Philadelphia Home Rule Charter art. I — POWERS OF THE CITY | Philadelphia Home Rule Charter (2026 Code: The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter current through October 8, 2026) — City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 1-100 The City's Powers Defined.

§ 1-100. The City's Powers Defined. Pursuant to Section 1 of Article XV of the Constitution and the Act of the General Assembly, approved April 21, 1949, P.L. 665, of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia (hereafter in this charter called "the City") shall have and may exercise all powers and authority of local self-government and shall have complete powers of legislation and administration in relation to its municipal functions, including any additional powers and authority which may hereafter be granted to it. The City shall have the power to enact ordinances and to make rules and regulations necessary and proper for carrying into execution its powers; and such ordinances, rules and regulations may be made enforceable by the imposition of fines, forfeitures and penalties not exceeding three hundred dollars and by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ninety days or by such greater fines, forfeitures and penalties and periods of imprisonment as the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may from time to time authorize. ANNOTATION Sources: First Class City Home Rule Act, April 21, 1949, P.L. 665, Section 17. Purposes: 1. The powers of the City are stated in the broadest and most comprehensive terms to assure the City the fullest possible benefits of home rule. Specification of powers is avoided because any list of powers, despite its detail, would inevitably omit some. Under Dillon's rule a municipal corporation does not have any powers other than those granted in express words and those necessarily or fairly implied in or incident to the powers and purposes of the corporation, not simply convenient but indispensable. Dillon, Municipal Corporations (Fifth Ed. 1911) § 237. Following Dillon's rule, Pennsylvania decisions have denied the existence of a specific power where there has been a failure to provide for it while other powers have been enumerated. LESLEY v. KITE, 192 Pa. 268 (1899); AMERICAN ANILINE PRODUCTS, INC. v. LOCK HAVEN, 288 Pa. 420 (1927); PITTSBURGH RAILWAYS CO. v. P.S.C., 115 Pa. Super. Ct. 58 (1934). However, the Constitution in authorizing home rule provides that any "Cities, or cities of any particular class, may be given the right and power to frame and adopt their own charters and to exercise the powers and authority of local self-government, subject, however, to such restrictions, limitations, and regulations, as may be imposed by the Legislature." (Article XV, Section 1.) The enabling Act provides that any city taking advantage of its provisions "shall have and may exercise all powers and authority of local self-government and shall have complete powers of legislation and administration in relation to its municipal functions." (Section 17). Section 1-100 uses substantially the same language. Under these circumstances, the City has and may exercise any power pertaining to local self-government and to its municipal functions. Thus, it will have zoning powers, even though they are not specified in Section 1-100. Dillon's rule does not operate by way of limitation. 2. Provision is made that the City's powers shall be enlarged if at any time in the future restrictions on the grant of powers appearing in the enabling legislation are removed or the City's powers are increased by constitutional amendment. No further legislation under Section 1-100 would be necessary to grant the City such additional powers for the section is intended to be self-executing. 3. The General Assembly, having granted to the City powers of home rule pursuant to the Constitution, is now foreclosed from legislating on matters coming within the scope of the powers granted. Legislation in the home rule area is now within the exclusive province of the City Council. Nor may any of the powers granted be withdrawn by the General Assembly; they may, of course, be enlarged by the General Assembly. 4. The limitations as to fines, forfeitures and penalties in Section 1-100 are those imposed by the enabling Act. Section 17. Notes 1 | The three hundred dollar ($300) limit on fines, forfeitures and penalties has been increased by the General Assembly effective November 30, 2004. Act 193 of 2004.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 1-101 Legislative Power.

§ 1-101. Legislative Power. The legislative power of the City, including any such power which may hereafter be conferred on the City by amendment of the Constitution or by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by a Council, subject only to the provisions of this charter. The Council shall be elected, shall organize and shall function as provided in this charter. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: The Council, the traditional legislative body, is vested with power to legislate.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 1-102 Executive and Administrative Power.

§ 1-102. Executive and Administrative Power. (1) The executive and administrative power of the City, as it now exists, shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by a Mayor and such other officers, departments, boards and commissions as are designated and authorized in this charter. The Mayor and other executive or administrative officers shall be elected or appointed as provided in this charter. (2) Any additional executive and administrative power which may be conferred on the City by amendment of the Constitution or by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be vested in and exercised by the Mayor and, as far as practicable, by the officers, departments, boards and commissions designated in this charter. The Council shall by ordinance distribute among such officers, departments, boards and commissions such new powers and duties, but to the extent that this is not practicable, it may create additional offices, boards and commissions for the exercise of such powers and the performance of such duties and provide for the appointment of new officers or members of new boards or commissions. Any such additional offices, boards and commissions shall in all respects be subject to this charter. In the case of new officers whose primary duties are to assist the courts, the appointive power may be vested in the judges thereof; and if the primary duties of any new board or commission relate to the functions of any department, such board or commission shall be constituted a departmental board or commission within such department. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. This section vests the executive and administrative powers in the executive and administrative branch of the government. 2. Subsection (2) looks forward to City-County consolidation. Any additional executive and administrative powers acquired by such a constitutional amendment are to be exercised by officers and agencies designated in the Charter, as the Council may determine. If such a division of new powers proves to be impracticable, new offices, boards and commissions, but not new departments, may be created to take over such powers but such new agencies would be subject to all the other provisions of the Charter, including, for example, civil service requirements. Wherever possible each new board and commission is to be attached to a City department.