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Finding Bills and Resolutions on Philadelphia City Council’s Legislative Information Center
Use Philadelphia City Council’s Legislative Information Center to locate bills and resolutions from 2000 - current.
To begin your search, select the Legislation tab:
Use the search bar to search by any combination of keyword (including bill number), date, or type (i.e. bill, resolution, etc.) to find specific bills and resolutions.
The Advanced Search offers more search fields, including sponsor, index, and committee in control. Depending on what information you have, the Advanced Search may deliver a more targeted result. For example, if you are looking for the bill from 2011 that repealed and replaced the Zoning Code, select 2011 from the "Date" drop-down, Bill from the "Type" drop-down, ENACTED from the "Status" drop-down, and ZONING AND PLANNING from the "Index" options:
This returns 10 results, including Bill 110845, the bill to repeal and replace Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning":
To find more information about the bill, click on the hyperlinked bill number. From the Details view, you may determine the status, find the sponsor, and see the date of the final action. A pdf copy of the ordinance (CertifiedCopy11084500.pdf), as well as Exhibit A (110845 - Exhibit A.pdf), are included in the "Attachments" field":
If available, the Details view also includes different versions of the bill. For example, the 2016 "Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax" (Bill 160176), has two versions available on the site:
To see the text of the different versions, first select the version of interest, then switch from the History listing to Text:
Please note, Philadelphia City Council's Legislative Information Center contains unofficial copies of bills and resolutions, and is for information purposes only. If you need an official certified copy of a bill or resolution, you must obtain such official copies from the Clerk’s office, Room 402 City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (telephone: (215) 686-3410). We suggest calling ahead to see how to obtain copies from the Clerk's Office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For ordinances older than 2000, check with Jenkins (we are currently open by appointment). Ordinances of the City of Philadelphia are available here in print. Philadelphia Municipal Documents through U of PA Libraries and Archive.org also offers Philadelphia Ordinances from approximately 1854 - 1920. Need help? Contact us!
