GOP lawmakers continue to push doomed reopening bills
Some counties abandon their plans to challenge governor over color-coded phases
HARRISBURG — As Republicans in the Legislature continue to pass reopening bills doomed to be vetoed, some Pennsylvania counties are abandoning plans to restart their local economies without Gov. Tom Wolf’s blessing.
Over the past week, a growing number of counties that are still in the “red” phase of Mr. Wolf’s threetiered reopening plan vowed to buck the state and unilaterally ease coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and residents.
The GOP-controlled state Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would give counties the power to do so, by opting out of Mr. Wolf’s business closure and stay-athome orders.
“This allows counties to decide on their own what they want to do and what they don’t want to do,” Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said. “This allows counties to decide what businesses can open and what ones do not open.”
The vote was preceded by a joint committee hearing with commissioners from Beaver and Dauphin counties, which have both threatened to reopen without Mr.
Wolf’s approval, as well as with representatives from counties that are already open, and one that’s far from that goal: Delaware County, in the hard-hit southeast.
So far, Mr. Wolf’s administration has given 37 of the state’s 67 counties the goahead to ease coronavirus restrictions, with more expected to be announced Friday. While that includes much of western and northcentral Pennsylvania, not all counties in those areas were allowed to advance. That includes Beaver County, which has seen a serious outbreak in one nursing home.
Daniel Camp, a Republican Beaver County commissioner, told the Senate committees he was disappointed at how long it took the Department of Health to implement universal testing at long-term care facilities and send in the National Guard to Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, where 71 people have died.
Beaver County, as well as Lancaster and Lebanon, are moving forward with plans to reopen without state approval, while other counties including Dauphin and Schuylkill have backed away from the threat.
“Come this Friday, we plan on opening because we’re getting hundreds of emails, text messages, phone calls of these business owners that are on the brink of closing down,” Mr. Camp told Senate lawmakers. “We do believe that this one nursing home is holding us back.”
Jeff Haste, chair of the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners and a Republican, told lawmakers he’s been “frustrated at the lack of clear communication from the administration, but we want to work with everybody to try to move this forward.”
While Dauphin County commissioners previously said they would move the area to the “yellow” phase without Mr. Wolf’s approval, allowing many businesses to resume in-person operations, they dropped that plan Wednesday.
During a board meeting, Mr. Haste said there are still no plans to prosecute businesses that reopen.
That promise will only apply to local enforcement. Earlier this week, Mr. Wolf warned that companies that reopen with state approval risk losing required certifications and that the State Police will continue to issue warnings and fines.
For his part, Mr. Wolf is not veering from his strategy to reopen the state’s economy gradually, and in waves, even as Republicans in the
General Assembly openly attack his decision-making.
In addition to the bill that would give counties reopening powers, the Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would allow garden shops, barber shops and real estate offices statewide to resume in-person operations. They have been shuttered since March under Mr. Wolf’s order closing all businesses that aren’t “life-sustaining.”
The state House, also controlled by Republicans, is scheduled to vote on the measures Thursday. If they pass in that chamber, they’ll head to Mr. Wolf, who has vetoed similar bills recently.
Brian Zidek, chair of the Delaware County Council and a Democrat, told lawmakers Wednesday the issue of reopening counties has become too political.
“We all want the same thing,” he said. “I’d ask everyone to stop politicizing this . ... It’s not all Trump’s fault, it’s not all Wolf’s fault.”
Angela Couloumbis and Matt McKinney of Spotlight PA contributed to this article. Penn Live contributed. Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News.