Bill To Regulate Nightclubs In Philly Goes Viral, Councilman Responds
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A bill to regulate Philadelphia night clubs generated huge interest on social media yesterday implied that under it, venues would have to supply police with the personal information of entertainers before gigs.
The bill's sponsor calls that a misinterpretation. Councilman Mark Squilla isn't ducking the social media storm that is pounding his name.
"That's the way social media works and you know the facts don't have to be included in social media or a blog post. It just has to be able to grab a headline to get people to read it and the young folks, the artisans that make our city great and have grown our city are all tied in to social media so I think it's a great way to get that message across and have their feelings heard," Squilla said.
Councilman Squilla said once he found himself at the center of unexpected outrage, he realized the bill may need some revision. He says the bill was intended to close a loophole, where clubs would use playlists, rather than actual DJ's to avoid having to obtain live entertainment permits.
"The operators thought, 'why are some clubs required to get this license, when other clubs can therefore avoid the license by saying we don't need to hire anybody?" Squilla explained.
Message received. Squilla says he's already working on removing the bill's offending language, that club owners provide police with performers' contact information, though he denies it was a registry or intended to harm musicians. On the contrary, he says it was designed to curb nuisance bars that don't hire bands or DJ's, but stream music, allowing them to skirt permit requirements.
Squilla says he intends to move forward with the bill, but is very open to modifying or perhaps removing the section that involves sharing the personal information of performers with police.
CBS 3's Alexandria Hoff contributed to this report.
