City of Philadelphia v. Com.

• Decision Date: 07 November 2003
• Citation: 575 Pa. 542,838 A.2d 566
• Parties: CITY OF PHILADELPHIA and John F. Street, Individually as a Taxpayer and in his Official Capacity as Mayor of Philadelphia, Petitioners/Appellees, v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Edward G. Rendell, in his Official Capacity as Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Robert C. Jubelirer, President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; John M. Perzel, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Robert J. Mellow, Minority Leader of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; H. William Deweese, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, Respondents/Appellants.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

838 A.2d 566

575 Pa. 542

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA and John F. Street, Individually as a Taxpayer and in his Official Capacity as Mayor of Philadelphia, Petitioners/Appellees, v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Edward G. Rendell, in his Official Capacity as Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Robert C. Jubelirer, President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; John M. Perzel, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Robert J. Mellow, Minority Leader of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; H. William Deweese, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, Respondents/Appellants.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued May 14, 2003.

Decided November 7, 2003.

John G. Knorr, III, Calvin Royer Koons, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Edward G. Rendell.

Claude Joseph Hafner, James J. Conaboy, Edwin Aksel Abrahamsen, for Robert Mellow.

Linda J. Shorey, John P. Krill, for John M. Perzel.

Michael P. Edmiston, Reizdan B. Moore, Joseph Matthias Cosgrove, for H. William DeWeese.

William R. Thompson, Nelson A. Diaz, Mark R. Zecca, Michael F. Eichert, for City of Philadelphia.

Sean Vincent Burke, David Allen Hitchens, Judith E. Harris, for Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.

Jennifer R. Clarke, Nelson A. Diaz, Michael F. Eichert, Edward T. Fisher, Robert C. Heim, William R. Thompson, Philip N. Yannella, Mark R. Zecca, for City of Philadelphia and John F. Street.

Carolyn H. Nichols, Alfred W. Putnam, Obra S. Kernodle, Emily Mirsky, for Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Before CAPPY, C.J., and CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN, SAYLOR, EAKIN and LAMB, JJ.

OPINION

Justice SAYLOR.

This is an appeal from an order of the Commonwealth Court preliminarily enjoining the implementation of an act of the General Assembly which, inter alia, reorganized the governance of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The Court assumed plenary jurisdiction to resolve the underlying facial state constitutional challenge to the procedural regularity of the statute's enactment. The primary issue presented is whether the act violates the Pennsylvania Constitution's single-subject requirement.

I.

Senate Bill 1100 of 2002 ("SB 1100") was introduced and finally adopted as a bill that would amend Title 53 (Municipal Corporations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. It became Act No. 2002-230 ("Act 230") when then-Governor Mark S. Schweiker signed it into law on December 30, 2002. The statute effects several changes in local governance and related administrative matters. Additionally, it alters the size and composition of the Pennsylvania Convention Center's governing board, as well as the manner in which the Convention Center is governed. Act 230 also repeals a portion of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority ("PICA") Act for Cities of the First Class,¹ and adds Chapter 58 to Title 53, entitled "Contractors' Bonds and Financial Security for Redevelopment Contracts."

The parties entered a Stipulation of Facts (the "Stipulation") delineating the process by which SB 1100 became law. According to that document, as well as the legislative history and the copies of the various versions of the bill included in the record, SB 1100 was initially introduced in the General Assembly in October of 2001. At that time, it was five pages in length and was entitled,

AN ACT Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for governing body of municipal authorities.

Stipulation at ¶ 2; see SB 1100, Printer's No. 1381 at 1.

The only substantive provision contained in this original version of the bill was the inclusion of a citizenship requirement for the board members of business improvement district authorities created pursuant to the Municipality Authorities Act.² This entailed the addition of a new paragraph to Section 5610(b), 53 Pa.C.S. § 5610(b), stating:

Each member of the board of a business improvement district authority that was established by a borough pursuant to the [Municipality Authorities Act], on or before the effective date of this paragraph shall be a taxpayer in, maintain a business in or be a citizen of the borough by which that member is appointed.

SB 1100, Printer's No. 1381 at 3.

