Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. (Applause.)
An ordinance amending Title 20 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Officers and Employees," by providing a civil service preference for the children of Philadelphia police officers and firefighters who were killed or died in the line of duty.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. (Applause.)
That concludes our Calendar for today. Are there speeches on the part of the minority? Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam President. Today I introduced a bill --
Councilman, just a moment, please. Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam President. Today I introduced a bill. My lobbyist registration bill responds to the Committee of Seventy's call for legislation as part of the ethics reform agenda to address its concerns that lobbyists or lawyers acting as lobbyists are often perceived as having improper or undue influence on decisions made by the Mayor, City Council and other departments, agencies and commissions. Among other requirements, my legislation provides for registration and expense reporting. My lobbyist regulation bill builds on the heritage of Councilman David Cohen. His Bill No. 050461 suffered from several fatal defects having to do with unconstitutionality and attorney-client privilege. My legislation addresses those concerns. The State Supreme Court has since then promulgated Rule of Professional Conduct 1.19, which provides that lawyers shall comply with certain lobbying regulations, and this bill will require registration of lobbyists and principals and only require expense reporting by principals, thus getting the desired financial disclosure from the parties not protected by the attorney-client privilege. Also my legislation takes into account the recent creation of Philadelphia's new independent Board of Ethics, giving it a large role in administration and enforcement. This is a good bill. It should Seventy and its contribution to transparency through disclosure and, therefore, contribute to public confidence in our city government. I will introduce other bills in future sessions dealing with the Committee of Seventy's call for ethics reform legislation addressing gifts, nepotism and outside employment. Lincoln Stevens' oft quoted long ago observation that Philadelphia is content and corrupt should be no more than an unfortunate historical footnote. Thank you.
You're welcome. Are there speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate this opportunity. Since last week, Madam President, my fellow colleagues, a lot has happened on the issue of gaming and I wanted to take this opportunity to bring all of you up to date and give you my thoughts on it. On Friday, City Council provided another opportunity for our constituents, the residents of the City of Philadelphia, to voice their concerns over gaming. As a result, Council's Committee on Law and Government voted unanimously to report the gaming referendum with a favorable recommendation. Simultaneously, City Council's independent attorneys were completing our appeal to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That appeal was filed last Friday. By Monday afternoon, four additional appeals had been filed, three by constituent groups and one by the River Walk Casino operators or applicants. That was the minority group that was interested in building a casino on the former incinerator site. going well, until last Tuesday. On Tuesday, the City Solicitor filed a motion to strike the City of Philadelphia from City Council's appeal. In his opinion, City Council exceeded its authority when we adopted a resolution that -- and I quote -"authorizes City Council to retain outside counsel to commence legal proceedings on behalf of the City of Philadelphia," end quote. Maybe he's right. Maybe a unanimous vote by City Council, all of us representing our respective constituencies, maybe that's not enough to retain counsel on behalf of the City. Maybe that's strictly within the purview of the Mayor and the City Solicitor. Unfortunately, neither the Administration nor the Solicitor has decided to stand up for our constituents. Despite admitting that the state process was flawed, despite being unhappy with at least one of the sites that was selected, despite of Harrisburg trampling on the City's rights to the Home Rule, just like the state takeover of the School District, the Parking Authority and the Convention Center, despite those things, this Administration and our Law Department have chosen to passively accept the state's intrusion rather than fight. I want all of our constituents to know and I'm asking all of you to join me in saying we will not abandon you. We will continue to fight for our constituents, because it's time for someone to defend Philadelphia for Philadelphia's sake. Something else happened on Tuesday. The petitions that were gathered to be placed on the gaming referendum on the May ballot was ruled invalid. Some people would like us to use that ruling as an excuse to cover, to ignore our constituents' will. Councilman Goode, however, said it best Friday: The residents of the City of Philadelphia deserve to have their voice heard on this issue. Maybe they'll support the initiative, maybe they won't. Either way, they deserve a voice. And if our state Representatives and Senators do not agree to give them a voice, then I believe it is our job to ensure that they are heard. I find it ironic because we're going to stand up for our constituents we're going to be accused of running for the hills. Of course, we need to remember that those words are coming from the people who sent private investigators and attorneys door to door. They're the people that dragged an elderly black blind woman out in the snow for dramatic effect. They're the people that when their own petition was being challenged they had a friendly judge allow them to withdraw their witness and their evidence by making a very friendly suggestion and ruling.
record, I wanted to be heard in the law offices of Philadelphia, in the halls of the Capitol, in the woods of Connecticut and perhaps, most importantly, in the streets of Chicago. Chicago is the home base of one of the operators for one of the sites selected. It's those tactics that guarantee that I am going to fight until the end. And I'll be asking all of you to join me in voting in favor of the referendum next week. It is time for someone to stand up. We are the last defense for the citizens of this city. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. Are there any other speeches on the part of the majority? (No response.)
Yes. I Ms. Neil and students from the School of the Future. They're here today.
If they would stand, we would certainly be very happy to recognize them. Are you up in the balcony? Welcome. (Applause.)
Welcome. Are there any other speeches on the part of the majority? (No response.)
Seeing no one, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco for a motion to adjourn.
Madam President, I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 15th at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 15th at 10:00 a.m. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. (Stated Meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m.) CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on March 8, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)