Moves on the Board: Week of November 17 - 21, 2025
Denotes a Bellevue Strategies client.
♟️CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
Parker Administration
Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the decision has triggered a cascading effect on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices nationwide. The city originally operated a Minority/Women-Owned Business (M/W/DBE) contracting system, which has now been replaced by the “Small and Local Business Program.” This new program achieves similar equity goals without employing race-based criteria, positioning the city to defend against potential lawsuits as it distributes contracts to neighborhood businesses.
Policies that explicitly include race have become vulnerable to legal challenges, prompting the Law Department to rebrand existing programs to maintain legal defensibility while continuing to support disadvantaged businesses. This is a technical policy shift that aims to preserve equity objectives, which is a legally necessary adjustment to continue helping local small businesses scale while avoiding future litigation. The Parker administration convened a roundtable on Tuesday in Mount Airy with the African American Chamber of Commerce for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, along with diverse business owners and leaders, to secure support and demonstrate partnership before signing the executive order.
This week Mayor Parker also attended the West Oak Lane Charter School's 27th Anniversary Gala and the 23rd Annual Jefferson Health Gala.
Philadelphia City Council
Most notably, City Council delayed final passage of the Parker administration’s H.O.M.E. legislation this week. A Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for Monday was cancelled. As the legislation awaits a final committee vote, many have acknowledged that the bonds tied to the legislation which were originally projected to be sold this fall, won’t take place until 2026.
City Council began the week with an important education oversight hearing. On Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole met to consider Resolution 181014, which calls for a comprehensive review of the School District of Philadelphia’s administration, management, operations, and finances. Mayor Cherelle Parker and Superintendent Dr. Tony B. Watlington provided testimony as Council, the Mayor’s Administration, and the Board of Education work to develop coordinated plans aimed at strengthening and improving public education citywide.
Several other City Council committees met this week and advanced legislation with favorable recommendations. The Committee on the Environment reported out Bill 250768, which would prohibit contractors providing solid waste, recycling, or composting services from incinerating discarded materials. The Committee on Labor and Civil Service advanced legislation updating public works contracting standards by establishing minimum workforce training and documentation requirements. Additionally, the Committee on Law and Government favorably reported two proposed Home Rule Charter amendments; one removing the requirement that City officers and employees resign before running for public office, and another creating the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board.
City Council met on Thursday for a routine legislative session. Highlights from the session are listed below:
Ordinances
Bill 251024 (Councilmember Young) Amending the Philadelphia Code titled Center City Parking Regulations to establish and revise loading zones in the Center City area.
Bill 251026 (Councilmember Driscoll) Amending Business Income and Receipts Taxes (B.I.R.T.) to exempt sole proprietorships and single-member limited liability companies.
Bill 251019 (Councilmember Driscoll) Authorizing the City of Philadelphia to enter an agreement with the Philadelphia Energy Authority for a Guaranteed Energy Savings (GESA) contract.
Bill 251020 (Councilmember Gauthier) Authorizing the reduction of water bills due to defective water meters.
Bill 251021 (Councilmember Gauthier) Revising the standards for income eligibility for discounts and installment payments.
Resolutions
Resolution 251039 (Councilmember Lozada) Celebrating the 150th anniversary of St Christopher Hospital for Children.
Resolution 251044 (Councilmember O’Rourke) Authorizing Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to study local budgeting practice.
Next Week’s Moves
City Council is not in session next Thursday. They reconvene on Thursday, November 13.
Coming Up:
Monday, November 24, at 10 AM: The Committee on Streets and Services will meet to discuss various bills regarding encroachments of sidewalk cafés as well as Bill 250843 requiring dumpsters to be locked.
Monday, November 24, at 2 PM: The Committee on Licenses and Inspections will meet to discuss Bill 250720, which would add another round of prohibitions on where mobile medical service providers may operate. They will also discuss Bill 250805, adding business hour restrictions for pharmacies.
♟️COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shapiro Administration
Governor Shapiro and his administration spent the week uplifting investments in the recently passed bipartisan budget. The Governor joined Lt Governor Austin Davis and Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne highlighted the new Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which will provide $193 million for approximately one million Pennsylvanians. Later in the week, the Governor joined Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services Valerie Arkoosh to emphasize the investment of $25 million to a new Child Care Staff Retention and Recruitment Program that will provide an additional $450 per employee annually to licensed Child Care Works providers.
Lt. Governor Austin Davis joined the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting hosted an educational webinar to help communities minimize harm from gun violence incidents, including trauma-informed reporting. Additionally, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women hosted a virtual discussion on the issues affecting the child care industr,y including the need to support the essential workforce.
Lt. Governor Austin Davis, Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Rick Siger, and Pennsylvania Secretary Russell Redding announce that the Commonwealth is investing in US Durum Products LTD to expand its business in the manufacturing and agriculture industries. Since taking office, the administration has secured over $31.6 million in private sector investments supporting jobs across the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the launch of the new Elder Exploitation Section with the Office of the Attorney General. The unit would focus on investigating and prosecuting financial abuse against older adults, and would be a collective partnership between law enforcement, state agencies, and advocacy organizations.
The Commonwealth Financing Authority met on Tuesday, November 18, for the authority’s bi-monthly meeting. The meeting agenda included administrative matters and a review of the authority’s financial audit. No announcements were made regarding awards for the current round of Statewide LSA or the Act 13 programs. It is anticipated that these grants will be addressed at the January meeting.
Updates from the Governor’s Newsroom
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Senate were in Harrisburg this week for a session from Monday, November 17, to Wednesday, November 19. The General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation this week which were all sent to the Governor’s desk for his approval.
The following bills were signed by the Governor into law on November 19:
HB1332, Representative Jordan Harris, Capital Itemization
HB1421, Representative Jordan Harris, Funding for State-Related Universities
The following bills are currently awaiting the Governor’s signature to become law:
HB439, Representative La’Tasha Mayes, The Pennsylvania CROWN Act
SB88, Senator Frank Farry, Updating Breast Cancer Screening Coverage
SB520, Senator Lisa Baker, Further Body Camera Authorization at the Game Commission
HB1176, Representative Joe Ciresi, Reducing Red Tape for Heirs Filing Unclaimed Property Claims
HB923, Representative Nikki Rivera, PACE/PACENet Social Security COLA Moratorium
HB1359, Representative Scott Conklin, Amending the Self-Service Storage Facility Act
On Tuesday, November 17, the Pennsylvania Association for Area Agencies on Aging (P4A) testified during a Senate Aging & Youth Committee hearing. The Committee met to discuss the oversight and evaluation of protective services, a core function of the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). Additionally, the Committee and the Department of Aging discussed the need to update the Older Adult Protective Services Act. Among the testifiers were Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich, P4A Executive Director Rebecca May-Cole, Executive Director of Lehigh County’s AAA JR Reed, and Director of Berks County’s AAA Jessica Jones.
Next Week’s Moves
The Pennsylvania Senate is scheduled to return to Harrisburg for a voting session on Monday, December 8, to Wednesday, December 10. The House of Representatives is scheduled to return for a non-voting session on Monday, December 15, and for a voting session on Tuesday, December 16, and Wednesday, December 17.