Legislative Updates: A Roundup of State and Local Actions – December 5

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, December 5, 2025.

• Councilmember Thomas’ Security Officer Training Ordinance (Bill #250646) continues to move through Council. This bill establishes citywide minimum training requirements for private security officers and creates an enforcement structure intended to standardize training across sectors employing security personnel. The Chamber has advocated to narrow the scope of the bill and reduce unnecessary costs for employers, which directly informed several of the amendments introduced during the Thursday, December 4, 2025, Stated Meeting. While not all our amendments were adopted, the amended ordinance represents a significant improvement with more targeted, practical, and less burdensome requirements. With these revisions now incorporated, the bill is expected to be called for final passage at the Stated Meeting on Thursday, December 11, 2025.  
• Councilmember Landau introduced Bill #251022 to revise standards and requirements associated with Sidewalk Cafes. This legislation updates the city’s sidewalk café framework by expanding the corridors and BIDs where cafés may operate, modernizing pedestrian-clearance standards, clarifying operator responsibilities, and allowing use of adjacent frontage. The bill was voted out of Committee on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. The Chamber is supportive of this legislation and its efforts to create a more consistent, accessible, and business-friendly outdoor dining environment. 
• Councilmember Driscoll introduced a bill creating a BIRT exemption for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs, signaling renewed interest in small-business tax relief. The proposal raises potential uniformity concerns and could carry meaningful fiscal implications that will require further legal and revenue analysis. 
• City Council advanced the PhillySaves Auto-IRA package with several employer-facing amendments, reflecting feedback on compliance, notice requirements, and program administration. 
• The H.O.M.E. Initiative moved out of committee with amendments following extensive Council oversight, as members continue to scrutinize income targeting, affordability commitments, and the deployment of the Administration’s $800M housing investment plan. 

• The passage of the state’s budget has created a quieter legislative atmosphere that will likely persist through year’s end. House and Senate will each convene for just two voting sessions before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.  
• The Independent Fiscal Office’s released its Fiscal Outlook that showed General Fund and Rain Day Fund structural deficits over the next five fiscal years. The IFO projects Pennsylvania will exhaust its $7.5 billion Rainy Day Fund by 2027-28. 
• The governor directed almost $220 million in statewide transit capital improvement funding to SEPTA to help reach compliance with federal requirements, including the Silverliner IV railcars. 

Security Training 

Councilmember Thomas’ Security Officer Training Ordinance (Bill #250646) continues to move through City Council. This bill establishes citywide minimum training requirements for private security officers and creates an enforcement structure intended to standardize training across sectors employing security personnel. During the Stated Meeting on Thursday, December 4, 2025, a set of substantive amendments were introduced with significant changes that narrow the scope of the legislation, adjust employer obligations, and introduce new procedural protections for security employees. Key amendments include: 

• Training Requirements & Employer Flexibility: The amended ordinance establishes new baseline training standards for security officers while preserving employer flexibility in how training is delivered. Newly hired officers must complete a minimum of 12 training hours, and all officers will be subject to ongoing annual training of eight hours. Employers will not retain the ability to conduct their own training programs that meet the bills training requirements, and previously trained officers will not be required to redo initial coursework if they’ve completed at least 12 hours of training before the bill is enforceable. 

• Scope, Definitions & Exemptions: The amendments refine the applicability of the ordinance to ensure it only covers personnel performing true security functions and to avoid unintended impacts on other industries by exempting employers. The bill also now applies uniformly to all employers, regardless of size. 

• Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Exemption: If a security employer has a collective bargaining agreement that provides comparable rights and remedies through a grievance and binding arbitration process, the dispute-resolution requirements in the ordinance do not apply. This exemption applies only when a duly authorized bargaining representative has negotiated such provisions. 

• Dispute Resolution Requirements: For employers that operate their own Designated Security Training Program, the ordinance now requires a comprehensive dispute-resolution process to ensure employees can raise concerns about noncompliance with training standards. Employees may initiate this process when they reasonably and in good faith believe their employer is not meeting the ordinance’s requirements. The dispute-resolution procedure must involve the employee, the employer, and an independent third party, and it must provide access to all remedies otherwise available under the ordinance. It must also be offered at no cost to the employee. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against any worker who invokes these rights and are required to notify employees of the dispute-resolution process and how to access it, either through physical postings at worksites or electronic communication. Finally, the process must include the opportunity for a binding appeal to a neutral third-party decision-maker. 

• Effective Date Changed to March 1, 2026, extending the compliance timeline for employers and training providers. 

