Voters to decide fate of reducing governor's emergency powers

Pennsylvania voters will be able to decide in the May 18 primary election the fate of the Republican-backed proposed constitutional amendment to rein in the governor’s power to extend future emergency disaster declarations beyond 21 days without approval by state legislators.

The General Assembly on Friday gave its final approval to the proposed constitutional amendment, which paves the way for voters to decide its fate. The House passed the resolution Friday while the Senate had approved it Jan. 26.

The bill had to be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions. The state House passed the measure last July and the Senate followed suit in October.

The proposed amendment from would reduce the current 90-day limit on a governor’s emergency declaration to just three weeks. Any extensions would have to be approved by the General Assembly and would not be subject to a veto by the governor.

Republicans have been highly critical of Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency declaration during the covid pandemic.

Wolf at times forced restaurants and other so-called nonessential businesses to close and limited the ability of those businesses to operate when their doors were permitted to be opened. The Republicans last year passed bills to reopen the economy by lifting covid-related restrictions, but Wolf used his veto power to stop the efforts.

In September, a federal judge ruled that Wolf’s orders closing businesses were unconstitutional. The governor appealed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted a stay while the case is pending.

A spokesman for Wolf said Friday the governor remains opposed to the proposed constitutional amendment. He had previously said it would hinder the state’s ability to respond quickly, comprehensively and effectively to a disaster emergency, by requiring any declaration to be approved by a resolution of the Legislature every three weeks.

“This would force partisan politics into the commonwealth’s disaster response efforts and could slow down or halt emergency response when aid is most needed,” Wolf said.

If a disaster were serious enough that the General Assembly could not meet, the governor would have no authority to extend response measures past the arbitrary deadline.

Senate Bill 2 also provides for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights based on race or ethnicity. That would bring the Pennsylvania Constitution in line with the U.S. Constitution.

One of the sponsors of the Senate bill, Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said in a statement that passage of the bill would not jeopardize any current or future funding under a relief stimulus bill. If approved in the May primary, the effect would be immediate.

Pennsylvania residents “should have a say in reining in this extended, unilateral power on display during this emergency,” Ward said.

Ward could not be reached for comment.