Pa. House fails to override Wolf’s veto of bill that gives school districts authority on sports during pandemic

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House on Wednesday failed to override Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a bill that would have given school districts final authority on running sports events and admitting spectators during the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill originally had 155 supporters, but only 130 voted “yes” on the override question. That was five votes short of the number needed for an override.

The difference in the Republican-dominated House was 24 Demo

crats who voted in favor of the original bill, but on Wednesday voted against an override. A25th was absent.

“I came to the conclusion this bill did more than was originally advertised,” said Lehigh County Democratic Rep. Mike Schlossberg, who was among those whose original “yes” became a “no.”

He said he realized Wednesday the bill would permanently remove Wolf’s ability to regulate crowd size at school stadiums. That, Schlossberg said, meant it would handcuff him in the event of a major flare-up in coronavirus infections.

Other Lehigh Valley Democrats who changed their voting position Wednesday were Reps. SteveSamuelsonandRobertFreemanofNorthamptonCountyand Reps. Peter Schweyer andJeanne McNeill of Lehigh County.

Despite the failed override, school districts still have legal clearance to put people in the stands at sports events during the pandemic because of a Sept. 14 federal court ruling.

Judge William S. Stickman IV ruled that Wolf’s recommended limits on gatherings — including one of 250 people for outdoor events like high school football games— were“well-intentioned” but unconstitutional. A subsequent attempt to have that order put on hold failed.

In the wakeof that ruling, some Lehigh Valley school districts, including Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area, already are allowing more than 250 fans to attend upcoming football games.

‘Frivolous’ time use

Votes aside, Schlossberg said he believes certain school districts can hold outdoor sports events with more than 250 people if stadiums are large enough.

He identified some complications, however, such as using restrooms and crowd control during the events.

Other Democrats who voted “yes” for the bill but did not support an override were Reps. Mike Zabel of Delaware County andHouseMinorityLeaderFrank Dermody of Allegheny County.

Both said there are more important things for the Legislature to work on. Zabel called the override attempt “a frivolous use of legislative resources.”

The 130 votes in favor of the override included all 109 Republicans in the House.

Afterward, House Majority Leader Rep. Kerry Benninghoff said of the vote, “MoreDemocrats decided to cave to political pressure by flipping their vote instead of standing up for their constituents.

“UntilmoreDemocratsarewilling to stand up for the people of Pennsylvania instead of standing with their political party or their governor, thecommonwealthwill remain mired in the governor’s emergency rule,” he added.

Months of confusion

Wolf vetoed the bill Monday, 10 days after it wassent to himbythe Legislature.

At stake was what the bill referred to as “exclusive authority” for overseeing school sports events during the pandemic.

The issue has caused confusion and controversy since early summer, when school districts begantryingtoplanhowtohandle sports amid the pandemic when classes resumed for the 2020-21 school year.

OnAug. 6, Wolfsurprised many in the school sports community whenherecommendednosports take place until Jan. 1, in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. He later indicated he would not block a fall sports startup approved by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The administration’s guidance that limited crowds to 250people for outdoor events and 25 for indoor ones also caused confusion and backlash. Stickman’s ruling put that guidance aside legally, at least for the time being.

The Wolf administration has repeatedly said local officials already have the power to make decisions on sports during the pandemic, but Republicans in the Legislature disagreed.

The prime sponsor of the bill, Republican state Rep. MikeReese of Westmoreland County, called his measure an empowerment of “local elected officials to come up with a health and safety plan on how to put fans in the stands” at school sports events.

Before the Wednesday vote, Reese said school board members wholive in communities “are just as invested” in keeping communities safe as officials in Harrisburg. Hence, Reese said, they should have final say on safely running sports events during the pandemic.

Wolf, in a written statement Monday, called the bill unnecessary. He said the bill’s provisions might impinge on the state’s ability to limit virus exposure during flu season, and it has “constitutional infirmities.”