Philly lawmakers approve new oversight structure for the city’s troubled jails | City Council roundup

You may have heard there was a major vote in Philadelphia City Council Thursday.

Yes, lawmakers passed legislation that allows the 76ers to build a new arena in Center City. But amid the opposition in the chambers over the project from anti-arena advocates, Council also passed other notable legislation during its final meeting of the year, including a bill that would establish an oversight board for the city’s jail system that’s been mired in violence and chaos.

Here’s what (else) went down in Council Thursday.

Creating a prison oversight board: Council members approved legislation to create an independent oversight board to monitor and investigate the city’s jail system amid a yearslong crisis of disorder.

Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a Democrat who represents the city at large, proposed the legislation that would establish a community oversight board and a companion Office of Prison Oversight, saying he’s concerned about “human rights and civil rights” violations in the city’s jails. He cited an August decision by a federal judge to hold the city in contempt and fine it $25 million for violating an agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated people.

“I know there’s a lot of other stuff going on,” Thomas said at the end of the Council meeting. “But at the end of the day, since Thanksgiving alone, there have been four stabbings at the prisons and two guards charged with smuggling contraband.”

The oversight board will have nine members — four appointed by the mayor, four by the City Council president, and one by the City Controller — and must hold public meetings at least once a month. The separate Office of Prison Oversight would be led by a director and be empowered to investigate Department of Prisons policies and practices.

The legislation does not grant either entity subpoena power, but the measure allows for Council to confer additional powers in the future.

Passage of the legislation does not guarantee the creation of the new board and office, which require changing the city’s Home Rule Charter, the city’s governing document similar to a constitution. Charter changes must be approved by voters through a ballot question, meaning the electorate could vote on it in May.

Mobile service provider regulations get a delay: Council members delayed a vote on legislation that would place new regulations on mobile service providers in Kensington that bring medical care and supplies to the heart of the city’s largest open-air drug market.

Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who represents parts of the neighborhood, authored the legislation, which prohibits mobile units from operating on residential blocks and near schools, as well as within 100 feet of one another. City-operated services are exempt from the restrictions that only apply in the city’s 6th and 7th Council Districts, which include parts of Kensington and stretch from Hunting Park to the Lower Northeast.

The bill was slated for a final vote after a committee advanced it earlier this month.

But Council will wait until next year to bring up the legislation. Lozada’s office is currently holding meetings with residents and service providers and may amend the regulations based on their feedback.