Committee advances bill to let city collect Prop S short-term rental fee
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Summary
The Budget and Public Employees Committee voted to advance Board Bill 1 26, a committee substitute authorizing the license collector to collect the short-term rental fee approved by voters as Proposition S (2024); the bill directs voluntary platform collection efforts and allocates revenue to affordable housing programs.
On Feb. 4, 2026, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen's Budget and Public Employees Committee voted to advance Board Bill 1 26, a committee substitute that authorizes the city's license collector to collect the short-term rental fee approved by voters as Proposition S in 2024.
Alderman Bretton Orion, the bill's sponsor, told the committee the measure is narrow in scope: "The one thing that this bill does is enable the license collector to collect the fee passed by the voters in, 2024 ... as Prop S," and that the president's office will continue working with online rental platforms to seek voluntary collection agreements. Orion said legal counsel and the license collector's office have reviewed the language and support implementation.
The bill does not change the city's short-term rental regulations, Orion said. Vice Chair Browning asked if the measure was the enforcement fix for paused short-term rental rules; Browning: "So is this the fix that we've been waiting for to start being able to enforce short term regulations again?" Orion replied, "No. It's a completely separate issue from that," explaining a pending court case has put regulatory enforcement on hold and that Board Bill 1 26 pertains only to collecting the voter-approved tax.
Committee members also discussed how revenue would be allocated under the committee substitute. A member referenced the bill text (page 5 of 6), stating that 50% of the affordable housing license fee would go to the Community Development Agency (CDA) and that 25% of deposited fee revenue would go to an "impact attendance" fund as written in the substitute. Committee members noted other allocations mentioned in the text, including resources directed to right-to-counsel funding and prior adjustments involving Rams interest funds after a tornado; the text on funding splits was read from the substitute during the discussion.
Alderman Devotee thanked Orion for advancing a mechanism to collect the voter-approved fee, and the clerk noted the license collector's office was present and supportive. No members of the public registered to testify.
A motion to give Board Bill 1 26 (committee substitute) a "do pass" recommendation carried on a roll-call vote, with the committee recording four aye votes and advancing the bill to the full Board for further consideration.
The committee did not take up any resolutions and adjourned after routine announcements.
Next steps: the bill will appear before the full Board of Aldermen for additional consideration and potential final action.
