Philadelphia Home Rule Charter reform campaign
American local campaign
The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter reform campaign is a campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to rewrite the city's 1951 Home Rule Charter. The campaign began in response to several local political scandals, the most recent being City Council members' participation in DROP, a Deferred Retirement Option Plan originally intended for civil service.
Home rule in Pennsylvania
A home rule municipality in Pennsylvania is one incorporated under its own unique organic charter or constitution, created pursuant to the state's Home Rule and Optional Plans Law and approved by referendum. Local governments without home rule can only act where specifically authorized by state law; home rule municipalities can act anywhere except where they are specifically limited by state law.
History of home rule in Pennsylvania
Municipal home rule, a political reform of the early 20th-century progressive movement, was introduced in Pennsylvania by a 1922 amendment to the Pennsylvania State Constitution of 1874, but was generally limited to cities, and until Philadelphia, was never used. In 1949, with the City of Philadelphia on the brink of financial collapse, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted what is commonly known as the "Lord Home Rule Bill," named after a Pennsylvania state senator who was member of Philadelphia's infamous Republican machine.
In 1968, Pennsylvania enacted a new state constitution which allows any Pennsylvania municipality to adopt a home rule charter or an optional form of government, and in 1972 enacted a uniform Home Rule Act which provides the procedures for municipalities to adopt home rule charters. However, that 1972 Act (re-enacted in 1996) does not apply to Philadelphia, which remains under the 1949 Lord Home Rule Act.
History of home rule in Philadelphia
Philadelphia became the first municipality in Pennsylvania to enact a home rule charter, approved by the voters on April 17, 1951. Among the reforms was the prohibition of elected city officials running for another office, such as a City Councilman running for mayor, without first resigning his existing office, and creation of a professional managing director.
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