Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, February 7, 2019 10:55 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE L. BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN COUNCILMAN WILLIAM K. GREENLEE COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN AL TAUBENBERGER MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Good morning, everyone. We're going to get started. If the members will take their seats and any visitors retire behind the rail, we'd appreciate it, and we will have our invocation. To give our invocation this morning, the Chair recognizes Pastor Yvonne Yates of Gather the People House of Prayer. She is here today as the guest of Councilwoman Cindy Bass. I would ask all guests, visitors, and members to please rise. (Councilmembers, guests, and visitors rise.)
I'd like to acknowledge the President Darrell Clarke and acknowledge Councilwoman Cindy Bass for the invite and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who is other family. Let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. My Father, my God, we do come by the blood in the name of Jesus. We come, Father God, because we love you and adore you and appreciate you. We thank you for all that you have done and all that you will do. We thank you, Father God, for the City being the City of Brotherly Love. So, Father God, we ask for a blessing upon our Mayor. We ask for a blessing, Father God, upon the City Council, everyone. We ask for a blessing, Father God, for the Sheriff's Department. But, Father God, you asked me and you said a long time ago, if we ask anything in your son's name, that you Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 So, Father God, there's wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that needs to be granted to the City Council. They need to know that, Father God, that you bring in unity and not division. They need to know, Father God, that they are to love one another. But in order to love one another, Father God, we need to learn to love ourselves. And when we learn to love ourselves, then we begin to love God first, love ourselves, and then others. Father God, we are in a situation today when all need to come together as one. We are in a situation today that the enemy thinks that he came to kill, steal, and destroy, but you came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. So we bring life instead of death. We bring love, Father God, instead of hatred. We bring unity and oneness among all that is here and all that is out there. For the enemy thinks Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 the City of Philadelphia, but, no, he hasn't. No, he hasn't. He hasn't taken the City of Philadelphia, because, Father God, you are inside of us. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. And you have not given us any fear. You have not given us any fear. Fear comes from the evil one himself. For you have not given us fear up there, but of power and of love and of sound mind. So we take that power by the blood and the name of Jesus, Father God. We know that violence that has come through this city, Father God, we know that the hatred is in this city, but we take authority today, don't we? We take authority today and we say that it's not going to happen anymore. We cover our children with the blood, for children are an inheritance unto you. They are your inheritance, God. We cover our men, Father God, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 been seen and Satan wants to destroy them. We won't allow it. We won't allow it, Father God. So because let my speech be great seasoned with salt so that we know how to answer another. Father, we are here because we need you. We are here because we want you. We're here, Father God, because there is nothing that we can do without you. And, Father, we are one nation under God. So we give you back your authority. Because we have not, because we ask not. So I'm asking for peace. I'm asking for love. I'm asking for joy. I'm asking for oneness. I'm asking for unity among us all. In Jesus' name, amen. (Amen.)
Thank you so much, Pastor, for those inspiring words. Council will be at ease. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 (Council at ease.)
Thank you again, Pastor. Our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, January 31st, 2019, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, January 31st, 2019 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, January 31st, 2019 stand approved. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 it, and that Journal is approved. And the next order of business is requests for leaves of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Henon.
Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the majority, request of leave of absence today is requested by Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Councilman. Leave shall be granted. Let the record reflect that. And the Chair now recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the republicans, there are no requests for leave of absence.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. At this time, I would like to dispense with the regular order of business and I would like to thank everyone who has taken time out of their Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 down to witness their government in action. We genuinely appreciate you being here. We hope that your stay here is a knowledgeable one but, more importantly, a pleasurable one, so much so that you come back again. Again, thank you so much for being here. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to recognize a student that's with me today. She's shadowing me, and I'm trying not to ruin her interest in politics. And she's a senior at Friends Central, and she's actually going to be with us for two weeks in May as her senior project, because she has an interest in government, and hopefully after those two weeks, she'll still have that. So I just wanted to welcome -she's sitting over there with my Chief of Staff -- Jessica Hornstein.
Thank you. Thank you for coming down today. Think real hard about the political thing. Thank you. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Taubenberger, who will present a resolution honoring the Boy Scouts of America. Would Dan Templar and those accompanying him please join the Councilman at the podium. (Applause.) (Councilmembers and guests approached podium.)
And joining Councilman Taubenberger, we have Councilman Greenlee, Councilwoman Reynolds Brown and Councilman Green, Councilman Johnson and Councilman O'Neill. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Folks, could we have a little quiet, please. Thank you.
Thank you, Council President. Honoring and recognizing the Boy Scouts of America on its 109th anniversary.
Whereas, the Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8th, 1910 by William D. Boyce, after being inspired to create the organization when he became lost in London and received help from a British Boy Scout; and
Whereas, the Boy Scouts of America works to promote community values in Scouts from a young age, by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law; and
Whereas, the Scout Law encourages Scouts to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent - Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 adopted by all youth and adults;
Whereas, Scouting is more inclusive than ever with character building, leadership development, outdoor skills training, service-minded initiatives and more; serving more than thousands of families throughout our region; and
Whereas, the Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of America's time-tested, life-changing Scouting programs are made possible through the selflessness of its network of more than 4,000 volunteers, hundreds of chartered partner organizations and generous contributions from its donors; and
Whereas, this dedication to the youth of Philadelphia is paramount to the continued development of the City's younger generations, who will become the future leaders; Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Resolved, by the Council of the City of Philadelphia, that we hereby honor, recognize, and celebrate the 109th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. (Applause.)
And the Chair recognizes Mr. Templar for remarks.
Wow, what a great day to be a Scout. On behalf of the over 16,500 Scouts served by the Cradle of Liberty Council and over 4,000 right here in the City of Philadelphia, we thank the City Council for this wonderful recognition and for the validation of the impact, the profound impact, that Scouting programs have on the lives of young people. As you recognize us today and for our achievements, we all stand and salute you. As leaders of this great city, we know that you work tirelessly to improve the lives of every Philadelphian, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 ourselves to our steadfast support of that effort. We, as the Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of America pledge to be a continued partner in your efforts. We know that in your various districts, you have hundreds of wonderfully dedicated adults who are looking and searching for ways to help to be a positive influence on the lives of the young people in their neighborhoods. As City Councilmembers, you now have the opportunity to serve as a conduit to bring together those passionate adults and the 109-year program history of the Boy Scouts of America to be just that. Today it is a great day to be a Scout, and as we work together to reach more young people in the City of Philadelphia, tomorrow will be even better. Thank you very much for this recognition. (Applause.) Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Thank you, and congratulations to the Scouts. Our next order of business is communications, and the Chair requests that the Sergeant-of-Arms delivers the messages from the Mayor to the Chief Clerk. Mr. Decker, please read those messages.
