Lawmakers now hold fate of regulations waived amid pandemic

HARRISBURG, PA (AP) – As voters shift important new responsibilities to them, Pennsylvania state lawmakers must now decide whether to reintroduce hundreds of state government regulations that were repealed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This massive review is fueled by Tuesday’s referendum, in which voters were the first in the nation to restrict their governor’s emergency powers and approve constitutional amendments that give lawmakers much more power over disaster declarations.

A key component of a disaster declaration is a governor’s power to waive an ordinance, and an ordinance waiver that Republicans seek to restore is job search requirements for those claiming unemployment benefits.

On Thursday, Governor Tom Wolf renewed the disaster declaration, his fifth in a row in response to the coronavirus.

If the provisions of the constitutional amendments approved on Tuesday apply to them, Wolf’s new disaster declaration will expire in three weeks. Before Tuesday, an emergency declaration from a governor could take up to 90 days and be extended indefinitely.

This would allow lawmakers to decide whether to extend the entire declaration after its expiry on June 9, including the job search requirement.

“The decision we now face is: ‘Let’s expand and renew the disaster statement in whole or in part, or not at all,” said Jason Gottesman, spokesman for House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Center.

Wolf spoke to the best Republicans and Democrats in law on Wednesday about how to find a way forward with the new lawmaker powers over disaster statements.

Although Wolf was against the constitutional amendment, he promised to work with lawmakers. On Thursday, the legislature received information from government agencies about which regulations were waived and why.

Over the past few months, the Wolf government has ensured bipartisan support for aspects of the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and measures to contain the spread of the virus through working with a task force appointed by each party in each legislative chamber.

A task force would have their work cut out.

The suspended regulations cover a wide range of government requirements, from training and inspections to the rights and standards of living of people in group homes and children in foster families.

In the Ministry of Labor and Industry, regulations regarding boiler inspections, asbestos removal and the safety of stuffed animal toys have been suspended.

The health department allowed medical marijuana dispensaries to fulfill roadside delivery orders, while the State Department gave funeral directors more time to process corpses in the event of a COVID-19 spike.

Wolf has said orders to curb the spread of the virus will not be affected by the constitutional changes, although Republicans have urged Wolf to expedite the flow of his last remaining actions.

Wolf has largely overturned these orders, with remaining capacity capacity restrictions lifted after May 30, Memorial Day. Republicans have requested that the last remaining restrictions expire before Memorial Day weekend.

A mask mandate for unvaccinated people is also still in force, following federal guidelines until 70% of adults are vaccinated.

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