House perfects bill to consolidate St. Louis convention authorities, adopts amendment on appointments

The Missouri House on March 3 perfected and printed a committee substitute for House Bill 29‑34 that would consolidate governance of a major St. Louis convention facility by merging the Convention and Visitors Commission (CBC) and the Regional Sports Authority (RSA) into a new 15‑member board with five city, five county and five state appointments.

The bill’s floor manager, the gentleman from Saint Louis County (speaker 14), described the measure as a bipartisan, governance‑clean‑up intended to reflect that the state no longer directly funds the facility. He said the consolidation would not impose new state taxes, and that it would allow the new board to seek a capped 2% sales tax on concessions and to approve a ticket‑assessment fee for the local convention district similar to other large venues in the state.

Representative from Saint Louis City (speaker 23) moved Amendment 1 to clarify the governor’s appointee distribution (two appointees representing the city, two representing the county and one at large) and to ensure that transferred board members retain applicable rules and recommendations in the transition. The amendment was adopted after members discussed representation, local control and the board’s responsibilities.

Members questioned how hotel‑motel tax revenues that currently flow through county structures would be handled and whether reserves held by local governments would transfer; the bill handler said current rules restricting how hotel‑motel revenues may be spent remain in force and that some local reserves may be subject to future actions by local executives or the new board.

The House agreed to the title, adopted the amendment and perfected and printed the committee substitute. The bill’s sponsor and other members characterized it as a governance improvement for a major regional public asset and an effort to preserve local control over operations.

What’s next: With the amendment adopted and the substitute perfected and printed, the bill is ready for subsequent House consideration under regular procedures.