To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am pleased to advise you that on February 6, 2019, I signed the following bills which were passed by Council at its session on January 24, 2019: Bill Nos. 171112, 180893, and 180992-A.
Is that it? Do you have any additional communications? Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Thank you very much. Our next order of business is introduction of bills and resolutions, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm pleased to introduce this resolution and delighted to say that the co-sponsors are Councilmembers Allan Domb, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and Councilman Derek Green. Thank you.
A privileged resolution recognizing the City Treasurer's Office under the Leadership of City Treasurer Rasheia Johnson and the Reconciliation Task Force for the Successful Reconciliation of the City's Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Bank Accounts.
And that will be on today's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Henon.
Thank you, Mr. President. I have one bill and one privileged resolution co-introduced by Councilwoman Gym, Oh, and Squilla.
Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Thank you, Councilman.
An ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on both sides of Milnor Street, from Duncan Street to Orthodox Street.
And a privileged resolution recognizing and celebrating the Asian-American Community in Philadelphia on the occasion of the 2019 Lunar New Year.
And that will be on this week's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilman Henon -- I'm sorry; Councilman Johnson.
Council President, I have two non-privileged resolutions, but also on behalf of Councilman Curtis Jones, I have a non-privileged resolution as well.
Thank you, Councilman. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
A privileged resolution authorizing City Council's Committee on Aging to hold hearings on the potential for abuse in the guardianship appointment process and the financial burdens that such abuse could have on individuals being placed into guardianships.
And a privileged resolution authorizing the Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform to hold public hearings to examine adequate solutions in addressing the specific needs of incarcerated women.
And a non-privileged resolution urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass Senate Bill 14, which seeks to enhance public safety and further justice by ensuring that probation decisions are Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 fair and consistent.
And that will be on next week's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez.
An ordinance establishing a one-way regulation on Cecil B. Moore Avenue, from Front Street to Sixth Street, westbound.
And an ordinance establishing a one-way regulation on Montgomery Avenue, from Second Street to Front Street, eastbound.
Also referred to committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Council President. I have one bill today.
An ordinance amending Chapter 20-1000 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Political Contributions and Expenditures," to add and make changes to provisions regarding campaign contributions; contributions to transition and inauguration committees; and campaign finance disclosures.
And that will be referred to committee. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
An ordinance establishing parking regulations in the vicinity of: Marvine Street and Champlost Street; North 12th Street and Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Chew Avenue; Camac Street and Chew Avenue; North 12th Street and Champlost Street; North 9th Street and Ruscomb Street; North Marvine Street and Champlost Avenue.
Referred to committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Domb.
Thank you, Council President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gym.
Thank you, Council President. I have one privileged resolution today.
A privileged resolution declaring February 2 through 11, 2019 as "National Black Lives Matter Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 at School Week of Action" in the City of Philadelphia.
And that will be on this week's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilman Taubenberger.
Good morning, Council President. I have two privileged resolutions.
A privileged resolution honoring and recognizing Chris Long for his incredible charitable work, and congratulating him for winning the NFL's 2018 "Walter Payton Man of the Year" Award.
And a privileged resolution honoring and recognizing the Boy Scouts of America's 109th anniversary.
This Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 week's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Thank you, Mr. President. I have no bills or resolutions.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
An ordinance granting permission to a licensed tour vehicle operator to operate, on the west sidewalk of South Independence Mall West (formerly Sixth Street) between Ranstead and Chestnut Streets, the location formerly operated by "Ride the Ducks" sightseeing tours, an existing prefabricated metal ticket booth and merchandising kiosk with signage, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 including an electrical conduit with an electrical service line and a telecommunications conduit with a telephone service line in and under the public right-of-way.
Referred to committee. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. We offer no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Council President. I offer one privileged resolution co-sponsored by Councilmembers Henon and Bass, one resolution on your behalf, and one bill. May be I heard after the title of the bill is read?
Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Thank you, Councilman.
An ordinance amending Title 2 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "City-County Consolidation," Chapter 2-300, "Property Assessment," by adding new language to Section 2-305, "Office of Property Assessment; Chief Assessment Officer; Powers and Duties," requiring that real estate taxes imposed by Title 19 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Finance, Taxes and Collections," Chapter 19-1300, "Real Estate Taxes," be levied on the assessed value of taxable real property as established for the immediately preceding stated year in any year in which the audit provided for under Subsection 2-305(2)(s) finds that overall property assessments in the City do not meet industry standards for accuracy.
Thank you, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Council President. There has been much controversy over the property assessments by the Office of Property Assessment, OPA, and this body, yourself and Councilman Squilla in particular, have offered and produced remedies for homeowners and others. I will say that my concern is that we have over the course of several years questioning OPA, at least from my perspective, not been getting a satisfactory answer as to the accuracy and methodology of the assessment process, leaving many areas of the City overassessed in many senses. Now that this has been brought out, the Administration says they will not move forward with property assessments on a citywide basis. They will do it on an individual basis, but that leaves the 10.5 percent overall assessment increase on residential properties intact. I'm not sure how we can keep Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 that intact when we have just had an audit that says the methodology is inaccurate. It would seem to me that a lot of people, especially people who are less informed, from poorer neighborhoods, have not appealed and, therefore, they'll be stuck with an assessment that appears to be inaccurate and unreliable. The bill I offer for our consideration is that when an audit of the property assessment process has found it to be unreliable, rather than freezing the process at the questionable or unreliable rate, that we go to the previous year. And so for anyone who has or hasn't appealed their property assessments, we would go to the year before rather than keeping the questionable year. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. That will be referred to committee. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
And a privileged resolution declaring that the 3rd Week of March Shall Be "Martial Arts Week" in the City of Philadelphia.
