Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 130083.
An ordinance authorizing the plotting upon a portion of City Plan No. 271 of a right-of-way for sewer and drainage purposes extending from the westerly side of Front Street, north of Callowhill Street, westwardly to the Delaware Expressway. 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
This bill has been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 130138.
An ordinance authorizing the Holme Circle Civic Association to construct, own and maintain various right-of-way encroachments on the traffic median located on Holme Avenue where it intersects Welsh Road and Ashton Road.
This bill has been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 130241.
An ordinance 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING amending Section 9-213 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Farmers' Markets," by adding Pretzel Park as a permissible location.
This bill has been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 130224.
An ordinance amending various titles of The Philadelphia Code to provide for equality of treatment of all persons in the City of Philadelphia regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, including by further providing for the definition of "Life Partnership" and "Life Partner," and for protections, rights, benefits, 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING and responsibilities of Life Partners.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I do -- I have received an e-mail from my friend Michael Williams. I agree with everything that he says in it. I have no disagreements with anyone who has spoken today, and I would like to support this bill. I do have three issues with the bill. I would ask Councilman Kenney to hold the bill to discuss the changes. He has indicated to me this morning that he would not hold the bill. I would like to then just state that I believe that we should provide equality to LGBT, in particular transgender. However, I do think it is important that we do ask for gender-specific identification on school forms such as mother, father. We can include an option of parent, guardian, but I would not want to remove the option 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING of parents identifying themselves as either the mother or father. We have had a lot of data and I think it is important for us to continue to collect data on single fathers, single mothers in our society. I will say also that I am -while I believe we should provide transitional surgeries to those who are transgender at the time of their employment for the City of Philadelphia, I'm not clear on providing new surgeries to new members, as there are many other services that we don't provide in our insurance. I would like the opportunity to discuss more with members of the community to get a better understanding of that issue. So otherwise, I will vote against the bill as it is. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney. 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you, Mr. President. Before I do my very short formal remarks, I just want to take the opportunity to thank my staff, especially Chris Goy, who has worked tremendously on this, along with Stephanie Roza. (Applause.)
I also would like to thank Liberty City and Micah Mahjoubian; the Human Relations Commission, Rue Landau; Gloria Casarez from the Mayor's Office; Kathy Padilla; Jordan Gwendolyn Davis; Michael Williams; Representative Brian Sims, who was so eloquent; and civil rights trailblazer, Mark Segal. We are continuing on the American road to full equality and civil rights for all of our citizens. So in that spirit, I simply have three quotes I'd like to read today. The first is from the Declaration of Independence. "We are endowed by our creator with certain 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING unalienable rights. They are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The United States Constitution, 14th Amendment, "No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection under the law." And this morning from a fine young preacher, Reverend Heath, I quote, "They are all God's children and, therefore, precious in his sight. We are required to do the right things to protect them all." In a few moments I'll be looking forward to doing just that. Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointing many friends and 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING supporters in this room today. I'm very proud of the record City Council has in supporting the LGBT community and that we had last term under the leadership of Councilman Greenlee. I support almost every aspect of this bill that expands rights and protections, et cetera. I have two problems with it that are both related to the fiscal soundness of the City of Philadelphia. Budgeting is choosing between competing ideas for good with limited resources. I believe that the tax credit is largely a waste of money, because it will go to corporations that already provide this benefit. It will go to Comcast. It will go to major accounting firms, et cetera, and will not be available to expand the benefit in the City. And so I see no reason when we are looking to keep tax rates low and doing other things and considering the 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING budget and lots of competing ideas for good, I see no reason to take $2 million and growing and spend it on something that provides a marginal and incremental benefit. Thank you, Mr. President. I will be voting no.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm reading the title of this ordinance, which is kind of long, and there's nothing in it that I disagree with. I'll be voting against this. Tax credit I can live with, provided it actually is an incentivizing tax credit, which I believe it is. It's also capped at the 2 million, which I believe it is. The language in the application, while I would think that Councilman Oh's request wouldn't be such 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING a big deal because it would still encompass everyone if you changed it, I can live with the language in the bill, but the changes in the medical insurance for transgender surgery, I'm not there yet. And if that were in the title, it would be much easier for me to have objected to this. So I voted for the Gay Rights Bill, as it was referred to, in 1983 when people told me I was going to lose my election over it. This place was in mayhem during that vote. We had veteran members left to avoid the vote, all kinds of things, but we stood tall, and to my knowledge, as was repeated today, I still think the state and federal government have not taken that step. When it gets beyond inclusion, no one is looking for a unanimous vote. They're looking for a majority vote, and I'm fine with that. But, again, I have no problem with most of this bill, but I will be voting no. 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. Just one addendum for the record so that the record is clear. The bill does not permit a tax credit to be given to companies who offer same-sex benefits now. Larger companies that mostly all offer them, like Comcast, offer them already and are not entitled to the tax credit. This is for companies who need to get there and don't offer them now. We tried to incentivize them as opposed to penalize them. That's why the Chamber of Commerce supported it. But any large company or any size company that's offering same-sex benefits to partners now will not be eligible for the tax credit. So thank those who are voting yes. 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you, Councilman. Any other speeches? (No response.)
This bill has been read on two separate occasions. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 15 and the nays are two. (Applause.)
Sorry. Sorry. Folks, for the record, my math was wrong. It was 14-3. Thank you. Thank you. The majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. (Applause.)
Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill 130140.
An ordinance amending Title 21 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Miscellaneous," by 4/25/13 - STATED - 2ND READING increasing appointments --
Folks, a little quiet, please. We still have business to conduct. Thank you.
An ordinance amending Title 21 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Miscellaneous," to increase appointments on the Mayor's Commission on Aging.
This bill has been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.