Your Chamber advocacy team is working to share legislative updates and continue to advocate for your business in Washington, D.C., Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. We’ve created a round-up of recent activity including Key Takeaways for Your Business and a Detailed Legislative Update. This represents our best knowledge of the situation as of 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2021.

Chamber members are invited to join weekly legislative update calls hosted by our Advocacy team to hear the latest on COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts at the federal, state, and local level as well as other legislative matters concerning our community.

To learn more about how our region is preparing for recovery, visit our Recharge & Recover PHL Information Hub:

Visit the Recharge & Recover PHL Information Hub

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Local

  • The City announced it is facing a $450 million deficit in next year’s budget due to the pandemic, in addition to the $750 million deficit to close last year. The City offered potential plans to tackle that deficit, including raising taxes and fees, among other components. No plans included job and business growth.
  • With the wage tax being the City’s single biggest contributor of revenue, the Chamber urges the City to get businesses back open and support the creation of new businesses and jobs to increase revenues and avoid painful service cuts and counterproductive tax hikes.
  • The Mayor is scheduled to present his budget to City Council on April 15.
  • The Chamber urges our members to contact City Council to ask that they focus on restarting our economy first and foremost when considering how best to close the City’s budget gap. Generating additional tax revenue through economic activity is the best way to fund critical government spending.
  • Yesterday, Council introduced a bill that would permit restaurants to allow outdoor entertainment, a bill allowing for alternatives to upfront security deposits, and a resolution calling on Mayor Kenny to launch Operation Philly Special, a mass vaccination campaign utilizing large outdoor spaces such as stadiums and outdoor venues.
  • The Committee on Public Health and Human Services and the Committee on Appropriations will each hold hearings in the coming week. Read the full report for more details.
  • Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Philadelphia have exceeded 111,500 with over 3,000 deaths.
  • The Department of Public Health will provide weekly updates about COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Philadelphia, highlighting the number of vaccines Philadelphia is receiving each week, racial and gender breakdowns of vaccine recipients, and more.
  • The Chamber will host virtual events with Anne Fadullon, Deputy Mayor, Department of Planning & Development (Feb. 22) and Managing Director Tumar Alexander (Mar. 1). Read the full weekly update below to learn more.

State

  • Budget hearings have begun in the Pennsylvania House to discuss Gov. Tom Wolf’s $37.8 billion budget proposal. This year’s general fund budget is $33.1 billion; Gov. Wolf proposes an increase of $3.78 billion, or 11.1% over the prior year.
  • Governor Wolf’s proposal contains a sizeable increase in the state’s personal income tax (PIT), the first increase since 2003. It would raise more than $3 billion annually. $1.3 billion would go to basic education funding and be used to address the multi-billion-dollar deficit in the state budget.
  • Much of the budget hearings’ discussions centered around the increase in PIT and Gov. Wolf’s proposal to exempt some Pennsylvanians from paying all or some of their income taxes with an alteration to the tax forgiveness credit law. Pennsylvania is legally prevented from enacting tax rates that put higher burdens on higher earners unless it changes the state constitution.
  • Pennsylvania’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission has requested Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board delay Pennsylvania’s entry into the Northeastern Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The new scheduled entry into the RGGI would be Jan. 1, 2023.
  • Pennsylvania Senator John Blake is resigning to join U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright’s office to work on economic development initiatives.
  • The Chamber will host a virtual event with PA Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (Mar. 11). Read the full weekly update below to learn more and register.

Federal

  • The House Budget Committee will assemble the provisions to a $1.9 trillion relief proposal next week. A vote on the House floor could happen as soon as next Friday, sending the relief package to the Senate for consideration.
  • President Biden and Congressional Democrats have said that they want to pass a relief package before current relief measures begin to expire as early as Mar. 14.
  • Congressional Democrats may take advantage of a second budget reconciliation package focused on infrastructure spending which could quickly follow the passage of a relief package. The Biden Administration is expected to emphasis support for sustainable infrastructure and climate change priorities through investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and renewable technologies.
  • House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs are expected in the coming weeks to announce plans to reintroduce member-directed spending, otherwise known as earmarks, to the annual appropriations process.

DETAILED LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Local: Updates from Philadelphia’s City Hall

Partnership to Build an Inclusive Recovery – Update

This week, the City of Philadelphia announced it is facing a $450 million deficit in next year’s budget due to the COVID pandemic. That’s on top of the $750 million deficit the city had to close last year.

