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Council proposed a 'Hero's Panel' to determine line-of-duty deaths of city's first responders.

Official:Providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by Council proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to establish the "Hero's Panel" to protect the dignity and legacy of fallen police officers, firefighters and paramedics for the purpose of responsibly determining whether a police officer, firefighter or paramedic has died in the line of duty; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.

Sponsor: Councilmember Kenney

Introduced: September 13, 2012

: Committee on Law and Government

charter amendmentpublic safetyvoting

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2012–2015 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 proposes to create a 'Hero's Panel' to determine whether police officers, firefighters, and paramedics have died in the line of duty. If approved by voters, it would add this provision to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter.

What This Bill Does

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

The bill proposes an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create a "Hero's Panel" to determine whether police officers, firefighters, and paramedics have died in the line of duty.
The creation of the "Hero's Panel" would add a provision to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter.
The panel's purpose would be to "responsibly determine" the circumstances of a police officer's, firefighter's, or paramedic's death.
A special election would be held to allow qualified electors to vote on the proposed amendment, with the election to be held in May 2013.