Former Mayor Kenney vetoed 4 bills simply by not signing them

former mayor kenney vetoed 4 bills simply by not signing them

Mayor Jim Kenney

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Four of the bills passed by Philadelphia City Council last month will not become law because Mayor Jim Kenney failed to sign them before leaving office.

It’s called a pocket veto. Every four years, the mayor gets a chance to veto bills without facing an override by council if he simply takes no action on the bills before his term expires.

Four years ago, Kenney vetoed six bills that way. This time, he vetoed four. There was no apparent explanation, and the former mayor could not be reached for comment.

A few of the vetoes were expected. One bill, requiring new businesses to hire workers who were laid off when a prior business in its location closed, was seen as an unworkable overreach by the Kenney administration.

Another bill would have banned gaming machines in convenience stores, and a third bill would have allowed stores to charge a fee for paper bags, encouraging customers to bring reusable bags to shop. Officials signaled concerns about how that would impact low-income residents.

A fourth bill would have provided guidance to high school athletes negotiating name, image and likeness, or NIL, deals. Its sponsor, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, said it would have been a chance to help kids avoid exploitation. He said he did not get any feedback on his NIL bill.

“Looking at this as uncharted territory and folks not necessarily knowing the best way to support student-athletes, we still feel really confident that we have a model that can be replicated to support some of the most vulnerable students,” he said.

“It’s disappointing,” he continued. “We did not think there was anything problematic with the legislation.”

Thomas plans to try again this session.

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