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City Council Tries to Limit Board of Health's Power Over Tobacco Sales Permits in Philly

Official:Amending Section 9-631 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Tobacco Retailer Permit," by limiting the power of the Board of Health to regulate the transferability of current permits and the locations of current Tobacco Retailers, and by removing the transfer restrictions of Section 9-631(2)(d), under certain terms and conditions.

Sponsor: Councilmember Squilla

Introduced: May 17, 2018

: Committee on Finance

board of healthpermitretailertobacco

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2016–2019 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 limits the power of the Board of Health to regulate tobacco retailer permits and removes restrictions on transferring current permits.

What This Bill Does

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

The Board of Health's power to regulate the transferability of current tobacco retailer permits is limited.
The transfer restrictions of Section 9-631(2)(d) are removed.
The bill does not explicitly mention any new permits or locations being created or restricted, but it implies that current permits are now more transferable.
The bill does not mention any new financial obligations or restrictions on tobacco retailers, but it could imply that existing permits are now more easily transferable, potentially affecting the current permit holders.