The Chamber continued to advocate for amendments to narrow the scope of the bill and reduce unnecessary costs for employers, which directly informed several of the amendments introduced during the Thursday, December 4, 2025, Stated Meeting. While not all our amendments were adopted, the amended ordinance represents a significant improvement over earlier versions with more targeted, practical, and far less burdensome for employers to implement. With these revisions now incorporated, the bill is expected to be called for final passage at the Stated Meeting on Thursday, December 11, 2025. 

PhillySaves Auto-IRA Program 

City Council continues to advance the Philadelphia Auto-IRA Program (“Philly Saves”), a municipally administered retirement savings program intended to expand access to retirement accounts for private-sector workers without employer-sponsored plans. The program would automatically enroll eligible employees at a 3–6% default contribution rate, subject to full opt-out, and require only payroll-deduction facilitation by employers. IRAs would be portable and overseen by the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board. 

Per the legislation, the Retirement Savings Board must be authorized via Charter change and voter approval, expected as a ballot question during the Tuesday, May 19, 2026 primary election. Once seated, the Board will oversee vendor procurement, investment structure, compliance design, and the phased implementation strategy. The program must be operational by Thursday, July 1, 2027, barring delays resulting from potential statewide action or legal constraints.  

During the Committee on Law and Government hearing on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, the Committee adopted a comprehensive package of amendments refining the Board’s composition, governance, and implementation authority. Importantly, several of these amendments were drafted directly in response to feedback gathered during the Chamber’s November briefing with Pew and the Council President’s Office, including the need for clearer fiduciary standards, stronger representation of investment expertise on the Board, and increased flexibility during early implementation. Key updates include: 

• Board Composition & Expertise: The Board is expanded to include members with investment and financial management experience. Term limits were removed and members may now be removed for just cause, ensuring stability and continuity in a technically complex program.  

• Clarified Appointment Structure: The amendments now specify the categories of Board appointees, ensuring balanced representation (e.g., employer, employee, and subject-matter experts) and clarifying appointment roles for the mayor and Council President.  

• Civil-Service Exempt Staffing: Employees of the Board will be civil-service exempt, allowing the Board to hire specialized staff quickly and adjust as program needs evolve.  

• Phased Implementation: New authority enables the Board to stage the rollout based on employer size, payroll system type, or other criteria—an accommodation recommended in stakeholder feedback to reduce administrative burden on very small businesses.  

• Covered Employer Definition Retained: Council preserved the definition of “covered employer” as any employer with one or more employees, reflecting Commerce Department data demonstrating that raising the threshold would exclude most Philadelphia small businesses, who represent over 70% of firms citywide.  

• Strengthened Fiduciary Responsibilities: Additional language now requires both the Board and investment managers to act with explicit fiduciary responsibility, ensuring decisions prioritize employee participants.  

• Clarified Civil Penalties & Initial Funding: Penalty provisions were made more general, granting the Board discretion in their use, and the legislation now clarifies that the City’s General Fund will support the program until it becomes self-sustaining.  

During the Stated Meeting on Thursday, December 4, 2025, the Auto-IRA bill package was called for first reading, and it’s expected the legislation will be called for final passage at next week’s session, keeping the program’s timeline on track ahead of the May 2026 ballot requirement. 

The Chamber is supportive of the Auto-IRA legislation, given its alignment with our commitment to advancing economic mobility and expanding long-term financial security for workers across the region. As the legislative process continues, we will emphasize the importance of clear employer obligations, a phased and non-burdensome implementation strategy – particularly for small businesses – and strong fiduciary safeguards to protect participating employees and ensure a well-governed, sustainable program. 

You can review our previous full legislative report with detailed background and Pew’s research here. 

H.O.M.E. Initiative Year One Budget Hearing 

On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, the Committee of the Whole reconvened for an extensive public hearing on the first-year budget for the Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME) Initiative, drawing participation from residents, labor leaders, housing experts, nonprofit developers, tenant advocates, and senior-serving organizations. 

Council President Kenyatta Johnson opened the proceedings by emphasizing the hearing’s importance to the city’s long-term housing stability. Councilmembers Rue Landau and Jamie Gauthier, who chair and vice-chair the city’s housing committee, were active in questioning panelists and thanking residents for candid testimony, noting repeatedly that the experiences shared reflected structural challenges Council has a responsibility to address. 

Many speakers offered strong support for the HOME initiative’s overall goals while urging Council to anchor its implementation around low-income Philadelphians. Representatives from labor and the building trades highlighted the initiative’s potential to preserve thousands of aging homes and create pathways to homeownership. Leaders from the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund, PHDC, and several CDCs detailed how targeted investments in gap financing, affordable housing production, and repair programs could create or preserve hundreds of units while leveraging substantial private capital. Housing counseling organizations testified that the HOME initiative – if implemented alongside expanded counseling and eviction- and foreclosure-prevention services – could create stability for homeowners and renters. 

