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Each department and any board or commission may adopt and use an official seal. A copy of any paper or document on file with any such department, board or commission may be authenticated by any such seal as a true copy of the original.
ANNOTATION
Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 505.
Purposes: An agency seal may serve many useful purposes in the designation of documents as authentic and official.
Except as otherwise provided in this charter, the heads of all departments and all boards and commissions are hereby empowered to prescribe rules for their internal government. Such rules shall become effective only after approval by the Administrative Board.
ANNOTATION
Sources: Cf. the Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 506.
Purposes: The Charter distinguishes between "rules" and "regulations". The term "rules" is used to designate standards for intra- governmental administration. The term "regulations" denotes standards applicable to private persons and organizations. See Section 8-407. This section authorizes City agencies to prescribe rules for their internal government subject to the approval of the Administrative Board. See Section 4-300(1)(a).
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter, every department, board and commission is hereby empowered to make such reasonable regulations as may be necessary and appropriate in the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties under this charter or under any statute or ordinance. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, in the adoption of regulations, the following procedure shall apply:
(a) The department, board or commission promulgating the regulations shall first submit them for approval to the Law Department and upon receiving such approval file them with the Department of Records where they shall be available for public inspection for thirty days;
(b) The Department of Records shall give public notice of such filing by advertising in the three daily newspapers of the City having the largest paid circulation the fact that regulations relating to a particular subject have been filed with it, and that any person affected thereby may request a hearing. Council may by ordinance adopted by a vote of two-thirds of all of its members specify different or additional requirements for providing public notice of the filing of regulations and the availability of a hearing, in accordance with applicable law. Any such ordinance may include a requirement that notice be posted on the City's website; 274
(c) If any person affected shall present to the Department of Records a written request therefor, the person shall be afforded a public hearing before the department, board or commission promulgating the regulations and the City Solicitor. A report of the hearing reaffirming the regulations or modifying them with the approval of the Law Department shall be filed by the department, board or commission with the Department of Records. 275
The regulations shall become effective at midnight of the thirtieth day after their filing when no hearing has been requested and at midnight of the tenth day after a report has been filed when a hearing was requested and held.
All regulations shall be published and made available for distribution.
Amendments to regulations shall be adopted under the same procedure as the regulations which they amend.
The requirements of this section may be suspended by the Mayor in writing and temporary regulations promulgated in emergencies affecting the public health or safety but any regulations so put into force shall not remain effective unless the procedures otherwise required by this section are complied with forthwith.
ANNOTATION
Sources: Cf. the Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 506.
Purposes: 1. See Annotation to Section 8-406.
2. Administrative agencies may not legislate. However, they may when appropriately authorized by this Charter, or by statute or ordinance, define and apply through administrative regulations standards established by this Charter or by legislation. Thus regulations afford a means for an administrative agency to exercise powers and to perform duties of law administration and enforcement imposed upon and vested in it by this Charter or by statute or ordinance.
3. Since members of the public will be the ones who will be affected by regulations, fairness to them prompts the requirement that they be afforded, as a rule, an opportunity to be heard on proposed regulations. Such hearings are intended to protect persons who will be affected from arbitrary administrative action. They should also serve to bring to the attention of administrative officials facts necessary for the exercise of informed judgment in the promulgation of regulations.
4. Approval by the Law Department of all proposed regulations is required to assure that they are authorized, comply with basic legislation, and do not exceed constitutional limits.
5. Filing with the Department of Records is required since this is the central depository for public documents and the agency where all public records are to be kept available for public use and inspection. See Article 5, Chapter 11.
6. The purpose of the advertising requirement of subsection (b) is to assure adequate notice to members of the public of proposed regulations and of the fact that persons who may be affected may request a hearing.
7. Persons affected by any proposed regulation are entitled upon written request to a public hearing before a representative of the agency promulgating the regulation and a member of the Law Department who will pass on any questions of law raised. After such a hearing the regulation in question may be reaffirmed or modified. A report of the action taken is to be filed with the Department of Records for purposes of public notice.
8. With the exception hereafter noted, regulations can in no event take effect earlier than thirty days after their filing. This period of time should afford affected persons an adequate opportunity to request public hearings should they desire to do so.
9. All regulations must be published and made available for distribution so that members of the public and City officers and employees may obtain copies.
10. The procedure for amending regulations is the same as that for new regulations since amendments may impose new requirements affecting members of the public.
11. Emergencies affecting the public health or safety may require immediate administrative action through regulations. In such instances disaster may be courted if it were required that the regular procedure of this section be followed before regulations become operative. Therefore, this section permits regulations in such emergencies to be put into force immediately by the Mayor suspending in writing the requirements specified. However, for such temporary regulations to remain effective, the steps normally required by this section must immediately be initiated and followed. If they are, the temporary regulations continue in effect while the filing, advertising, waiting period, hearings, etc. take place.