And a non-privileged resolution designating the office within City Council that currently serves the needs of veterans and their families as the Office of Veterans Affairs; confirming the continuing responsibility of the Veterans Advisory Commission to provide assistance to that Office; and amending and restating Resolution No. 060059 (as amended by Resolution No. 070094) to further provide for the powers and duties of the Veterans Advisory Commission.
And that will be on next week's Calendar. That concludes our introduction of bills and resolutions, and our next order of business is reports from Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Councilwoman Blackwell for a report from the Committee on Finance.
Thank you, Mr. President. The Committee on Finance reports out one bill with a favorable recommendation.
To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, the Committee on Finance, to which was referred Bill No. 190004, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 19-2900 of Title 19 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Senior Citizen Low Income Special Tax Provisions," by extending the deadline for low-income seniors to apply for a refund or forgiveness of Real Estate Taxes," respectfully reports it has considered and amended the same and Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 to Council with a favorable recommendation.
The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bill No. 190004. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bill No. 190004. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. This bill will be placed Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Calendar for today. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Greenlee for a report from the Committee on Law and Government.
Thank you, Mr. President. The Committee on Law and Government reports three bills and two resolutions with a favorable recommendation.
The Committee on Law and Government, to which was referred Bill No. 180820, entitled "An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to change certain gender specific references to gender neutral references, as approved by Resolution of the City Council"; and Bill No. 180943, entitled "An Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 9-1100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Fair Practice Ordinance: Protections Against Unlawful Discrimination,' by adding a new section prohibiting retail establishments from refusing to accept cash as a form of payment"; and Bill No. 190007, entitled "An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter establishing and defining the responsibilities of the Office of Immigrant Affairs"; and Resolution No. 180834, entitled a "Resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to change certain gender specific references (such as 'councilman,' 'councilmen,' and 'Councilmanic') to gender neutral references (such as 'councilmember,' 'councilmembers,' and 'Council')"; and Resolution No. 190028, entitled Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 "Resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the creation of an Office of Immigrant Affairs, to provide for the powers and duties of such Office, and to otherwise provide for the incorporation of the Office into the City government; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia," respectfully reports it has considered the same and returns the attached bills and resolutions to Council with a favorable recommendation.
Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bill Nos. 180820, 180943, and 190007. (Duly seconded.)
Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bills No. 180820, 180943, 190007. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and these bills will be placed on our First Reading Calendar for today. Resolution No. 180834 and 190028 will be placed on the Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. That concludes our reports from committee. The next order of business is consideration of the Calendar. I note that the bills just reported from committee with a suspension of the rules have been deemed to have had a first reading. They will be on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2ND READING at our next session of Council. As there are no additional bills on the First Reading Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilman Henon for the purpose of calling up resolutions and bills on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar.
Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions and bills are being called up for the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today: Bill Nos. 190064, 190065, 190076, 180888-A, 180993, and 170467. All other resolutions and bills are being held.
Thank you. Before considering the bills and resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, we will have our public comment session. It will go as follows: If you are interested in testifying on a bill or resolution that is on the Final Passage Calendar today, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 if you have not already done so, you may sign up at the table to my left. When your name is called, you will go to the middle of the Council Chambers. There's a podium. There's a device on that podium. When the light turns green, it will be your time to speak. When the light turns yellow, we would ask that you give 30 seconds to conclude your remarks. And when the light turns red, we'd ask that you please adhere to our guidelines and conclude your remarks. I want to thank you very much for your anticipated cooperation. Mr. Decker, please call the first name on the list.
Dr. Patrick "PJ" Brennan, commenting on 180888-A. (Witness approached podium.)
Good morning. Good morning, Council President Clarke and members of City Council. I'm Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Dr. Patrick J. Brennan, Chief Medical Officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. I'm here to provide testimony on behalf of Penn Medicine in support of Bill No. 180888-A. The bill requires pharmaceutical sales representatives to register and share their promotional materials with the City. Most importantly, it also bans manufacturers of controlled or federally scheduled drugs from giving gifts of any kind, large or small, to doctors and healthcare providers. Opponents of this important legislation have made a number of claims in order to stall and defeat it. They claim it will have little impact on the opioid crisis and that there is little evidence to demonstrate that gift bans are effective. They claim that the rate at which opioids are dispensed is falling and that relatively small gifts like meals should not be prohibited because they don't influence physician Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 decision-making. Let's discuss the facts. Decades of study make it clear that meetings between doctors and sales reps lead to changes in the way physicians prescribe medications. And let's be clear about this. These meetings are about sales, not education. It's not necessary to reinvent the wheel here. We know that banning meals changes interactions with physicians. Why would it be any different for opioid prescribing? As we begin to grapple with years of overprescribing, rates are just now starting to decline, but it's far too soon to declare victory. We're a long way from there and we need to continue our work to address overprescribing. The authors of a study just published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association using county-level data from across the country demonstrated that an increase in Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 marketing of opioids was associated with more overdose deaths in those counties one year later. The authors further conclude that it is the widespread payment of gifts of low monetary value to many physicians that are most influential. The industry spends tens of millions of dollars per year marketing directly to doctors. Opponents claim this bill would be bad for business, leaving Philadelphia on the outside looking in as pharma industry opportunities pass the City by in favor of friendlier rules elsewhere. Let's consider the facts again. Penn Medicine banned pharmaceutical company gifts to our clinicians nearly 13 years ago, and collaboration with the industry has continued to flourish since then. Discoveries developed in our laboratories and tested in clinical trials are finding their way to more patients each day, proving that academia/industry collaborations are bearing fruit more Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 than ever before. In fact, of the 40 FDA drug approvals in the last fiscal year, four, or 10 percent, were made possible by research conducted in West Philadelphia at Penn Medicine. At Penn Medicine, we trust our physicians and healthcare providers to act in the best interest of our patients and we allow industry representatives to meet with our providers, but the patients' best interests are primary. We're interested in the development and sharing of new knowledge and the creation of new products to benefit humanity and not marketing persuasion on our prescribing practices. We prohibit gifts, however small, because independence, transparency, and trust are crucial in the patient-provided relationship. In conclusion, Philadelphia has the opportunity to be a leader by implementing commonsense safeguards to limit activities that have been shown Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 through scientific research to encourage inappropriate or overprescribing.