That’s a big hole to fill, and the city has said “everything” is on the table — “including shifting costs to grants and philanthropy, raising taxes and fees, freezing hiring, consolidating city services or even ‘kicking the can’ through refinancing debt and deferring costs” according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Something missing from that list?  Job and business growth.  And that should be first.

The single biggest component of the City’s revenue is the wage tax.  The pandemic has forced many businesses to close — including many permanently — and kept suburban workers at home.  The city needs to get those businesses back open and workers returning to the city as well as new businesses and jobs to be created to replace those that have been lost — and do it quickly.  That is the only way to increase revenues so that painful service cuts and counterproductive tax hikes can be avoided.

The questions every leader should be asking are:

  • How can we get back growing quickly?
  • What will it take for businesses in every neighborhood to open — generating sales and wage taxes?
  • How do we get workers back downtown — paying taxes and spending money at stores and restaurants?
  • What will lure tourists and conventions back to Philadelphia — generating taxes from their stays in hotel rooms?

The worst outcome — for the city, its residents and workers — would be for there to be cuts to critical services or counterproductive tax hikes that limit our collective future.

That’s why, last month, the Chamber of Commerce announced it was seeking to create a new partnership between government, business and the community as the Philadelphia region re-opens following the COVID-19 crisis.  Today’s announcement makes the need for that new partnership clearer.  Not only do business leaders know what it will take to create jobs and support new firms, but the Chamber and its members can be a resource for government as it considers policy decisions, including government spending and operations, to ensure that critical post-COVID services are being provided.

The Mayor is scheduled to present his budget to City Council on April 15th.  Until then, we will keep asking these questions of city leaders.

Call to Action for Council Connectors

We urge you to contact the Members of City Council you know well and ask that as they consider how best to close the City’s budget gap, they focus on restarting our economy first. Generating additional tax revenue through economic activity – not raising taxes, which would impose new burdens on too many already struggling businesses, but restarting economic activity – is the best way to fund critical government spending. From smart ideas like Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson’s bill that would permit restaurants to allow outdoor entertainment at sidewalk cafes in designated lots to “buying local” programs to support small and neighborhood businesses to getting workers back working in the city, there are many ways to generate needed tax revenue – and that’s the best way to close the city’s deficit.

Become a Council Connector

Council Connectors help advance our inclusive growth agenda through informal engagement with members of City Council. Such interaction would include meetings, phone calls or emails to members of Council to discuss our share priorities. These direct relationships with members of Council and other decision makers are critical to making progress on Philadelphia’s biggest challenges. To sign up to become a Council Connector please email Darrell Davis at ddavis@chamberphl.com.

Updates from City Council

Bill Introductions

  • Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson introduced a bill that would permit restaurants to allow outdoor entertainment at sidewalk cafes in designated lots.
  • Councilmember Derek Green introduced a bill allowing for alternatives to upfront security deposits.
  • Councilmember Allan Domb introduced resolution calling on Mayor Kenney to launch Operation Philly Special, a mass vaccination campaign utilizing large outdoor spaces such as stadiums and outdoor venues.

Upcoming City Council Hearings

  • Committee on Public Health and Human Services
    Friday, February 19, 2021 at 2:30 p.m.
    • Bill 210082 – Amending Title 17 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Contracts and Procurement,” by amending Chapter 17-1400, entitled “Non-Competitively Bid Contracts; Financial Assistance,” to provide procedures applicable to the awarding of contracts to non-City providers of vaccine doses for COVID-19 and related variants, all under certain terms and conditions.
  • Committee on Appropriations
    Monday, February 22, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
    • Bill 210120 – An Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021 from the General Fund, the Council to the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards, and commissions, and thereby implementing Council’s “New Normal Jobs Initiative.”

View the status of pending bills and resolutions »

View upcoming confirmed City Council meeting dates and agendas »

COVID-19 Case Data

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Philadelphia has reached 111,593. The number of residents who have succumbed to the virus in Philadelphia has reached 3,041. Of the total deaths, 1,133 (37%) were long-term care facility residents.

Weekly Vaccine Distribution Updates

The Department of Public Health will provide weekly updates about COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Philadelphia. The updates will include highlights of new information for the week, the number of vaccines Philadelphia is receiving each week, running numbers of doses administered, racial and gender breakdowns of vaccine recipients, and a list and map of all sites administering vaccines. Additional categories of information may be added in the future.

Upcoming Local Advocacy Programs

Questions? Contact William Carter (wcarter@chamberphl.com) for more information about local legislative affairs.