Yet, much of the hearing focused on concerns that without clear statutory language, the HOME plan risked underserving the poorest residents, despite their overwhelming representation in eviction data, housing code complaints, and homelessness risk. Dozens of tenants, seniors, and community members offered highly emotional testimony describing persistent mold, sewage backups, inconsistent heat, predatory rents, and the fear of displacement. 

Many urged Council to guarantee that HOME funds flow first to households under 30% of AMI. Several speakers warned that broad eligibility ranges, such as proposals that allowed certain programs to serve households earning up to full AMI, could unintentionally dilute resources away from those with the most urgent needs. Legal service providers underscored this point with data showing that the vast majority of tenants and homeowners they assist fall below 50% of AMI, and many below 30%. 

Councilmembers frequently responded with clarifying questions and statements of gratitude, signaling that the themes emerging from testimony were directly informing budget discussions. Councilmember Gauthier repeatedly noted that hearing after hearing, residents were describing the same patterns like unsafe rentals, long repair delays, displacement pressures and emphasized that Council had a responsibility to build those realities into the HOME budget structure. Councilmember Landau echoed these concerns. Other councilmembers, including Councilmembers Young, Phillips, and Lozada, thanked speakers for raising issues related to displacement, gentrification, and long-term affordability. 

The tone of the hearing shifted at moments when residents expressed frustration with development patterns or the perception that programs do not reach them quickly enough. Council President Johnson closed the hearing by acknowledging that the decision-making ahead would require weighing competing priorities but reiterated that Council would not advance a spending plan that lacked clear protections for the residents most at risk of losing their homes. 

Following the hearing, Council voted to amend the first-year HOME budget by substantially increasing funding for low-income preservation, affordable housing production, and tenant-focused programs, changes that closely aligned with themes raised during public testimony. The amendment also tightened income eligibility for certain programs, including requiring that 90% of new BSRP funding serve households at or below 60% AMI.   

While the administration raised concerns that the revised budget may require additional procedural steps before the first $400 million tranche of HOME bonds can be issued, Council leadership emphasized that legislative adjustments would be introduced promptly to resolve outstanding legal issues. They reiterated that oversight, clarity, and equity must underpin any investment of this scale. The combined weight of testimony and policymaker commentary at the hearing made clear that the direction of the HOME initiative, in both implementation and outcomes, will continue to be shaped by residents lived experiences. 

A full breakdown of the above allocations is available in our previous legislative report here.  

City Council Stated Meeting 

There were many bills and resolutions introduced and passed during City Council Stated Meetings on Thursday, December 4, 2025. For an update on prior activity, you can read our Friday, November 17, 2025, Legislative Update here. You can watch Philadelphia City Council public hearings and Stated Meetings here or access City Council’s Legislative Information Center here. Council’s next Stated Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2025.  

• Bill #251022 (Landau): Amends Section 9-208 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Sidewalk Cafes,” to revise standards and requirements associated with Sidewalk Cafes. (INTRODUCED 11/20 & VOTED OUT OF COMMITTEE 12/2) 
• This legislation updates the city’s sidewalk café framework by expanding the corridors and BIDs where cafés may operate, modernizing pedestrian-clearance standards to ensure accessibility, clarifying operator responsibilities for maintaining unobstructed pathways, and allowing use of adjacent frontage with proper permission. The Chamber is supportive of this legislation and its efforts to create a more consistent, accessible, and business-friendly outdoor dining environment. 
• Bill #251026 (Driscoll): Amending Chapter 19-2600 of The Philadelphia Code (“Business Income and Receipts Taxes”) to exempt sole proprietorships and single-member limited liability companies from some or all of the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT) for tax year 2026 and thereafter. (STATUS: INTRODUCED 11/20)
• Bill #251070 (Young): Amends Section 12-926 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Center City Parking Regulations,” to confirm regulations adopted by the Department of Streets that establish and revise loading zone regulations in additional portions of the Center City area. (STATUS: INTRODUCED 12/4)
• Bill #251065: An ordinance amending Bill #250568 (approved June 13, 2025), entitled “An Ordinance Authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of a Service Agreement between The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority relating to the financing of a Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) Plan. (STATUS: INTRODUCED 12/4)
• Bill #250888 (Thomas): Amends Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code to create a new chapter regulating third-party restaurant reservation services by prohibiting unauthorized listings or reservation activity and establishing definitions, prohibited acts, penalties, and enforcement authority. (Status: AMENDED ON THE FLOOR 11/20). 
• Bill #250849 (Ahmad): Amends Chapter 9-1100 (“Fair Practices Ordinance”) to explicitly include protections related to menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause. The legislation would require updates to employment policies, accommodations, and related HR practices to ensure compliance. (Status: SIGNED BY MAYOR 12/4) 

 Upcoming City Council Committee Hearings 

This calendar does not capture every hearing before City Council, it highlights those most relevant to the business community and the Chamber’s advocacy priorities. You can access City Council’s Calendar here. 