On behalf of Penn Medicine, I can speak from experience that the benefits of a proposal like the one before you today far outweigh any perceived shortcomings. Thank you.
Sharon Brigner, commenting on 180888-A. (Witness approached podium.)
Hi. My name is Sharon Brigner. I am a registered nurse here on behalf of the Biopharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, PhRMA, and we oppose the bill.
Chris Molineaux, commenting on 180888-A. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 (Witness approached podium.)
Good morning, members of City Council and thank you for the opportunity to speak during today's Council meeting. I'm Chris Molineaux, President and CEO of Life Sciences Pennsylvania, the statewide trade association that represents more than 800 member organizations, including small biotech companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, academic research institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Jefferson, medical device makers, patient advocacy groups, and service providers that support this industry. On behalf of that community and our membership, we oppose this bill. As we know all too well, the opioid epidemic is one of the worst public health crises our country has faced in the past century. Its effects Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 are far-reaching and community agnostic. I'm sure every one of us in this room has personally felt the consequences of this ongoing emergency. I want to make it clear from the outset that the life sciences community of Pennsylvania is committed to doing everything in its power to curb this tragic epidemic. In fact, a number of our member companies are working on novel non-opioid medicines to treat chronic and acute pain, as well as tamper-resistant delivery modalities for these medicines. Additionally, as a public advocacy organization, working to address this issue has been one of our top priorities for several years in discussions with legislators of the state and federal levels. There are five provisions, five key provisions, of this bill that are particularly troublesome. The first is the requirement that pharmaceutical sales Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 reps register and pay up to a $250 registration fee. It's important to note that 87 percent of the medicines that are prescribed, the opioid medicines that are prescribed, are generic medicines and don't have much of a sales force at all. So this would accomplish nothing. It's nothing more than a thinly veiled tax. The second provision that Dr. Brennan just talked about was banning gifts to physicians, and specifically in the bill it cites mugs and pens. These are already prohibited by the pharma code of interactions with physicians. In fact, they've been banned for ten years through that code. There are warehouses across New Jersey and Pennsylvania full of pens and mugs that are not going to those offices. A third provision would prohibit meals. And the idea that meals influence prescribing behavior is not only insulting to physicians, but it's absurd on its face. Meals -- I'll give Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 you an example. We usually use anecdotes in these hearings. A friend of mine was diagnosed recently with gallstones. After his diagnosis, he was given a prescription for ten Oxycodone. He needed two of them. His wife picked up the prescription. She showed no identification. Their address was incorrect. She walked out with the ten Oxycodone. In fact, they gave her 11 accidentally. After his surgery a week later, they gave him another prescription for 20 Oxycodone. He needed three of those. This has nothing to do with a bagel or a cup of coffee given to a physician. Finally, to submit information -- the bill provides a provision that requires manufacturers to submit their marketing material to the Department of Health. These materials are already reviewed by the FDA with an annual budget of $5 billion. I'm not sure about the Department of Health's Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 budget or capabilities to review these materials, but we don't believe they need to be reviewed again.
Peter Bentivegna, commenting on 180888-A. (Witness approached podium.)
Good morning. My name is Peter Bentivegna. I'd like to thank Council for allowing me to speak this morning. Regarding Bill 180888, restricting the activities of pharmaceutical representatives and also specifically addressing the selective studies and comments from Penn this morning, I'd like to say it is admirable Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 that City Council and leaders Councilman Greenlee and Councilwoman Bass are trying to address and stem the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. I am very empathetic to the patients and families struggling with addiction and loss. This is a serious problem. I'm here today to help City Council help those families. At the same time, I'm also here today to save my job and my colleagues' jobs. Like 98 and a half percent of all pharmaceutical representatives, we have nothing to do with the opioid crisis or narcotics, and over 94 percent of us carry no drug with any risk whatsoever of addiction. We live, work, and act with integrity and decency and trust, as you all do at your jobs. If you and 98 other of your colleagues would not want to lose your job because a politician in Harrisburg or Washington or Virginia has transgressed, then you agree that I and my colleagues should not have our jobs Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 taken from us. For expediency, I will briefly explain that the bill will cause us to lose our jobs because simple meals are the setting of choice by which most doctors choose to be educated about the overwhelming and ever-changing volume of information about all drugs, diseases, guidelines, laws, insurance influences, et cetera. The meal is simply, but critically, a necessary stopping point where and when most doctors ask us to provide education. If meals are disallowed, as they were in other cities, then our companies will remove our positions from the company, as they did in those cities. It does not matter that in an admission of "oops, we got it wrong" those cities later retracted that legislation. To begin, nowhere in the bill or supportive documents does it say, nor can it say, what are the causes or solutions of the opioid crisis, because Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 nobody in the country has the answer yet to either the causes or solutions. In the last three to ten years, representative numbers, spending, and activity have decreased each year. Opioid prescriptions have gone down each year since 2016. Yet the opioid crisis has grown and increased in that timeframe. The entire premise of the bill that degenerate representatives are the main cause of the opioid crisis is truly as false as it sounds. Also by the bill's own acknowledgement, similar restrictions legislated in Washington, DC, Chicago and, most recently, New Jersey have been resounding failures. I called City Councilmembers in those cities and asked two simple questions: Did the legislation restricting pharmaceutical representatives have any impact in reducing the opioid crisis, and what was the impact of the legislation on business income and tax revenue from their city? Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 The answers were consistent and foretelling for this City Council. Exact quotes that I was given by City Council offices in those two cities are, quote, This legislation had no impact on the opioid crisis. We still have a similar crisis to the rest of the country. No, no, no. It, the legislation, didn't reduce the opioid deaths or crisis. Quote, We have been having increasing struggles with our budget and, quote, specific to the hospitality and restaurant industry, reported loss of jobs, income, and overall business. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. I thank you for your time and kind considerations of me, my colleagues, and our families and those in the City who depend on us for education and support.
Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.
