On the second to last day of 2025, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page vetoed a bill that had passed two weeks prior, which would have beefed up requirements for apprenticeship programs and diversity goals for contractors getting county government work.
Bill Number 182, which had broad labor support, narrowly passed the County Council 4–3 along party lines, with all four of Page’s fellow Democrats voting in favor. It would have required that contractors awarded county government contracts for projects over $75,000 provide apprenticeship training. It also established goals related to minority, women, and county residents being utilized for the projects. Some provisions in the bill, including the apprenticeship training requirement, applied to projects receiving county tax incentives, too.
In a statement, Page stressed, “This veto is not a rejection of the bill’s principles.” However, he took the bill to task for vague language, for granting certain county positions powers not provided to their offices under the county charter and for creating “unnecessary risk” for contractors. Along with his veto, Page also released a new piece of draft legislation that he says would preserve the core of the bill…