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State Legislature quick to take away citizens' rights
By Ed Goppelt Wednesday, 12/15/04 (1103138643281)

Last month both houses of the state legislature voted unanimously to pass House Bill 1954. Start to finish it took legislators just 48 hours to take way the right of any Philadelphia taxpayer to appeal zoning and other decisions affecting the development of their neighborhood.

How could legislators strip their constituents of their legal rights without first hearing what they had to say? It seems like neither good public policy nor good politics. Hallwatch asked the 33 Philadelphia legislators (26 state representatives and 7 senators) to explain their vote.

Of the six legislators who responded to Hallwatch's request, just one, Senator Vincent J. Fumo, appeared to have an accurate understanding of what the Bill did before voting for it. Apart from a symbolic "Nay" vote in Committee, Fumo supported the Bill.

Written statements from four Democratic Representatives (Josephs, Thomas, Bishop & Manderino) suggest they may have been tricked into voting for the Bill. In fairness to legislators, the speed with which the zoning provision was passed left little time to combat the Bill:

• On 11/19/04 The House passed House Bill 1954.
• At 1 am 11/20/04 The Senate Appropriations Committee added a zoning provision to the Bill. The Senate amendment takes away the right of any taxpayer to appeal zoning decisions.
• In the early am 11/20/04 The Senate passed the amended Bill
• At 2:30 am 11/21/04 The House concurred in (passed) the amended Bill

Among other things the Representatives state that:

• They weren't provided with a copy of the Bill they were voting on, Reps. Thomas and Bishop say that a copy of the Bill did not appear on the House Floor Computer System prior to the vote. This would appear to be a violation of House Rule No. 30 and possibly Article 3, Section 4 of the State Constitution.
• State Rep. Kathy Manderino points out that the Bill's sponsor Rep. Angel Cruz failed to mention the zoning provision when asked by a colleague to summarize the amendment on the House floor. An unofficial transcript of the proceedings confirms Manderino's account.
• Rep. Thomas says that legislative research failed to mention the zoning provision in its discussion of HB 1954. It is the job of the party caucus to provide members with succinct and accurate summaries of the legislation they will be voting on.

Rep. Mark Cohen wrote Governor Ed Rendell on November 22, 2004 asking him to veto the Bill. Cohen, who chairs the Democratic Caucus, urged his democratic colleagues to do likewise in a memo sent the same day. Just four members of the Philadelphia delegation--Reps. Bishop, Josephs, Manderino and Thomas--wrote letters despite the fact that legislators received copies of the 451 letters citizens sent the Governor urging a veto. The Governor signed the Bill into law on November 30, 2004.

Henceforth, Philadelphians who live more than a block away (500 ft.) from a proposed development may have to engage in lengthy and expensive legal battles to gain access to the Courts. According to a report in the Daily News the Billboard industry has taken credit for being the author of the amendment.

House Bill 1954 Scorecard

State Legislator	Legislator Voted Against HB 1954	Legislator Is For Repeal	Legislator Explained Vote	Constituent Letters Opposing Bill
Rep. Bishop	No	Yes	Yes Read letter	6
Rep. Butkovitz	No	???	No	1
Rep. Cohen	No	Yes	Yes Read letter	3
Rep. Cruz	No	???	No	0
Rep. Donatucci	No	???	No	4
Rep. Evans	No	???	No	1
Sen. Fumo	No	No	Yes Read letter	149
Rep. Horsey	No	???	No	2
Sen. Hughes	No	???	No	64
Rep. James	No	???	No	15
Rep. Josephs	No	Yes	Yes Read letter	67
Rep. Keller	No	???	No	5
Rep. Kenney	No	???	No	1
Sen. Kitchen	No	???	No	27
Rep. Lederer	No	???	No	40
Rep. Manderino	No	Yes	Yes Read letter	49
Rep. McGeehan	No	???	No	5
Rep. Myers	No	???	No	11
Rep. O'Brien	No	???	No	2
Rep. Oliver	No	???	No	15
Rep. Perzel	No	???	No	2
Rep. Rieger	No	???	No	4
Rep. Roebuck	No	???	No	31
Sen. Schwartz	No	???	No	27
Sen. Stack	No	???	No	12
Sen. Tartaglione	No	???	No	14
Rep. Taylor	No	???	No	10
Rep. Thomas	No	Yes	Yes Read letter	16
Rep. Washington	No	???	No	17
Rep. Waters	No	???	No	0
Sen. Williams	No	???	No	40
Rep. Williams	No	???	No	11
Rep. Youngblood	No	???	No	15

Constituent letters refers to the number of letters sent by the legislator's constituents urging Governor Rendell to veto HB 1954. Read the letters.

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