Good morning, Council President and members of City Council. I want to start the way I always start, by acknowledging that this is the brightest, the most technology savvy, competent Council that we've ever had. My name is Emmanuel Bussie, for the record, commenting on 190040, I believe, the oversight or -
So I'm going to begin -- I want to talk about oversight and inquiries, but I want to begin with a little, just a brief, maybe one minute of history. The year was 1991. I was working on one campaign, Rodney Jamison. Darrell Clarke was working on another campaign, John Street. It was three Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 women running against one man. On Election Day, Frank Oliver, who was the ward leader at the time, told Darrell Clarke's team he can't pass out literature on 29th Street. Me, working on an opposite campaign, not being able to mind my business, not seeing that was fair, threw the literature away of the campaign I was working on and immediately started working on Darrell Clarke's campaign on Election Day. The rest is history. I became constituent service. I became the designated ward leader for the 29th Ward of John Street. Darrell Clarke and I worked in John Street's office doing constituent service whenever I got off work. We became good friends. I share that to say that the reason I did that, because I didn't think it was fair for a ward leader to tell Darrell Clarke's team he couldn't pass out literature. So fast forward to 2019, I'm Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 now opposing my good friend, who now believes I'm not his friend, because I don't believe it's fair for him not to hold a hearing on on-street parking. I don't believe it's fair for him to have one set of rules for Cherelle Parker and move her bill out of a committee when it was being held up and not move David Oh's bill out of committee when it's being held up. I just think it's unfair to have two sets of rules for two different Councilpeople. I don't think it's fair. And me, again, not being able to mind my business, have encouraged 65 community activists and leaders to also join me and say that's not fair. Speaking on oversight, imagine if your Congressperson would not perform oversight on Donald Trump. Imagine how outraged you would be if that body of Congress would not perform oversight on Donald Trump. We now have a sitting Councilperson that's indicted, and what Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 we're asking this body to do is to have oversight. Your Charter gives you that power to do oversight. Section 4 -Chapter 4, Section 2-40 gives you the power to do oversight. We call on this body, the most intelligent, sophisticated, tech savvy, integrity-driven body that Council has ever had, to do oversight. The people demand it. We deserve it. You should do it. Imagine if Congress told you, I'm not going to do oversight on the Trump committee -- on the Trump Administration. You would be outraged. So we're asking you guys to do oversight, to allow the Ethics Committee to look into Local 98 and its conduct, its tentacles and how far it reached into our local government, into our economy. All we're asking is for oversight. Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your testimony. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Idris Guytan, commenting on 170408. (Witness approached podium.)
Good morning. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Good morning. I'm here to speak for Idris Guytan. He had to get away and get back to school, an outstanding student. I'm going to read a statement for him. We also want to say that we are here -- I'm here from Community College to support the education bill that was brought up, resolution. The statement that I'm going to read is by Hazim Hardeman, and some of you may know him because he is now a Rhodes Scholar who went through Community College. I understand that the board and the college administration is making proposals to the faculty and staff that they believe are in the best interest of CCP students. Respectfully, I can tell Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 you that from my experience studying at the college, that an increase of workload for faculty would have meant an inferior education for me. Not having teachers who had to contend with overly burdensome teaching lows, I was able to receive individualized instruction both inside and outside of the classroom that not only greatly contributed to my development as a student and thinker, but was vital considering I and countless other students entered the college with different levels of preparedness.
Excuse me. Ma'am, do me a favor, just mention the word "suspension" once. I know you're not talking about what you listed. Just say "suspension" for the record. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'm sorry, sir. I didn't understand.
You signed up for school suspensions and Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 you're speaking about Community College, but just say the word "suspension." Just do me a favor. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Suspension.
Thank you. Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: At Temple University, for instance, a professor with a teaching assignment and no research responsibilities only teaches 12 credits a semester. The same is true at other area universities, such as Drexel. At Temple this allowed me to develop close relationships with professors which provided -- which proved to be fundamental to my achievement, as it was they who recognized opportunities and possibilities for me that I could not envision for myself. If the college is serious about providing a world-class education, they have to at least keep up with respectable institutions on their home turf. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 Furthermore, if the college is as committed to making my story a staple of what CCP represents, as a subsequent celebration of accomplishments suggests, that it must avoid making decisions that would undercut the conditions of that possibility. A 15-credit teaching load at the college would do just that. The students whose parents can afford it comparatively have well-supported faculty and staff at Temple, Drexel, and Penn and Oxford. The kids who can't get overworked faculty and staff at Community College. Please fight this reality.
Joe Danihel, commenting on 181005-A, 190076, and 181044. (Witness approached podium.) Stated Meeting February 7, 2019
Good morning. This is an official decree of the people in writ of mandamus quo warranto and, as such, requires immediate action and remedy. Every week, Council, Mayor, Governor, and others transfer private property to the government, probably illegally. Dr. King protested with a sign that said, I am a man. To be allowed to own, will, inherit, and sell your property whenever you want or wherever you want is a guarantee provided in constitutions and laws. Inversely, having your 42 USC 1982 property rights stolen is a clear sign of slavery. In fascism, socialism, and communism, property rights revert to the government. The Constitution requires the federal government guarantee a republican government. Picking Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 neighborhoods to forcibly redevelop is unconstitutional and violates your sworn oath. Eminent domain requires government purchase property for public use. Taking without just compensation first made or secured is unconstitutional. Why has the DA, the Attorney General refused my numerous filings to investigate and prosecute oath, Constitution, and law violations? The constitutions require immediate remedy of this breach of law, breach of close, breach of fiduciary duty. Your oath of office requires you to act or face prison. 42 USC 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 18 USC 241, 242, 2381, 2384, PA Constitution, Article I, Sections 1 through 28, 26 PA CSA 703, 705, 708, 709, 711, 712, 713, 716, 902, and other laws listed in SCOTUS 15-8965, 14-1330, 14-4056 appear violated. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 I call on the federal and Commonwealth governments to perform their constitutional obligations to investigate and prosecute all involved in the theft and illegal deed transfer of my home, 1038 West Wyoming Avenue. The denial of God-given 42 USC 1982 property rights for 25 years is egregious, extraordinary, oath-violating, and requires immediate remedy. A just government must obey the rule of law. This color of law government must have its Charter to govern revoked until a constitutionally compliant government is installed. Public servants cannot refuse their sworn duty to act any more than a fireman can refuse to fight a fire. The sovereign people require oath, Constitution, and law be enforced. Jail is required for all who violate oath, Constitution or law. I remind Council, it takes a lot of cooperation to create and allow Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 this monumental corruption.
There are no other speakers on the public comment list, Mr. President.
Thank you. Councilwoman, you want to for the record?
