Philadelphia City Council

The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each member's term is four years, and there are no limits on the number of terms a member may serve.

Home Rule Charter

The 1951 Home Rule Charter established the council as the legislative arm of Philadelphia municipal government, consisting of seventeen members. Ten council members are elected by district and seven from the city at large. At-large council members are elected using limited voting with limited nomination, guaranteeing that two minority-party candidates are elected.

Each is elected for a term of four years with no limit on the number of terms that may be served. Under the rules of the council, regular public sessions are held weekly, usually on Thursday morning at 10:00am, in Room 400, City Hall.

Every proposed ordinance is in the form of a bill introduced by a Councilmember. Before a bill can be enacted, it must be referred by the president of the council to an appropriate standing committee, considered at a public hearing and public meeting, reported out by the committee, printed as reported by the committee, distributed to the members of the council, and made available to the public. Passage of a bill requires the favorable vote of a majority of all members. A bill becomes law upon the approval of the mayor. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the council may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.

City council members

The City Council as of January 7, 2008 is as follows:

*Past Members of the Philadelphia City Council
*Political families of Philadelphia

Notes

Key to Chart
† President of Council
*Majority Leader
**Majority Whip
***Minority Leader

External links

* [http://www.phila.gov/citycouncil/index.html Philadelphia City Council website]