After approval by the Senate, the bill was sent to the House of Representatives in December of 2001, where, over the course of the following seven months, it was amended three times, in each instance by the addition of relatively minor changes. In the first of these amendments, for example, the title was enlarged to include the phrase "and for certain fiscal reporting," several revisions were made to the text quoted above, and the language of Section 5612(b), 53 Pa.C.S. § 5612(b) (relating to the reporting requirements of municipality authorities), was slightly altered. On June 26, 2002, after all of these revisions had occurred, the title of the bill read as follows:

AN ACT Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for acceptance of gifts or donations; and further providing for governing body of municipal authorities and for certain fiscal reporting.

Stipulation at ¶ 13; see SB 1100, Printer's No. 2157 at 1. The substantive provisions of the bill remained modest and were limited essentially to the matters described above, as well as the addition of a measure authorizing municipalities to hold in trust any gifts bestowed upon them. See SB 1100, Printer's No. 2157 at 9; 53 Pa.C.S. § 1391. By that date, the bill had been passed by both the House and Senate after receiving three considerations. See PA. CONST. art. III, § 4 ("Every bill shall be considered on three different days in each House.").

Thereafter, on October 9, 2002, the bill was reported to the full Senate as committed for concurrence in the House's amendments, but was sent to the Senate Committee on Rules and Executive Nominations ("Senate Rules Committee") before concurrence took place. The committee altered the bill, and reported it back to the full Senate on November 26, 2002—the second-to-last day of the legislative session—for a final vote. As amended, the bill now bore the title:

AN ACT Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for acceptance of gifts or donations; further providing for powers and duties of the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission; prohibiting political activity by municipal police officers; further providing, in Parking Authorities, for definitions, for purposes and powers and for special provisions for authorities in first class cities; providing, in parking authorities in first class cities, for additional special provisions, for management of authority funds, for special funds, for bonds, for contracts with authority obligees, for Commonwealth pledges, for bond and trust indentures, for funds collected, for bonds as legal investments, for pledge validity, for security interests in funds and accounts and for bankruptcy limitations; further providing for municipal authority governing bodies and money; providing for regulation of taxicabs and limousines in first class cities; further providing for governing body of municipal authorities and for certain fiscal reporting; codifying the Act of June 27, 1986 (P.L. 267, No. 70), known as the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority Act; defining "expansion or substantial renovation"; further providing for purposes and powers and for capital and operating budgets; providing for expansion funding; further providing for governing board, for moneys of the authority, for award of contracts, for interests of public officers and for rental tax; making an appropriation; and making repeals.

Stipulation at ¶ 19; see SB 1100, Printer's No. 2436 at 1.

The changes to the body of the bill, which was now some 127 pages in length, were likewise extensive. These revisions included, among others things: the repeal of Section 209(k) of the PICA Act, which, inter alia, had required arbitrators involved in resolving certain collective bargaining disputes to accord substantial weight to Philadelphia's financial plan and its ability to fund any relevant salary increases, and had, additionally, provided for judicial review of such awards; changes to the size and composition of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority's governing board, as well as the manner in which the Convention Center is governed;³ a transfer of authority over taxis and limousines in Philadelphia from the Public Utility Commission to the Philadelphia Parking Authority; a grant of new powers to the Parking Authority to develop mixed-use projects combining public parking facilities with commercial, residential, industrial, and retail components; an expansion of the bonding requirements for small contractors engaged in redevelopment activities within Philadelphia; the curtailment of oversight authority by Philadelphia's Finance Director over spending by the Parking Authority; and a prohibition on police officers participating in election campaigns. The newly-expanded bill was approved by the full Senate on the same day it was reported out of committee, and was passed in the House of Representatives the following day, November 27, 2002, which was the last day of session before adjournment sine die. SB 1100 was then approved by the Governor, thus becoming Act 230.

On January 23, 2003, the City of Philadelphia (the "City") and its mayor, the Honorable John F. Street (in his capacity as a city taxpayer and in his official capacity as Mayor) [hereinafter "Petitioners"], filed a petition for review in the Commonwealth Court in the nature of a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief (the "Complaint"), as well as a motion for a preliminary injunction. In the Complaint, Petitioners asserted...