The legislative-backed initiatives would by default be placed on the November 2020 ballot, but the election date could change at Gov. Mike Parson’s discretion.

A resolution sponsored by Rep. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, says that if a merger passes statewide, voters in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County would have to approve the merger in a separate referendum for it to take effect.

He said he would not take a position on the merger itself, but said residents in the city and county should “have an independent say.”

Several lawmakers and others who testified before the House General Laws Committee said they are receptive to some kind of consolidation, but oppose the statewide vote method by Better Together.

“It should have the support of the people that live there,” said Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, who added that “fragmentation” is the region’s second largest problem, behind inequity.

The Better Together proposal, if approved by voters, would strike the obscure city-county Board of Freeholders, a panel that if convened is supposed to consider consolidation, as outlined by a century-old provision in the state constitution.