Yes, Mr. President. We have decided that we will be calling up Bill No. 181044. Is that all right?
Yes. I just wanted it for the record that we will be calling that Bill 181044.
We will now continue with our Calendar. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING And, Mr. Decker, can you please read the title of 190064.
A resolution urging the Pennsylvania State Legislature to pass Governor Wolf's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, with a pathway to $15 an hour, for all workers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. That resolution is adopted. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker, please read the title of 190065.
A resolution urging the Trump Administration to maintain Federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. I again move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 190065 is adopted. Mr. Decker, 190076. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING
A resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 5423 through 27 Lena Street located in the Eighth Councilmanic District.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. 190076 is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 180888-A.
An ordinance amending Title 6 of The Philadelphia Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Code, entitled "Health Code," by adding a new Chapter 6-1200, entitled "Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Practices," to provide for registration of pharmaceutical manufacturer agents and certain other requirements; and to prohibit gifts by pharmaceutical manufacturers and their agents to health care practitioners.
Thank you, Mr. President. I ask everyone to bear with me a little bit. I'm under the weather here. But I didn't take any medication, just for the record. You heard from Dr. Brennan from University of Pennsylvania sawed off today, and I just want to read in the commentary he put just in the very beginning the few first couple of sentences to start off where we're kind of coming from on this. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Dr. Brennan says, quote, Imagine walking out of your doctor's office just as a pharmaceutical sales rep is walking in. The rep shows up with lunch for your doctor and the staff and is carrying brochures about a medication your doctor just prescribed for you. It would make you wonder, wouldn't it? Am I about to start a treatment that my doctor thinks is best for me or is this a product of someone's free lunch, unquote. And when you see that, I think you get worried, and then when you know through multiple studies that the doctor quoted and others that often times that overprescribing comes because of the gifts or the meals that even if it's small -- and some of them are not small. I'm going to get into that in a minute -that the doctor provided, and I think you would get really worried then. Then I think you'd start to get angry when you know that that prescription then led to people getting addicted and getting that Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING slow fall down the hill into addiction and maybe being one of 100 people a month -- and I'm going to repeat that a few times -- 100 people a month approximately die from overdoses in the City of Philadelphia. And Councilwoman Bass and I introduced this bill, and I know there's some question, is it an Administration bill, whose bill is it. Well, I think we're proud to say it's our bill, and it's our bill because it's the right thing to do. And all we're asking is that doctors -- I'm sorry; pharmaceutical reps register after the fact given their information so we can stay ahead of the problem, and that's the whole idea behind this bill, to stay ahead of the problem and bar any kind of enticement to the doctor, and that is for controlled substances and what they call psychoactive medications, things that can become addictive. And it seemed to me and I said -- I know I said this in Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING December. It seemed to me like a no-brainer. Why would you even want to question that the medicine you're getting is for the right reasons and not because of some enticement? And I'm not saying every doctor overprescribes, the whole people get addicted. I am not saying that. But the results are the results. The studies are the studies. And 100 people are dying a month. But, you know, as I said before, the Councilwoman and I, we just wanted to deal with the facts. We just wanted to show and try to get the right thing done. The Councilwoman as the Chair of the Public Health Committee twice continued a hearing so that we could try to work something out. We held the bill in December from the full Council to try to work something out, and I know that was at your request also. But we found out pretty soon we were being played. There wasn't an honest discussion. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING At the first meeting, pharma and some others came in. They didn't even provide any written amendments, any change. Basically just tried to talk us out of doing it. When that was clear, then they went the opposite direction. They came in with all kind of amendments, most of which either would make the bill pointless or just had nothing to do with the bill. And we made a pledge at that moment, look, we will keep working with you, but this bill should go forward and we'll work on reasonable amendments. And last week we put in reasonable amendments.
We cut the medications down to only 15 percent of the drugs that are out there being prescribed, 15 percent, the most dangerous drugs. And we took out any references, any concern that this could affect conventions. But apparently that wasn't enough. And pharma to me -my humble opinion, but I'll stick to it -- they knew they couldn't win on their own, so they pulled other people Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING in, other people that maybe didn't even need to be in this, IBX, the Convention Center, the Visitors people, all that because they thought, well, maybe that could stop this bill. Because that's all they wanted to do. They went into an honest discussion; they just wanted to kill this bill and show who got the power in this city. Well, we weren't going to go with that. We were going to keep fighting for this bill. And I don't know where it's going to go today. A lot of members are betwixt and between. I just hope they think about it a little bit more. And I'm going to keep repeating, 100 people a month die from overdoses, real people. And speaking of real people, just today a friend of mine said her cousin, mother, four children, went in for knee surgery, got overprescribed. Now she's somewhere in Kensington. They don't even know where the hell she is. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING And they think the next time they'll see her is in a cemetery. That's just one example. I'm going to give a couple more as we go on. And I'm sorry I'm taking a lot of time, and maybe you're lucky because my voice might give out before I'm finished, but this is important, because we're talking about people. We're talking about people, and we're talking about reality here. That's the reality out there. People are dying. And with all due respect to our friends in the hospitality industry, I just have a real concern with a couple of things they said in a letter, because, first of all, they keep talking -- and, see, this is what you do when you try to oppose a bill. I know it. We've been around a little bit. You don't talk about the real issue. You talk about over here and up there and under here and on the side, and that's what they keep trying to do. And one of the things that Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING is in the letter from Julie Coker Graham and John McNichol, good people, doing their job over there, is that it should be limited to opioids. Now, how many times -- and I think we've gone on record a number of times saying this isn't just about opioids. In fact, it's more about other addictive drugs that are coming up. If we limited this bill to opioids, I think it's the equivalent of saying we put a smoke detector in the building after it caught fire. Because the opioids are out there. This bill will not stop most of that. In fact, opioid use has already gone down a little bit because they've been out there so long. We're trying to get the next and the next line of addiction taken care of. And it is also written in this letter that this bill, although right-minded, is false-promising. I don't know what that means. We never said it was the solution to the whole problem. We said we would sit down and Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING talk about other things, but we didn't false-promise anything. We didn't say it was a total solution, but we said it will have an effect, and experts say it will have an effect. And I think they know a little bit more than, in all due respect, the Visitors people do. And then they said they will work to enact real change. Well, this is real change. This is a start. So it's not the end, but it's a start. But what we keep hearing is, we'll sit, we'll study, we'll do a committee, we'll do this. And I just remember Councilman Jones's statement about paralysis by analysis. That means nothing gets done for a long time. And may I repeat, 100 people die a month.