Notes
| 274 | |
| 275 | The phrase "he shall be afforded a public hearing" was changed by the Code editor to read "the person shall be afforded a public hearing" to be gender neutral consistent with the broad Charter change set forth in the May 17, 2022 referendum. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). |
Every board and commission shall hold regular meetings at such times and places as it may by rule designate and in addition shall hold special meetings upon the call of its chair or president at such times and places as the chair or president shall designate. At least three days' notice in writing shall be given of the time, place and purpose of all special meetings, unless such notice is waived in writing by all members. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter, a majority of the members of any board or commission shall constitute a quorum. All boards and commissions shall keep minutes of their proceedings.
ANNOTATION
Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 518.
Purposes: This section establishes minimum uniform requirements for all boards and commissions to follow in the holding of meetings so that all members will be apprised of the time and place of meetings, at least a majority of members will be required for business to be transacted, and a record will be kept of proceedings.
Notes
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Every officer, department, board or commission authorized to hold hearings or conduct investigations shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and other evidence and for that purpose it may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of persons and the production of documents and cause them to be served in any part of the City. If any witness shall refuse to testify as to any fact within the witness's knowledge or to produce any documents within the witness's possession or control, the facts relating to such refusal shall forthwith be reported to any one of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County and all questions arising upon such refusal and also upon any new evidence not included in the report, which new evidence may be offered either in behalf of or against such witness, shall as promptly as possible be heard by such court. If the court shall determine that the testimony or document required of such witness is legally competent and ought to be given or produced by the witness, the court may make an order commanding such witness to testify or to produce documents or do both and if the witness shall thereafter refuse so to testify or so to produce documents in disobedience of such order of the court, the court may deal with the witness as in other cases.
ANNOTATION
Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XVI, Section 8.
Purposes: Administrative hearing or investigatory process may at times require the compulsion of a subpoena to be effective. Officers and agencies authorized to hold hearings or conduct investigations are thus empowered to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and other evidence within the geographical limits of the City, the jurisdiction over which this Charter extends. Since subpoenas for this purpose may be disobeyed and since such disobedience is not punishable by imprisonment and fine unless it continues after a court has ordered compliance, City officers and agencies are authorized to resort through the Law Department (see Section 8-410) to the courts. However, the Charter Commission did not possess any power to require courts to enforce such administrative process or to specify the usual penalty of commitment for contempt until compliance. Cf. Annotation to Section 2-401. Accordingly, the action a court is to take is a matter for its discretion and subject to its customary powers.
Notes
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Whenever any officer, department, board or commission shall require legal advice concerning the officer's, department's, board's or commission's official business or whenever any legal question or dispute arises or litigation is commenced or to be commenced in which any officer, department, board or commission is officially concerned or whenever any taxes or other accounts of whatever kind due the City remain overdue and unpaid for a period of ninety days it shall be the duty of such officer, department, board or commission, to refer the same to the Law Department.
It shall be the duty of any officer, department, board or commission having requested and received legal advice from the Law Department regarding the official duty of such officer, department, board or commission to follow the same; and when any officer shall follow the advice given such officer in writing by the Law Department such officer shall not be liable in any way for so doing upon the officer's official bond or otherwise.
Before the Law Department shall render any opinion interpreting any appropriation ordinance or ordinance authorizing the expenditure of money, it shall notify the City Controller of the question upon which its opinion has been requested and afford the City Controller an opportunity to present the Controller's views upon the question.
It shall be unlawful for any officer, department, board or commission to engage any attorney to represent the officer, department, board or commission in any matter or thing relating to the public business of the officer, department, board or commission without the approval in writing of the City Solicitor.
ANNOTATION
Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Section 512; Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XIII, Section 5.
Purposes: 1. This section implements Section 4-400. It seeks to prevent the practice of each officer and agency having its own counsel. It thereby makes possible an effective and well organized, central law agency.
2. Officers and agencies requesting and receiving legal advice from the Law Department must follow it. Resort may not be had to other counsel, except with the consent of the City Solicitor, for other advice nor may such other advice even if obtained be followed except at personal risk, a consequence from which an officer or agency is absolved if the advice of the Law Department is followed.
3. Questions involving the interpretation of appropriation ordinances or other ordinances authorizing the expenditure of money must be referred to the City Controller for his views since he is the City's auditor and will ultimately be required to pass upon the propriety of all expenditures of City funds.
Notes
| 278 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). The phrase "shall require legal advice concerning his or its official business" in the first paragraph was changed by the Code editor to read "shall require legal advice concerning the officer's, department's, board's or commission's official business" to be gender neutral consistent with the broad Charter change set forth in the May 17, 2022 referendum. |
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