The Pennsylvania Senate recessed for the legislative season yesterday without voting on House Bill 2224, which park advocates have termed the “parks for cash bill” because it would have removed court oversight of the sale of some dedicated or donated parkland, paving the way for the city to sell green space for quick revenue.
“Senators have made it clear they will not vote on any bills in the lame duck session, so the bill is dead,” the Philadelphia Parks Alliance said in a statement on Thursday. “If legislators want to pursue this issue, then they will have to introduce a new bill in 2013.”
The Parks Alliance, which said they were not aware of the provisions they claimed were hidden in the bill until it passed the state House in the spring, joined a Pennsylvania Land Trust-led coalition of 84 organizations that opposed the bill and sent 1,700 emails to state senators urging them not to pass it.
