One of the many great things about St. Louis is its number of public attractions, most of which are free to tourists and residents alike. Missouri State Senator Joan Bray proposed a bill that will allow attractions within the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District (ZMD) to charge an admission fee to non-district residents.

“Currently these institutions, which include the Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center and the History Museum, are not free; they are funded by property taxes that St. Louis City and County residents have been paying since 1971,” Bray said. “The tax was levied in response to financial troubles that three of these institutions faced. Since that time many circumstances affecting the ZMD have changed. Two more institutions have been added to the district, the population of the city and county has significantly decreased and attendance at these institutions has steadily increased, in part due to their continual expansion and improvement.”

Over the years these institutions have continued to rely on a combination of public tax dollars, individual and corporate donations and grants to keep them functioning as top-tier entities.

“As the economy has declined, however, so has area philanthropy and revenue from declining property values,” Bray said. “Providing these institutions with a mechanism that allows them to safeguard their financial security, at their discretion, makes sense.”

For these reasons, Bray filed Senate Bill 903, which puts into law the ability for the ZMD institutions to charge an admission fee to non-St. Louis City and non-County residents.

“It is in no way a mandate,” Bray said. “At the heart of this proposal lies preserving the quality of these institutions that are cherished by so many. Their excellence cannot be maintained unless they have an adequate source of revenue, and should their income ever decline to such a level as to be insufficient I would like them to have a means to act against that.  This proposal is not a mandate, but rather the creation of an option that leaves the decision to charge admission fees with each institution, where it belongs.”

To charge an admission fee, the bill states that the board of a ZMD subdistrict institution first has to vote to do so, then they have to apply to the ZMD board, and finally the ZMD board votes on whether to approve the application from the subdistrict. Even after approval, a subdistrict institution has the authority through this bill to exempt anyone else from the fee of their choosing such as students and senior citizens.

While officials at the Zoo and Science Center declined to lengthy interviews, they both issued respective brief statements.

“The St. Louis Zoo does not intend to charge admission,” said Janet Powell, Director of Public Relations. “We are committed to remaining free to all, including non-residents of St. Louis and St. Louis County.”

At this point, officials at the Science Center say that they are very unlikely to consider charging admission even if the bill passes.

“We are neither for nor against the bill’s passage,” said Science Center Spokesperson Beth McClure. “However, to even consider charging admission for non-residents, we would have to explore the possibility with the board and receive their input.”

Bray’s Legislative Aide Ellie Glenn gave further details regarding the bill’s history.

“SB 903, the original bill, has only been heard in committee thus far and must go through many more steps before arriving on Governor Nixon’s desk,” Glenn said. “However, because Sen. Bray’s amendment language was germane to both SB 580 in relation to local government and HB 2297 in relation to ZMD, it was able to be amended with a vote to the two bills.”

If SB 580 passes, then the language goes into effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill because it has an emergency clause. HB 2297, however, does not contain an emergency clause so it would go into effect on the normal bill date, Aug. 28.

“I hold every piece of legislation I am proposing in the same regard and [I]  hope to see them all passed,” Bray said.