Ethics bill revitalized

The Philadelphia bill to regulate city government ethics appears to be back on track for passage, with the addition of two amendments: one exempting nonprofits from its regulation of city contractors and the other bringing city-related agencies like the Parking Authority back under its auspices.

The legislation, which aims to crack down on awarding big city contracts to big campaign donors, was amended yesterday to allay concerns that it penalized nonprofit organizations.

With the amendments, Councilman Michael A. Nutter, the bills' lead sponsor, appears to have the 12 votes he needs to approve the measures, which then would be placed on the November ballot.

It will still need voter approval, but I suspect that Philadelphians are tired of their city's being a national laughingstock over payola, and will happily sign on to these (relatively limited) measures.

John Street is also working on legislation to require disclosure by lobbyists, but that's still in earlier stages of discussion. The Committee of Seventy is throwing their support behind that idea and further ethics measures (see the Daily News story here).