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Description
From the hearing of the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Law and Government held Wednesday, September 25, 2019:
Councilmember Helen Gym's opening remarks on her bills being reviewed at the hearing.
Read more: http://phlcouncil.com/councilmember-gyms-sunshine-bill-to-end-secret-settlements-moves-to-final-passage/
A
It
means
thinking
proactively
about
how
we
stand
up
for
one
another
and
what's
right,
these
bills
arise
out
of
the
lived
experiences
of
Philadelphians.
We've
watched
in
horror
as
members
of
our
LGBTQ
community
have
been
attacked,
silenced
and
robbed
of
dignity
that
so
often
many
of
us
take
for
granted.
This
year.
Eighteen
trans
women
have
been
murdered
across
our
country.
In
Philadelphia,
we
lost
Tamika
Washington
a
40
year
old
trans
woman,
who
was
murdered
here
in
Philadelphia.
A
They
include
a
bill
to
ensure
a
gender-neutral
bathroom
on
each
floor
of
City
Hall,
which
is
an
acceleration
of
the
city's
requirement
that
public
facilities
that
public
buildings
have
gender-neutral
facilities,
a
bill
to
expand
definitions
of
sexual
identity
in
accordance
with
modernizing
our
language
and
a
bill
to
require
that
youth
organizations
and
groups
have
affirmative
policies
for
trans
and
gender
non-conforming
non-conforming
youth
in
their
care,
and
the
final
bill
is
on
disclosure.
Currently,
city
settlements
are
shrouded
in
secrecy.
A
good
government
is
the
transparent
government
and
taxpayers
deserve
to
know
where
their
money
is
going.
A
So
last
year,
taxpayers
shelled
out
millions
of
dollars
in
settlements
on
matters
ranging
from
misconduct
to
harassment,
to
wrongful
conviction.
This
bill
would
require
the
city
to
disclose
all
settlements
and
judgments
in
an
easy
to
search
online
format.
It
also
creates
an
interagency
group
to
review
settlements
and
judgments
to
identify
significant
issue
and
patterns
and
ensured
that
our
city
government
is
taking
appropriate
action
to
minimize
future
liability
and
prevent
harm
from
occurring.
Literally
anything
is
better
than
paying
taxpayer
money
towards
settlements.
Anything
is
better
to
ensure
that
one
resident
does
not
feel
harassed.
A
Any
money
is
better
going
towards
safer
streets
and
sidewalks,
so
pedestrians
and
bikers
and
children
and
families
with
strollers
and
our
disabled
community
does
not
get
entered
literally.
Anything
is
better
than
a
police
misconduct
settlement.
The
public
deserves
to
know
how
much
we're
paying
for
these
cases
and
how
to
avoid
them
in
the
future.
The
these
four
bills,
the
inclusivity
package
and
the
bill
for
disclosure
and
accountability
are
pushing
our
city
to
move
forward
on
that.
So
I
want
to
thank
all
the
witnesses
who
have
come
forward
and
everybody
here
supporting
that.
Thank
you.