GOP bill would relax Pennsylvania business shutdown

HARRISBURG — The GOP-controlled Legislature sent Gov. Tom Wolf a bill Wednesday that would force him to allow some businesses to reopen during the pandemic, but its fate was unclear.

The Senate approved the legislation on a party-line vote, sending it to Wolf’s desk for his signature.

Wolf hasn’t explicitly said he would veto it, although his health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, wrote to senators Wednesday to warn of the bill’s “devastating” impact on the administration’s ability to slow the spread of the virus.

Republicans accused Wolf of overseeing a haphazard and secretive process for determining which businesses must close and which may remain open. Democrats, in turn, accused Republicans of ignoring health experts and risking lives. Republicans countered they were merely trying to force Wolf to adopt guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Republicans rejected Democratic-sponsored amendments that would have required employers to provide personal protective equipment to employees and offer paid sick leave to workers who contract the virus.

The Wolf administration said it’s easing up on tax enforcement during the pandemic.

The Department of Revenue said it will pause payments on existing payment plans on request; offer flexible terms for new payment plans; suspend or reduce automatic enforcement of liens, wage garnishments and use of private collection agencies; and take other steps to offer relief to individual and business taxpayers.

The measures will last through at least July 15, the agency said Wednesday.

The Department of Revenue previously extended the deadline for taxpayers to file their 2019 Pennsylvania personal income tax returns from April 15 to July 15.