State: Updates from Harrisburg

Pennsylvania Budget Hearings Begin in the House

The state House Appropriations Committee held the first of several hearings to discuss Governor Tom Wolf’s budget proposal. The $37.8 billion proposal contains a sizeable increase in the state’s personal income tax (PIT) and a substantial increase in education spending. This year’s general fund budget is $33.1 billion. The Governor’s proposal is an increase of $3.78 billion, or 11.1% over the prior year.

The Governor is proposing to raise the PIT from 3.07% to 4.49% starting Jul. 1, the first increase since 2003. The increase would raise more than $3 billion annually, a 20 percent increase when compared to 2019 tax data. $1.3 billion raised from a higher income tax would go to basic education funding. The new revenue will also be used to address the multi-billion-dollar deficit in the state budget. The Wolf administration said the state’s deficit is around $3.5 billion, while the state Independent Fiscal Office, which testified before the committee on Tuesday, said it is closer to $2.5 billion.

During the hearings, much of the discussion centered around the Governor’s proposal to raise the state’s PIT and exempt some Pennsylvanians from paying all or some of their income taxes with the tax forgiveness credit law altered to gradually phase out the credit depending on how much a person’s or couple’s income exceeds the threshold for 100 percent tax forgiveness. Some states have a progressive tax rate that puts higher burdens on higher earners, but Pennsylvania is legally prevented from enacting such a rate, unless it changes the state constitution.

Expressing opposition to the Governor’s tax proposals, House Appropriations Committee Chair Stan Saylor (R-York) said “Many of the women and men who started those small businesses are now filing for bankruptcy, and we’re proposing a tax increase on them.”

IRRC Calls for Delay in RGGI Implementation

Pennsylvania’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) has requested Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board delay Pennsylvania’s entry into the Northeastern Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The new scheduled entry into the RGGI would be Jan. 1, 2023.

Scranton Democratic State Senator John Blake to Resign

Pennsylvania Senator John Blake is resigning to join U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright’s office to work on economic development initiatives.

PA Senate Majority Leader to Meet with Chamber

Join the Chamber on March 11th for an informal discussion with the new Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward. Leader Ward will discuss the state’s ongoing budget negotiations, the legislative agenda for the spring, and efforts to address the ongoing pandemic.

Upcoming State Advocacy Program

Questions? Contact Liz Ferry (lferry@chamberphl.com) for more information about state legislative affairs.

Federal: Updates from Washington D.C.

House Budget Proposal to be Sent to the House Floor

The House Budget Committee is expected to assemble and markup the provisions that were drafted and passed out of nine separate committees beginning next week. Shortly following markups, the $1.9 trillion proposal will be sent to the House floor for a vote as soon as that Friday. The proposal is expected to pass mostly along party lines, which would send the relief package to the Senate for consideration.  In the Senate, Democrats need only a simple majority to win passage of the bill through the reconciliation process.  President Biden and Congressional Democrats have said that they want to pass a relief package before current relief measures begin to expire as early as March 14.

Second Budget Reconciliation Package Focused on Infrastructure Spending

Congressional Democrats may take advantage of a second budget reconciliation package focused on infrastructure spending which could quickly follow the passage of a relief package. President Biden and Vice President Harris met with a bipartisan group of Senators from the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week to discuss the need for investing in modernized infrastructure. On Wednesday, President Biden met with labor union leaders to discuss infrastructure investments.  The Biden Administration is expected to emphasis support for sustainable infrastructure and climate change priorities through investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and renewable technologies.

House and Senate to Announce Plans to Reintroduce Earmarks

House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs are expected in the coming weeks to announce plans to reintroduce member-directed spending, otherwise known as earmarks, to the annual appropriations process.  With extremely tight margins in both House and Senate, earmarks offer Democrats the ability to reach consensus on contentious votes by boosting favorability for legislation among members of Congress through local spending designations.  Democrats are expected to pledge to a transparent process that will earmarks to state and local governments and nonprofits.  The prospect of an infrastructure spending bill is also thought to be primed for earmarks.

Questions? Contact Anselm Sauter (asauter@chamberphl.com) for more information about federal legislative affairs.

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU, YOUR TEAM, AND YOUR BUSINESS

The constantly changing nature of this public health crisis requires continued engagement with public policy developments. We invite you to reach out to our advocacy team directly with your questions: 

Chamber members are invited to join weekly legislative update calls hosted by our Advocacy team to hear the latest on COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts at the federal, state, and local level as well as other legislative matters concerning our community.

To learn more about how our region is preparing for recovery, visit our Recharge & Recover PHL Information Hub:

Visit the Recharge & Recover PHL Information Hub