On Monday, December 8, 2025, at 2:00 pm the Committee on Public Health and Human Services will hold a hearing on Bill #250990, which adds protections against employment discrimination on the basis of human trafficking victim status. 

On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 10:00 am the Committee on Public Safety will hold a hearing, authorized by Resolution #250927, to examine the City of Philadelphia’s strategies, laws, and policies for protecting victims of abuse and domestic violence within the justice system, including the Courts, the Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Philadelphia Police Department. 

On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 10:00 am the Committee on Fiscal Stability and Intergovernmental Cooperation will hold a hearing, authorized by Resolution #240886, to discuss the fiscal position and overarching social impact goals of the city, including and as related to the Five-Year Plan and the reporting requirements set forth in the Quarterly City Manager’s Report and as submitted to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority. 

Quiet Ensues After Budget Agreement 

The passage of the state's $50.1 billion budget for FY2025-26 has eased tensions at the Capitol, creating a quieter legislative atmosphere that will likely persist through year's end. No shared sessions are scheduled for the remainder of the calendar year, and each chamber will convene for just two voting sessions before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.  

The House session will feature retirement speeches from four departing members – two Democrats and two Republicans – who are expected to resign between now and January to assume positions they won in November. The Democratic House majority will need to defend its one-seat advantage in the special elections yet to be scheduled sometime in the late winter or early spring.  

Budget Forecasts 

Shortly after passage of the state budget, the Independent Fiscal Office's released its Fiscal Outlook that showed General Fund and Rain Day Fund structural deficits over the next five fiscal years. IFO estimates that the state will face a projected $5.84 billion deficit in next year's budget (2026-27) as modest revenue growth falls behind forecasted spending. The IFO projects Pennsylvania will exhaust its $7.5 billion Rainy Day Fund by 2027-28. 

The state budget agreement excluded several revenue-generating proposals debated through the budget season, including legalization of recreational marijuana, implementation of combined reporting, and taxation and regulation of the skills game industry. The budget preserves the scheduled phasedown of the Corporate Net Income Tax (CNIT) and protects the planned increases to Net Operating Loss deduction carryforward limits. 

Governor Sends Capital Funding to SEPTA 

The governor directed almost $220 million in statewide transit capital improvement funding to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to help reach compliance with federal requirements, including the Silverliner IV railcars. The available funding was framed as a stopgap measure in the absence of predictable and adequate funding to balance SEPTA's capital and operating needs. The one-time infusion addresses SEPTA's immediate safety/repair mandates and service reliability needs. 

SEPTA has now completed all Silverliner safety inspections as required by the federal government. Regional Rail vehicle availability and associated service disruptions are therefore expected to improve through the end of the year as the inspected vehicles are repaired and returned to service. Go to septa.org/safety/fra-emergency-order/ for more information. 

Meanwhile, contract negotiations between SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union remain ongoing after their previous agreement expired on Friday, November 7, 2025. While union members have voted to authorize a strike, workers have continued operating without interruption, and no strike deadline has been established. A work stoppage would interrupt service on City Transit Division buses and trolleys, as well as the Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines. However, commuters using Regional Rail and suburban transit services would not be affected, as those operations would continue normally during any potential work stoppage. Go to septa.org/strike/ for more information. 

Forge new relationships, strengthen existing ties, and engage with Philadelphia’s City Council president and members of City Council at our City Council Reception on January 22, 2026. Register now.

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Market your business: Sponsor one of the Chamber’s advocacy events. Gain exposure and build promising relationships with top-level business professionals, civic leaders, and elected officials. Learn more about our upcoming local, state, and federal advocacy sponsorship opportunities here or contact Laura Williams, Manager, Member and Investor Relations, at lwilliams@chamberphl.com to learn more.

ChamberPHL Political Action Committee
Help us advance the business community’s agenda by contributing to support state and local candidates in key elections who share our commitment to a healthier business climate.

We invite you to reach out to our advocacy team directly with your questions:

• Shannon Williams, Senior Vice President, Advocacy – swilliams@chamberphl.com
• Renee Androckitis, Federal and State Affairs – randrockitis@chamberphl.com
• Anselm Sauter, State Affairs – asauter@chamberphl.com
• Ashley Miscevich, Local Affairs – amiscevich@chamberphl.com

Chamber members are invited to join weekly legislative update calls hosted by our advocacy team to hear the latest legislative matters concerning our community.