicts of interest provisions.

Proposition R prohibits alderpersons from knowingly using their official position to influence others for their own financial benefit; requires alderpersons to declare personal or financial conflicts of interest and abstain from voting when there are conflicts of interest; prohibits alderpersons from accepting employment or contracts that interfere with the discharge of public duties or create conflicts of interest; and requires former alderpersons to wait at least one year before serving as a lobbyist to influence a city government decision.

Proposition R also transfers redistricting from the Board of Alderpersons to a nine-member redistricting commission and changes the name of the Board of Aldermen to the Board of Alderpersons.

The charter changes take effect when the election is certified, which will take two to three weeks.

The Missouri Ethics Commission has four vacant seats out of six, leaving it two people short to decide any issues.

The commission had to delay a decision on a complaint filed against Columbia mayoral candidate Randy Minchew on March 15, citing the lack of commissioners.

Under state law, the commission is required to act within 15 days of receiving a complaint against a candidate for the municipal election.

However, because the terms of four commissioners ended on March 16, there are only two active members of the commission.

Commissioners are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for a four-year term.

Kelli Jones, spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson, said that Parson plans to appoint two people to the commission in the next two weeks.

Voters in St. Louis, Missouri will decide on April 5 whether to amend the city charter to include several new conflicts of interest provisions.

Proposition R would prohibit alderpersons from knowingly using their official position to influence others for their own financial benefit; require alderpersons to declare personal or financial conflicts of interest and abstain from voting when there are conflicts of interest; prohibit alderpersons from accepting employment or contracts that interfere with the discharge of public duties or create conflicts of interest; and require former alderpersons to wait at least one year before serving as a lobbyist to influence a city government decision.

Proposition R would also transfer redistricting from the Board of Alderpersons to a nine-member redistricting commission and change the name of the Board of Aldermen to the Board of Alderpersons.

A special election for Ward 28 will be April 19.

Despite a request from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Gov. Mike Parson did not file writs of election to fill the six vacancies in the Missouri House.

Ashcroft expressed disappointment after the Monday deadline to place special elections on the April ballot passed.

Without a special election, the six affected districts would go without representation until January 2023.

Missouri law calls for the governor to issue a writ of election without delay and House District 34 has been without representation since April 2021 when former Rep. Rick Roeber was expelled.

The other vacancies are House District 61, 65, 108, 114, and 147.

Former Rep. Rocky Miller, who represented House District 124 from 2013 to 2021, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri seeking compensatory damages and an injunction to prohibit the Missouri Ethics Commission from enforcing the lobbying ban for legislators.

Miller alleges the 2018 Amendment known as Clean Missouri is an unconstitutional infringement on his rights to freedom of speech and petitioning the government because he was unable to successfully register as a lobbyist to lobby the executive and legislative branches for a prospective client.

The veto session of the first regular session of the 101st Missouri General Assembly adjourned sine die on September 16 with no vetoes overturned by the Legislature.

During the session, House Majority Leader Dean Plocher was chosen to succeed Speaker Rob Vescovo, who will exit in 2023 due to term limits.

The appointment must be approved by the House during the 2023 session, and Plocher will continue in his current role as majority floor leader until then.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The first special session of the Missouri General Assembly adjourned sine die on June 30.

The special session began on June 23 and called by Gov. Mike Parson to focus on passing the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) extension, a tax to pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

Before adjourning lawmakers passed health care bills, including Senate Bill 1, sending to Parson the required extension of the FRA.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson called a special session of the Legislature beginning June 23 to pass the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA), which renews a tax on medical providers to help pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

Lawmakers have until September 30 to pass the FRA.

The 101st General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 25, sending less than a hundred bills to Gov. Mike Parson and leaving unfinished business, including the passage of the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA), a tax on medical providers that helps pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

They have until September 30 to pass the FRA and Rep. Sarah Unsicker has requested a special session to renew it.

Other Lawmakers have also sent requests for special sessions to Gov. Mike Parson on different topics, including redistricting, election bills, the Kansas City police budget, and race-related school curricula.

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 153-0, with one member voting present, to expel Rep. Rick Roeber.

This is the first expulsion of a sitting member of the Missouri House since 1865, when state Rep. John Sampson was kicked out for being a secessionist.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in January and issued its final report on Monday, finding Roeber was credibly accused of sexually and physically abusing his children.

The House rejected Roeber’s attempt to resign because the committee findings and expulsion are likely to increase pressure on officials to criminally prosecute him.

A writ of election to fill the vacancy has not been issued by Gov. Parson.