The Transportation and Commerce Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen met on March 5, 2026, to consider Board Bill 167, which would create a limited exemption from the city's Clean Air Act for the convention center to host a specific cigar convention. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, testimony from city officials and a local business owner, and a committee vote on the bill.
The transportation and commerce committee meeting will come to order. Madam Kirk, please call the role. Alderman Ryan. Here. Alder Woman Swip, sir. Alder Woman Cox and Twee. Chair Cone. Present. Auto Woman Cox and Tweet. For present. We have quorum. Thank you, Madam Clerk. First item on the agenda is the approval of our meeting minutes from Tuesday, February 10th. I'll entertain a motion. Thank you here, Mike's. Move that we approve the minutes of Tuesday, February 10th, 2026. Second. It's been moved by the Alderman from the fourth, seconded by the Alder Woman from the first, that we approve our meeting minutes from February 10th, 2026. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Altman Oldenburg. All right. Alderman Ryan. Alder Woman Switzer. I Auto Woman Cox and Twee. Chair Comb. Alder Woman Cox and Tweet. Four I votes. Thank you. With that, you have sustained the motion from the Alderman from the fourth to approve our meeting minutes. We have one item on the agenda for today, which is Board Bill 167, sponsored by Alderman Aldridge. Alderman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Madam Clerk, could you read the summary of Board Bill 167? Board bill number 167 introduced by Alderman Rashim Aldrick and Jamie Cox Antwey. An ordinance amending ordinance number 68481 to create a limited exemption for convention facilities within the city of St. Louis for certain private events or trade shows. The exemption applies only under specified circumstances, and it's intended to allow flexibility for convention related activities while maintaining the overall purpose and enforceability of existing regulations, including a cerebrality clause. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Thank you, members of the Transportation and Commerce Committee for hearing Board Bill 167. So Board Bill 167 is a board bill I'm uh really excited about. Um and it would amend the Clean Air Act, uh just one section of it where there's an exemption for the convention center. Uh most of the language on Board Bill 167 is again coming from ordinance 68481. Majority of the changes that we are mainly changing in this ordinance is on page two and continues on page three, starting in the middle at uh line eight, where it talks about a can the convention center as defined in this ordinance. And what we're doing is in the previous ordinance, it had the a convention center not allowed uh to be able to uh be able to partake in smoking as very also as various other locations. And what we're asking and attempting to do uh with this is to exempt out the convention center. So a really cool um opportunity at least came to my front desk uh a few weeks ago, or about honestly about a few months ago now. Apparently, this is been something that kind of has been in the works for a while, but we couldn't get it there. But uh an opportunity to bring and a convention to uh the convention center uh that I think would be something that St. Louis would uh really benefit from.