Despite Promises, Board of Aldermen Appears to Ignore New Ethics Law

Despite previous promises to the contrary, the Board of Aldermen does not appear to be complying with the expanded ethics requirements in the Reform St. Louis charter reform. The charter change was also known as Prop R. Following the passage of these new rules, numerous members of the Board of Aldermen sued to stop the expanded disclosure and conflict of interest rules. As reported in July, President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green supported the new ethics rules and promised that they would be instituted. “Now that the court case has been settled, the President’s office plans to review the policy to ensure the Board of Aldermen is in compliance. President Green supported Prop R when it was at the ballot and believes that transparency is important,” stated President Green’s Director of Communications Yusuf Daneshyar.

The Board of Aldermen has now returned to session, without any sign that the expanded ethics requirements are now being followed. The President’s office was contacted multiple times with questions about plans to implement the requirements, but did not respond to emails. Given that many aldermen have publicly criticized the new rules, even those who didn’t participate in litigation, President Green may be under pressure from her fellow legislators to ignore the fact that legal challenges have failed and that the expanded rules are currently law in the City of St. Louis.

Proposition R passed with the support of close to 70% of city voters in 2022. The Board of Aldermen returned from their summer break on Friday, September 12th.