Now, these people, Julie and John and all the good people, they have their own lenses, and I understand that. They got to worry about what they see. First of all, I don't see why this bill -- because, again, we took out any Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING reference to conventions. This bill, they shouldn't even be in this anymore. This is over as far as they're concerned. We took care of their problem. But the reason they're still in it is, the pharmaceutical industry is threatening that just because we had the audacity in this city to put some regulations in against them, that they might not come here anymore and they could ruin our economy. That's the kind of people we're dealing with? We're going to get held hostage by those folks? But, again, these folks have their -- Julie and John have their lenses, but don't our lens have to be a lot wider? Doesn't it have to include a whole lot of people? And, again, let me give you an example of somebody it should include. The Public Health Committee had a hearing back in December up in Kensington, and I'll be honest with you, after about two hours, I was getting tired and hungry and I was trying to Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING figure out how I could lean out the door a little bit. But then a young man stood up, about 13 years old, lived in either probably Councilwoman Sanchez's or Councilman Squilla's district. You know they intersect up there. And he said that he's lucky because he gets a ride to school every day, but as he's riding, some of his classmates are stepping over and around addicts laying on the sidewalk, needles stuck out of their neck. And he just says, why is that right? What are you guys -- what can you guys do about that? So what I would say to all of the members here, we just don't have to answer to our friends here in the industry. We have to answer to kids like that. He can't afford lobbyists. He can't threaten anybody in here. He's just a kid that wants to go to school. Don't we owe him too? Don't we owe him that maybe he can live a decent life up there and doesn't have to go through that Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING chaos? Now, again, when there's a bill -- when you're trying to kill a bill, you do the whole "end of the world" theory. We've heard it so many times. The world is going to end. People aren't going to come to the City. We're going to fall into the great abyss, and that's the kind of things we're kind of hearing out of this. And I always think back to Councilwoman Tasco -- and I think it was during paid sick leave -- who said many times, I heard about the world ending and, Lord, here I sit and the world hasn't ended. And if we pass this bill, the world hasn't ended, but it ended for 100 people a month and it ended for their families or at least a part of their families. That's who we should worry about. That's who should have the priority here, and that's what this vote will come down to, in my opinion, is priority. Now, please, get me right. I Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING don't think any of the 17 of us don't care about this issue. None of us want to see this happen. None of us want to see what's happening in Kensington. Nobody wants to see people on Chestnut Street with their dogs lying there. Nobody wants to see people dying. But are we going to do something? And this is not -- I'll be the first one, because we've been real here. We've been telling the truth. We're not saying it's the solution. I'll keep repeating that. But it's something. We need to move forward. We need to show people that we're doing something substantive, and this is substantive. And if it saves 10, 20, 30 percent of those people, and I think it could, isn't that worth it? They're people's lives. And all we're asking the pharmaceutical reps is to work a little harder, work a little harder to get into your meetings.
Don't have to come in with pizza and steaks. And, by the way, it must be more than pizza and steaks Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING because, again, we're hearing from these high-priced restaurants they're going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's not about pizza and steaks and ham sandwiches, I guess. I don't know what it's about. It's pretty bad when the opponents can't even get their own stories straight. And we've been straight. We've been saying the same thing the whole time. So I hate to put people on the spot. It's not my style. But after a while, you got to make a decision. You got to take a stand on what is the most important thing. Some people are going to be upset with us. I understand that. But there's a lot of people that we're going to help if we pass this bill. I truly believe it. And maybe there's little pieces -- and it doesn't take effect for 180 days, so there's little pieces that maybe we can work in. But we just have to think, why are these people fighting Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING this bill so hard? Why are they fighting it that hard? Just because they can't bring a sandwich in? There's got to be more going on than that. Or are they just trying to bully us? Are they just trying to show that they're going to knock down anything that a city does? Well, you know, look, I wasn't a tough guy, but I hung around tough guys. I was smart enough to do that when I was a kid, and I know you stand up to bullies. And we got to stand up here, and we got to stand up for people. We got to stand up for those hundred people that die each month and their families. I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. I'm sorry. One last thing. There's another group of people that's going to be looking at us, at what we do today, and they're people that right now don't know who we are, maybe don't even know City Council meets in Room 400 on a Thursday. And that may sound strange Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING that they're looking at us now, but here's what I mean. If we pass this bill and it takes effect, there's going to be people who are going to go into a doctor's office and because that doctor did not get any kind of enticement, he's much more likely not to overprescribe. And instead of going down that hill of getting into addiction, in prostitution, in stealing, in laying in some doorway somewhere and then possibly lying in a cemetery some day, those people are going to just go about their lives. They're going to get the proper treatment and they're going to go about their lives. Again, they don't know who we are, and maybe in two years we're going to walk by that person on the street. Again, they don't know who we are. We don't know them, but we did something for them. We did something for them, and we owe them, we owe the people that. We owe their families. And I'm sorry to get emotional here, but this is important, and we got Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING to make a choice. We got to make a choice of where we are. We're not trying to hurt anybody. I don't think we'll hurt businesses here. I think this is all a lot of hooey. It's the same thing they do every time we try to do something for people. Businesses come in and say we're going to end -- we're going to be so anti-business and we're sending the wrong message. What message are we sending to the people who are dying? I'm sorry, Mr. President. I urge, respectfully urge, all members of Council to vote for this very, very reasonable bill. Thank you, sir.
