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Dr. Frederick Echols, acting health director of St. Louis, notified the owners of seven establishments last week that the businesses would have to close immediately over violations of city rules on mask wearing and social distancing.

The Wheelhouse and Start Bar in downtown were ordered closed for a year. On Monday, Wheelhouse 20 LLC retained six lobbyists with the Catalyst Group, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records.

Stephen Savage, co-owner of the Wheelhouse, Start Bar and The Midwestern, said the lobbyists would push for legislation restricting local health authorities and would help the company navigate politics.

“We’ve been thrown into a political war,� he said. “This is a whole new world to us. So they’re also helping us navigate through something that’s completely unknown to us.�

Catalyst represents more than 50 entities in Missouri, including Major League Baseball, Uber, LaunchCode, and Clovr, a Kansas City-based medical marijuana firm.

On Tuesday, members of the House Special Committee on Small Business considered multiple proposals, including one by Rep. Jim Murphy, R-south St. Louis County, which would limit the duration of emergency health orders.

During testimony on the proposal, Savage said he and his partners had invested millions of dollars in St. Louis over the past seven years.

But he described the city as unsupportive during the pandemic and “unresponsive� to his company’s attempts to work with officials.

“It’s very difficult to succeed in today’s environment, especially when you do not have the support of your local government,� Savage said.

His testimony before lawmakers followed months of sparring with city health officials.

Savage last week said in a public note that his bars have been “respecting your rights as customers and sovereign individuals capable of making your own decisions.�

“Starting in May of 2020, we were ordered to be the mask police and micro manage your social interactions,� he wrote. “We believe you are free to make your own choices.�

In the Senate, Republicans also are considering efforts to restrict local authorities, including limiting local health orders to 30 days before they must be reviewed and barring restrictions on churches.

A Senate committee weighed a proposal by Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, on Wednesday that would create a tax credit for businesses forced to close during a declared state of emergency.

He complained about health rules imposed by St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, a Democrat. On Friday, he announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.

No proposals limiting local health orders have so far made it to the floor of the House or Senate for debate.

If lawmakers do end up approving restrictions, the measure would go to Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who has spoken in favor of the ability of localities to issue restrictions more stringent than the state’s rather than the state issuing sweeping state regulations.

A spokeswoman for Parson didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

“We can’t have a patchwork of decisions being made in a pandemic,� Murphy said. “We have got to, at some point in a pandemic, have a more regional view.�

Under Murphy’s proposal, local governments wouldn’t be able to issue a public health closure that lasts longer than three months without the approval of Legislature, dominated by Republicans.

“My concern is that we are going to be making decisions based on politics and not based on what the health professionals are telling us,� said state Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire.