Mayor Spencer signs Executive Order 91 to resume MWBE certification, ties actions to 2024 disparity study

Mayor Spencer signed Executive Order No. 91 onstage at City Hall to resume minority- and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) certification and to restart solicitation and execution of nonemergency public-works contracts under a project-specific equity framework. The order, Spencer said, is rooted in the city's 2024 disparity study and recommendations from the consultant Griffin and Strong.

The executive order directs the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) to resume MWBE certification "effective immediately" and to work with city departments to issue rules for calculating project-specific goals, the mayor said. Spencer added SLDC and city departments will "consider all recommendations in the 2024 disparity study and assist the Board of Aldermen in crafting the required legislation" to update the city code. "I will be signing Executive Order number 91," Spencer said.

The mayor and SLDC officials said the city paused new MWBE certifications in early August while it aligned policies with the disparity study and case law. Spencer said the pause was intended to avoid legal risk while the city developed a firmer legal…