Let me recognize Councilwoman -- you want me to do Councilwoman Bass first? The Chair recognizes Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. And I want to first start by saying to my colleague just how proud I am of you for that speech. I don't know if that means anything, but I'm just really in awe of what you just said, because you really made the case as to why we should vote for this bill. This should be a no-brainer. There's not a whole lot to think about when we have people dying on our sidewalks throughout the City at an enormous rate here in the City of Philadelphia. We have to do something. And we can't leave it up to industry to do something about a problem that they have taken a hands-off approach to. They have stepped away from this problem. They have done nothing, and all along could have done many, many, many things to address this issue. And so I just want to say that this has been quite an interesting Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING process. Councilmember Greenlee and I have held this bill. We've held numerous meetings with the pharmaceutical industry and others. We've added some of their amendments, and we've hoped all along for some form of compromise. Nothing. We could have proceeded in December, but in that same spirit of compromise, we held. Meanwhile, the same folks who asked us to work with them and assured us that they would bring something back to the table if we held back in December spent that time, rather than working with us, lobbying members of this body with claims of doom and destruction over an inability to buy lunches and give gifts to doctors. Truth be told, we can point to doom and destruction happening right now in our city, although it's not as visible to most because it's, as we say, in the cut. Outside and far away from most of our Center City sidewalks is the destruction that is occurring in the Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING lives of people who have been on the receiving end of heavily written prescriptions that have led us down this path. We didn't arrive here by some sort of mistake or happenstance. In a legislative body in which we always say we put people in front of profits, I don't see how we can vote against this bill. I want to ask that members vote their conscience and vote what makes sense. I ask the members to vote for this bill. It's the right thing to do. It is going to make a difference, and it's going to be on the right side of history. A couple of things I just wanted to address besides that. One of the speakers on behalf of the industry said that they were committed on this issue. Well, I haven't seen it. Councilman Greenlee hasn't seen it. The City of Philadelphia isn't seeing it. We don't see any commitment to this city in terms of doing something, anything Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING significant about the opioid or addictive drugs beyond opioids, because we know that opioids are on the way out and that other drugs are on the way in. And so what is being done? Absolutely nothing by industry. We have no support, no help for this crisis that we are dealing with every single day. The other thing I wanted to address was a letter that went around that said essentially that this bill doesn't do anything. This was from the industry. Well, if the bill doesn't do anything, what's the problem with passing it? If the bill doesn't mean anything, if it's such a marshmallow, what is the problem? And so, Councilman, I am going to disagree with you on one thing you said, and that was that when we met with these folks, that we got played. I don't think we got played. We did our jobs. We did the right thing. We tried to find a spirit of compromise. We tried to work Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING with folks who said they wanted to work with us. You can only take people at their word, and if their word isn't worth anything, then what can you do about that? And so we didn't get played, but a whole lot of other people got played.
And so now it's time to vote and to see where folks are. And, again, I just want to ask people, ask members of this body to vote their conscience and be on the right side of history. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. President. After communication with the Board of Ethics, as a member of the Independence Health Group Public Policy and External Affairs Advisory Board, I will be recusing myself and abstaining from voting on Bill No. Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING 180888-A. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Yes, Mr. President. Likewise, after communication with the Board of Ethics and as a member of the Independence Health Group Public Advisory and External Affairs Advisory Board, I will be recusing myself and abstaining from voting on Bill No. 180888-A. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilman Greenlee and Councilwoman Bass, because I saw firsthand, both on the Committee's side as Vice Chair of the Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Committee and through this process, their willingness to sit down and talk about this issue. I did not engage in the debates early on because this was not supposed to be an opioid bill. It was really looking at general rules and regulations. As someone who is at the epicenter of this opioid addiction, I can tell you Councilman Greenlee's stories are true, and there are a lot of bad actors. At the hearings, I asked the Administration to tell me what we were doing internally about how we police ourselves and regulate those doctors and those folks within our own ranks. Over the last four or five years, I have held dozens of hours of hearings, talking about reform within our own behavioral health system. The federal government shut down four centers in my community for Medicaid fraud and overprescribing. The federal government. What I ask the Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING Administration and the Health Department in particular is, what are we doing, so that before we ask the private market to do something, that we can look ourselves in the mirror and say we're doing everything we can. Today I don't feel comfortable that we're doing enough within ourselves and then asking the industry to do something. I totally support some form of registry. I totally support the notion that we should know who's in our market and what they are doing. I am uncomfortable at this given time, and I have faith in our ability if this gets voted down today to come back and look at something, but the Administration has to tell and provide better direction around what we are asking people to do versus just telling people what they cannot do. On this legislation, after we put this out of Committee, I got calls from several medical providers in my Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING district, people who normally don't engage with City government, and they asked me to come in. And I went into their medical facilities and I talked to them, and it was clear that there was a lot of misinformation. There continues to be misinformation. My concern and the reason -and we all look for the reason for why not -- is I have asked for many reforms. I have doctors that are getting paid and reimbursed by the City that are working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, and I have no way of stopping them because we don't have internal rules and regulations. And so what I'm asking is that we develop those in ourselves, and then we can ask the private market to do what we know can happen based on our own operational ability to monitor ourselves. And for that reason, as I said to both sponsors of the bill, because I support the spirit and the intent of this bill, Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING for that reason, I will be voting no. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. Just quickly. I'm not going to dispute some of the criticism Councilwoman Sanchez has for the Administration. She knows more about that. She's worked hard on it for years. I guess my question would be, what's that got to do with this bill? We're trying to do something here. I'll totally agree and I think we said earlier that we're willing to work with whoever and however to help solve this problem, and if the Administration hasn't done what they need to do, then they need to do it and we need to keep working with them. But, again, this is a very simple bill, a bill that experts have Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING said can have an effect, can have an effect, maybe not overwhelming, but I guess with all due respect, if somebody else isn't doing right, then we don't do the right thing? I guess I don't understand that. I don't understand that logic. I think we should pass this bill today, in my opinion, and if we pass it, we should work on the issues Councilwoman Sanchez said and any other issues that are out there, but I guess I don't understand being against this bill because the Administration hasn't done what they need to do. Because if that's true -- and, again, I'll take her at her word on that, because I'm not an expert on that issue, but I guess I just don't understand that kind of argument. We got something before us today that can have some effect on people in districts all over the City. And this problem isn't -one thing about addiction, it ain't discriminatory. There's people getting Stated Meeting February 7, 2019 2/7/19 - STATED - 2ND READING addicted in Somerton. There's people getting addicted in Kingsessing. There's people getting addicted in Roxborough. There's addicted people in Point Breeze. People everywhere getting addicted. And we're just trying to take a piece of this. And, again, if other things need to be done, let's do them, but I don't think that's a reason not to be supportive of this bill. Thank you, Mr. President.