Councilmember Quetcy Lozada introduced an amendment to the mobile service provider legislation that was originally introduced in September.
According to information provided by Lozada’s office, the legislation “defines different types of mobile services, moderates areas where the mobile service providers may operate in Kensington, and calls for permitting system providing certain medical services.”
Affected services include “non-emergency, non-pediatric, and non-veterinary medical services that diagnose or treat disease and ailments of the human body from a mobile vehicle.”
Services can be permitted at a lot located at 265 E. Lehigh Avenue and between 11 PM and 6 AM on East Allegheny Avenue between Kensington Avenue and F Street.
A point of contention among providers is a provision in the legislation that prohibits mobile services to be provided in a single location for longer than 45 minutes.
Johnson Looks to Raise Homestead Exemption
Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced legislation that will increase the Homestead Exemption from $100,000, to $110,000 in Fiscal Year 2026.
Currently, the exemption allows Philadelphia residents to deduct $100,000 from the value of their home when calculating property taxes.
Young Calls for Hearing on Track Cleaning
Councilmember Jeffrey Young introduced a resolution “authorizing the Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold hearings to investigate rail operators’ responsibilities for cleanup, maintenance, and beautification of transit entry points into Philadelphia.”
Currently, SEPTA shares some responsibility in the cleaning of railroad tracks, and in 2017, the city established an agreement with Conrail to do the same.
According the resolution, the city disposes of nearly 1.5 tons of commercial waste annually at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.
Landau Looks to Amends Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance
Councilmember Rue Landau introduced legislation that amends the city’s 2011 Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance. The updated legislation would do the following:
- Clarify that the law applies to ALL uses of criminal history, whether that information is found by the employer themselves using public records, by a third-party service, or on a PennDOT Driver Record, which are not required to comply with state law regarding expunged or sealed criminal records.
- Clarify what is required of employers who make individualized assessments of criminal records. The bill would close loopholes and ensure that employers are only rejecting applicants based on their criminal records if they can show that their specific record poses a specific risk given the duties and responsibilities of the specific job. Employers will also be required to provide individuals with a detailed written explanation of their assessment. The bill also clarifies employers’ duty to perform an individualized assessment of someone’s criminal history by providing a non-exhaustive list of evidence of rehabilitation that they must consider, if provided, when determining whether hiring or promoting someone would pose an unacceptable risk.
- Change how employers can consider different types of convictions to align with research on recidivism risk and with state law. The bill would reduce how long employers can consider old misdemeanor convictions from 7 years to 3 years after arrest or release from incarceration, whichever is later. Research indicates that this change will increase opportunities for people with misdemeanor convictions without increasing risk to business or public safety. The bill would also clarify the law to align with 18 Pa. C.S. § 9125, which does not allow for the consideration of summary offense convictions in employment.
- Improve notice requirements for job applicants that an employer is considering rejecting because of their criminal history to ensure that they can effectively assert their rights by extending the time that they have to respond and requiring that employers inform them of their fair chance hiring rights, affirm that they will consider evidence of rehabilitation, and provide directions on how to submit evidence or explanation directly to the employer.
- Provide more options for people to assert their rights by allowing people injured by violations of the fair chance hiring law to go directly to court, instead of waiting for their case to be considered by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR), where cases can take years to resolve, first. The bill also allows PCHR to provide liquidated damages directly to the injured party to make them whole.
- Protect people who exercise their fair chance hiring rights from retaliation and provide a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for any adverse action taken against an employee within 90 days of exercising their rights.
Bass Seeks to Divest Pension Funds from El Salvador
Councilmember Cindy Bass introduced a resolution “directing the City Pension Funds to review and act on investments in El Salvador, ensuring transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility in light of recent developments.”
The resolution is in reference to the Trump Administration’s deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s refusal to return Garcia despite an order to do so by the United States Supreme Court.
Reviewing and divesting city pension funds from certain businesses or countries due to political disagreements is not unheard of; Philadelphia already has similar restrictions on South Africa, Northern Ireland, and other nations.
O’Rourke Lauds Septa, Introduces Transist Fund Legislation
Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke introduced a resolution “honoring SEPTA transit workers, the unsung heroes of Philadelphia, for their essential daily work to transport Philadelphians throughout the city, no matter the conditions.”
According to the resolution, SEPTA’s 9500 employees, which include vehicle operators, mechanics, maintenance staff, cashiers, and custodians, provide nearly 644,000 passenger trips each day across the buses, trolleys, subways, and high speed rail systems.
Currently, SEPTA is facing a $200 million dollar budget deficit, which could lead to what the agency is calling a “death spiral.” A death spiral would occur when, due to funding cuts, SEPTA would be forced to reduce routes, which would then cause a reduction in ridership, leading to a reduction in revenues necessity further service cuts. The cycle would continue until the agency would be forced to close.
O’Rourke also introduced legislation to change the city charter requiring a “mandatory annual appropriation through the Transit Access Fund. This would have to be approved by the voters during an upcoming election.
The legislation would create the Transit Access Fund and stipulate that one half of one percent of the city’s total General Fund appropriations be deposited into the fund.
If such a fund existed in 2026, the total contribution would be over $3 million.
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