Apr. 27, 2020
HARRISBURG—Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery) today announced that the House Government Oversight Committee will investigate the Wolf administration’s system for allowing some businesses to stay open while others were denied waivers.
The investigation was suggested by Gov. Tom Wolf in responding to questions about the administration’s process for approving waivers.
“There is no playbook for dealing with a pandemic like this,” Stephens said. “We need to learn what worked well and what we can improve in the event anything like this happens again, whether in the fall or thereafter.”
Since the announcement of the closures in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, questions were raised by the public and legislators as to what standards were used in the waiver system.
“The standards just weren’t clear and seemed contradictory,” Stephens said. “The investigation will examine ways to make the system fairer and more rational.”
Stephens believes the task force must work quickly as a second wave of COVID-19 is forecasted to hit in the fall with a potential third wave to follow that.
The nine-member committee is tasked with investigating matters regarding state government and agencies referred by the speaker, majority leader or minority leader.
The House Government Oversight Committee will release its report in the coming months.
Representative Todd Stephens
151st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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