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Supreme Court to Street, Perzel:
'It's Time to Settle Differences!'
by Joe Shaheeli
The State Supreme Court may have unwittingly turned itself into a pact maker by ruling the State Legislature improperly gave control of the Convention Center to a Republican dominated board.
It could well spell the beginning of a rapprochement between the city and the
Republican-controlled Convention Center and Parking Authorities.
Striking down the legislation also invalidated provisions which transferred from the PUC to the Philadelphia Parking Authority control of this city's taxi cabs and car services.
Its decision upheld the contention of Mayor John F. Street the Center take over by the Legislature violated the constitution's single subject requirement for legislation. They had expanded PPA Authority and
taken over the Convention Board by attaching a number of provisions to a bill in 11th hour maneuvering at the end of the last session. The City's suit permitted the Supreme Court to overview this legislation.
Since the takeover, both the Parking Authority and the Convention Center, the two Authorities have made changes that are proving to be beneficial to both the City and the Commonwealth. This return to square one, with final legislative veto resting in the hands of Governor Ed Rendell, could mean negotiations between the City and the Republican led Legislature could the battle over which Party controls the decision making may actually move to the back burner.
It's probable the Philadelphia Parking Authority will be able to get a bill passed by the Assembly and signed by Governor Ed Rendell giving it control over the way taxi cabs and sedans.
Philadelphia Parking Authority Executive Director Joe Egan believes the "intensive planning and the amount of effort that have gone into preparing regulations for cabs and sedans will be taken into consideration."
Egan said "When the authorizing legislation gave us the green light to reign in the cab and sedan industry, our eminent goal was to bring to this city a world class cab and sedan service. These drivers are the initial ambassadors people meet when visiting this city."
The impetus behind that legislation, he noted, was to give "local control back to the city. We've spent time and money to build a data system that will enable drivers, companies, and the general public to understand the magnitude of the system. The high insurance rates now plaguing this industry would be reduced with the ability of insurers to access information about drivers and their records."
He added, "The PUC had started down this road. But we ran with the ball, hoping to get all the regs in place to permit this industry to soon become an asset to our convention and tourism business. The governor, being a former mayor here, understands the need for such an effort."
The mayor may be more inclined to let the Parking Authority continue to expand its Authority in this direction than allowing the State to continue its lone control of the reigns of the Convention Center.
What will not change with the Convention Center is the Labor Pact now in effect, which all sides, especially conventioneers and the work force find agreeable and workable. Governor Ed Rendell indicated he would support legislation that brought about an effective compromise resulting in the alleviation of much of the city's financial responsibilities for the Center.
A big plus for the mayor was the removal of the legislative language that eliminated the city's ability to appeal binding arbitration awards and the requirement that arbitrators give weight to the city's ability to pay during labor contract negotiations with uniform workers.
"This is a tremendous victory for the people of Philadelphia", said Mayor Street. "It is also a great outcome for the people of this region and in our Commonwealth. The Court rejected the General Assembly's non-inclusive decision-making process and hopefully its decision will prompt a rational debate about how to run and expand the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and lead to a constructive dialogue between the City and the Republican leadership in the Statehouse that has been missing. I believe we must put the best interests of the people ahead of anything else and focus on the important priorities of creating jobs and growing the economy. Too much is at stake including the livelihoods of approximately 57,000 hospitality workers."
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