Philly budget relief bill headed for trouble in the House

It seems Mayor Nutter is worried that there are too few votes in the Pennsylvania House to pass his much-sought after legislation to resolve Philadelphia's budget crisis.

The mayor has asked to meet with reporters this afternoon to explain what his staff believes are "myths" and "misinformation" being promoted about the bill.

Other evidence suggesting the legislation - House Bill 1828 - may be in trouble: It has yet to be scheduled for a vote Tuesday. "I've been in Harrisburg for a lot of years," said state Rep. Robert Donatucci, "and if they had the votes, we'd be notified already to come in on Tuesday and we haven't got the call yet."

However, a spokeswoman for House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dwight Evans said in a press release today that "we expect a vote on Tuesday."

The city's municipal unions, joined by state labor forces, have been actively lobbying against the bill. Besides a letter-writing campaign and visits to state lawmakers by retired police officers, a news conference is scheduled for tomorrow by Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, District Council 47 and Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

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