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, April 8, 2022.

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

Inclusive Growth Coalition – Update

Over six months ago, Mayor Kenney and City Council jointly announced a Tax Reform Working Group. The group was charged with “examin[ing] and propos[ing] changes to the city’s tax code to support an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for every Philadelphia resident and business in the city.” That action plan would “inform and influence the creation of the FY2023 Budget and Five-Year Plan.”

The Tax Reform Working Group has not completed its work or issued any plan or proposal. Consequently, the mayor’s budget did not include any recommendations designed to fix our city’s broken tax system and foster inclusive job growth in every neighborhood.

The mayor indicated that his administration is awaiting the results of property tax assessments, which have been on hold for the past two years, to consider any increase in revenue from those assessments in budget deliberations.

The Chamber and IGC maintain that the best way to reduce our city’s high poverty rate is by increasing the number of Philadelphians working at good-paying jobs. A productive, robust and inclusive economy is what the city, its workforce, and its residents need. We continue to work hard and hope that this year’s budget makes great strides toward achieving this desired set of outcomes.

The Chamber and the city’s Diverse Chambers of Commerce recently published an Op-Ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer advocating for business growth investment during this year’s budget planning process. 

Visit InclusiveGrowthPHL.org for more information.

  • Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson was granted leave from City Council on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in the wake of a federal corruption trial that began on Thursday, March 24, 2022, and is expected to last 3 – 4 weeks.
  • Councilmember Allan Domb introduced a resolution calling on Mayor Kenney, Governor Wolf, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to declare a State of Emergency and use all available powers to implement a multi-jurisdictional response to the humanitarian emergency in the Kensington neighborhood.
  • Councilmember Jamie Gauthier introduced a bill to add evaluation criteria for non-competitive land dispositions.

Upcoming City Council Hearings

  • On Friday, April 8, 2022, the City Council Committee on Streets and Services will hold a hearing on several parking, encroachment, and “streetery” bills.
  • On Monday, April 11, 2022, the City Council Committee on Commerce and Economic Development will hold a hearing to better understand the local purchasing goal set by the Kenney Administration in response to Councilmember Thomas’ “Keep It Local” bill.
  • City Council budget hearings will resume on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Odds and Ends

  • On Friday, April 1, 2022, the School District of Philadelphia announced Dr. Tony Watlington as the new superintendent. Watlington will take the helm on July 1, 2022.
  • Philadelphia’s indoor mask mandate is likely to return next week due to rising COVID-19 cases.
  • Amid staff shortages and difficulty recruiting police officers, the City of Philadelphia has lifted a rule that requires police recruits to live in the city for a year before applying, ending a practice that has been in place since 2020.

The Chamber will host an in-person City Council Reception on April 28. Read the full weekly update to learn more and register.

State

Carbon Pricing Plan Blocked

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court blocked the Wolf Administration’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) plan. The plan requires Pennsylvania to adopt a carbon pricing policy. The court said it will not allow the official publication of the regulation “pending further order of the court.” Specifically, the regulation would require fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit starting July 1, 2022.

State Senate Advances Constitutional Amendments

This week, along party lines, the PA Senate State Government Committee passed two proposed state constitutional amendments addressing congressional redistricting and emergency declarations.

Special Election

Pennsylvanians in Allegheny and Luzerne counties voted Tuesday in races for the state House. In the Pittsburgh area, two former legislators, Ed Gainey and Jake Wheatley, vacated seats after Gainey won the Pittsburgh mayoralty and Wheatley joined his Administration. In addition, Tarah Toohil left her seat to join the Court of Common Pleas.

The Chamber will host a virtual State Advocacy Update with Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr. Thursday, April 14 and an in-person Pennsylvania Legislative Reception on May 24. Read the full weekly update to learn more and register.

Federal

COVID-19 Relief Package

Bipartisan negotiations on a $10 billion coronavirus countermeasure funding bill collapsed this week due in part to the Biden Administration’s announcement last week that it would end a Trump Administration Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) policy. The policy, called Title 42, relaxes laws that require the government to interview asylum-seekers during the pandemic.

Odds and Ends

  • The nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court was confirmed in the Senate this week by a margin of 53-47. Justice Jackson becomes the first Black woman to ascend to the nation’s highest court.
  • The White House extended the student loan moratorium until the end of August, which was enacted during the height of the pandemic.
  • This week, the House passed legislation authorizing $55 billion in aid to restaurants and other small businesses that continue to struggle through the pandemic.

DETAILED LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Local: Updates from Philadelphia’s City Hall

Inclusive Growth Coalition – Update

Over six months ago, Mayor Kenney and City Council jointly announced a Tax Reform Working Group. The group was charged with “examin[ing] and propos[ing] changes to the city’s tax code to support an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for every Philadelphia resident and business in the city.” That action plan would “inform and influence the creation of the FY2023 Budget and Five-Year Plan.”

The Tax Reform Working Group has not completed its work or issued any plan or proposal. Consequently, the mayor’s budget did not include any recommendations designed to fix our city’s broken tax system and foster inclusive job growth in every neighborhood.

The mayor indicated that his administration is awaiting the results of property tax assessments, which have been on hold for the past two years, to consider any increase in revenue from those assessments in budget deliberations.

The Chamber and IGC maintain that the best way to reduce our city’s high poverty rate is by increasing the number of Philadelphians working at good-paying jobs. A productive, robust and inclusive economy is what the city, its workforce, and its residents need. We continue to work hard and hope that this year’s budget makes great strides toward achieving this desired set of outcomes.

The Chamber and the city’s Diverse Chambers of Commerce recently published an Op-Ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer advocating for business growth investment during this year’s budget planning process. 

Visit InclusiveGrowthPHL.org for more information.

  • Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson was granted leave from City Council on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in the wake of a federal corruption trial that began on Thursday, March 24, 2022, and is expected to last 3 – 4 weeks.
  • Councilmember Allan Domb introduced a resolution calling on Mayor Kenney, Governor Wolf, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to declare a State of Emergency and use all available powers to implement a multi-jurisdictional response to the humanitarian emergency in the Kensington neighborhood. According to Domb, the situation in Kensington is “unbearable” and he urges the city and state to take “bold action” to respond to the crisis.
  • Councilmember Jamie Gauthier introduced a bill to add evaluation criteria for non-competitive land dispositions.

Upcoming City Council Hearings

  • On Friday, April 8, 2022, the City Council Committee on Streets and Services will hold a hearing on several parking, encroachment, and “streetery” bills.
  • On Monday, April 11, 2022, the City Council Committee on Commerce and Economic Development will hold a hearing to better understand the local purchasing goal set by the Kenney Administration in response to Councilmember Thomas’ “Keep It Local” bill, to assess the progress made toward that goal, and to offer a forum to discuss best practices in this space going forward to ensure that the City of Philadelphia always looks first to its homegrown small and medium-sized businesses when making purchasing decisions.
  • City Council budget hearings will resume on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Odds and Ends

  • On Friday, April 1, 2022, the School District of Philadelphia announced Dr. Tony Watlington as the new superintendent. According to the District’s announcement, “ Watlington is a visionary educator with 27 years of experience, who began his career as a history teacher in Guilford County, NC, in 1994. Since January 2021, he has served as superintendent of Rowan-Salisbury Schools, North Carolina’s only Renewal School District. He previously served as Chief of Schools in Guilford County Schools, the third-largest school district in North Carolina and the 47th largest among 14,000 school districts in the United States.” Dr. Watlington will take the helm on July 1, 2022.
  • Philadelphia’s indoor mask mandate is likely to return next week due to rising COVID-19 cases.
  • Amid staff shortages and difficulty recruiting police officers, the City of Philadelphia has lifted a rule that requires police recruits to live in the city for a year before applying, ending a practice that has been in place since 2020. The rule was originally instated in an effort to ensure more city residents were represented in the police force.

Upcoming Local Advocacy Programs

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

State: Updates from Harrisburg

Carbon Pricing Plan Blocked

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court blocked the Wolf Administration’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) plan. The plan requires Pennsylvania to adopt a carbon pricing policy.

The court said it will not allow the official publication of the regulation “pending further order of the court.” Specifically, the regulation would require fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit starting July 1, 2022.

Republican lawmakers said that the regulation is an illegal use of regulatory authority.

In 2019, Governor Wolf ordered his Administration to start working on a regulation to bring Pennsylvania into a multi-state consortium of Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, which sets a price and declining limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

State Senate Advances Constitutional Amendments

This week, along party lines, the PA Senate State Government Committee passed two proposed state constitutional amendments addressing congressional redistricting and emergency declarations. Senate Bill 1166 would amend the Constitution to limit the duration of any congressional redistricting plan drawn by the state Supreme Court to one two-year election cycle instead of a decade. Senate Bill 959 would amend the Constitution to stipulate that state department secretaries can’t issue emergency directives without a gubernatorial emergency declaration in effect. Both bills now go to the Senate. As constitutional amendments, the bills must be approved in two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly and by statewide voters to take effect.

Special Election

Pennsylvanians in Allegheny and Luzerne counties voted yesterday in races for the state House. In the Pittsburgh area, two former legislators, Ed Gainey and Jake Wheatley, vacated seats after Gainey won the Pittsburgh mayoralty and Wheatley joined his Administration. In addition, Tarah Toohil left her seat to join the Court of Common Pleas. These special elections will decide who finishes the current term this year under the current maps. Upcoming elections will determine who will serve the next full term in the new legislative districts from January 2023 through 2025.

Upcoming State Advocacy Program

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

Federal: Updates from Washington D.C.

COVID-19 Relief Package

Bipartisan negotiations on a $10 billion coronavirus countermeasure funding bill collapsed this week due in part to the Biden Administration’s announcement last week that it would end a Trump Administration Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) policy. The policy, called Title 42, relaxes laws that require the government to interview asylum-seekers during the pandemic. On Thursday, April 7, 2022, six Republican and five Democratic Senators, issued a proposal that would prevent the Biden Administration from following through with the order. Republicans have called for the proposal to be attached to the COVID-19 relief package. Democratic leadership would not run the bill with the amendment, and so the funding package will be revisited sometime next month following a two-week legislative recess.  Dating back to February, the Administration has been warned that the federal government will run out of funding for coronavirus countermeasures unless Congress acts quickly to replenish.

Odds and Ends

  • The nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court was confirmed in the Senate this week by a margin of 53-47. Justice Jackson becomes the first Black woman to ascend to the nation’s highest court.
  • The White House extended the student loan moratorium until the end of August, which was first enacted during the height of the pandemic. The move also allows all borrowers with paused loans to receive a “fresh start” on repayment by eliminating the impact of delinquency and default and allowing them to reenter repayment in good standing.
  • The House passed legislation this week authorizing $55 billion in aid to restaurants and other small businesses that continue to struggle through the pandemic.  The bill would provide $42 billion to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Grant Program and provide grants to eligible restaurants that had not received prior funding from the program.  However, the bill also includes progressive labor and wage reforms which will make bipartisan passage in the Senate almost impossible.
  • Congress will go into a bicameral, bipartisan conference to reconcile differences between the America COMPETES Act and U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.  Punchbowl News is reporting that there are expected to be upwards of 90 lawmakers on the formal conference committee. In total, 14 House committees have some jurisdiction over this legislation, but the majority of House conferees are expected to come from the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology; Energy & Commerce; Ways & Means; and Foreign Affairs.

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