Philadelphia’s Committee on Licenses and Inspections passed through two bills Wednesday. The bills would mandate that property owners obtain licenses and provide contact information, especially if they are outside-controlled LLCs. 

Policy experts and city officials testified to difficulties tenants face when contacting their landlords. Many properties owned by LLCs and other private ownership groups don’t have readily available information and those unlicensed often carry code violations, like lead paint in units rented to parents of young children.

City Council passed a bill mandating licenses for tire dealers in Philadelphia on Thursday.

The bill came from the Committee of Licenses and Inspections last week. It aims to gain more information on tire sales and disposal to decrease the number of used tires dumped on sidewalks or with other refuse around the city. This bill ties into waste hauling mandates passed earlier this year in Harrisburg.

After speaking at a clean-up site in Kensington as part of the city’s fight against the opioid epidemic, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sànchez (D-District 7), one of the bill sponsors and a committee chair, discussed the need for such licensing.

In Pittsburgh for a number of years the Office of the City Clerk has been responsible for keeping track of records related to city council matters and legislation. All other city departments have been responsible for their own records, without uniform standards or resources. According to city officials this has led to less than stellar record keeping. Two bills, 539 and 540, which received their final vote Tuesday, seek to change that.