Bill > HB456

This bill requires municipalities in St. Louis County with fewer than 5,000 residents to disband their local police departments by a deadline five years after the bill's effective date. The municipalities will have two primary options for addressing law enforcement after disbanding their police departments: they can either contract with another law enforcement agency to provide policing services or choose to have no law enforcement services provided within the city. This legislation specifically targets cities located in counties with over 1 million inhabitants, which effectively means St. Louis County, and appears to be aimed at addressing issues with small municipal police departments, potentially in response to concerns about inefficiency, cost, or systemic problems revealed in previous investigations or studies of local law enforcement practices in the region.

https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB456&year=2025&code=R