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Council seeks to ban city purchases of gasoline with chemical additive MTBE.

Official:Amending Title 17 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Contracts and Procurement," by adding Chapter 17-1100, entitled "Ban on Purchase of Motor Vehicle Fuels Containing MTBE," prohibiting the City from entering into contracts for the purchase of motor vehicle fuel containing Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether ("MTBE") under certain terms and conditions.

Sponsor: Councilmember Cohen

Introduced: March 14, 2002

: Committee on Law and Government

environment public health

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2000–2003 Council term and when that term ran out. The public record shows no committee vote and no floor vote at any stage, so no member of Council ever went on record for or against it.

That is not unusual here. Of the 8,465 bills introduced between 2000 and 2025, 1,624 lapsed without a single recorded vote. Ninety percent of bills that became law carry a roll call. Three percent of lapsed bills do. How this works.

Plain-Language Summary

This bill prohibits the City of Philadelphia from entering into contracts for the purchase of motor vehicle fuel that contains MTBE (Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether), a chemical additive in gasoline.

What This Bill Does

AI-written. Every figure is checked against the bill text.

This bill does the following

Prohibits the City of Philadelphia from entering into contracts for the purchase of motor vehicle fuel that contains Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE).
Adds Chapter 17-1100 to Title 17 of The Philadelphia Code, which deals with contracts and procurement.
Imposes certain terms and conditions on contracts for the purchase of motor vehicle fuel, specifically prohibiting the use of MTBE.
Requires the City to consider using alternative oxygenates, such as ethanol, which is described as non-toxic, water-soluble, and quickly biodegradable.