Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action from the week of April 13. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess at press time, subject to a 12-hour call to session. Each house was operating under social distancing practices, as the Pennsylvania Senate has instituted remote voting and the state House of Representatives has allowed voting by proxy, through party whips.

Coronavirus Control

Gov. Tom Wolf indicated April 15 that he would veto a measure passed by the General Assembly aimed at speeding up the process of reopening businesses shuttered in response to the administration's "stay-at-home" orders.

Senate Bill 613 was presented to Wolf on April 16 after the Pennsylvania Senate, on a 29-21 party-line vote, agreed to the version passed in the state House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives passed the bill on a 108-94 vote. State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery, was the only House Republican to vote against the measure. All of the chamber's Democrats voted against the bill.

Wolf's press secretary said "reopening businesses too early will only extend the length of the economic hardships created by the pandemic," Pittsburgh news station WTAE reported.

In a tweet, Wolf said, "The big steps we have taken to bend the curve of #COVID19 cases are working in PA. Now is the time to start looking ahead and taking a measured, careful approach to prepare for the future. But the safety of PA'ians comes first and we must ensure we don't undo all of our efforts."

SB 613 would require the Wolf administration to institute a plan to allow businesses to reopen their doors in accordance with federal guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wolf's "stay-at-home" order, which has forced the closure of businesses not defined as "essential," at press time extended to April 30. It was made a statewide order April 1.

Critics of the measure said SB 613 could lead to what Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine called a "tsunami" of litigation when the state government should be focused on curbing the spread of COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus.

Workplace Safety

Levine on April 15 signed an order directing protections for critical workers who are employed at businesses that are authorized to maintain in-person operations during the COVID-19 disaster emergency.

Under the order, employers, among other requirements, must provide facemasks in the workplace, stagger working hours to avoid gatherings of large groups and maintain social distances of at least six feet.

Levine said the measure would "ensure continuity" of best practices among life-sustaining businesses authorized to operate during the "stay-at-home" period ordered through April 30.

"This order provides critical protections for the workers needed to run and operate these life-sustaining establishments," Wolf said in a statement. "Businesses across the state have already begun to implement many of these protocols on their own, and we applaud their efforts to protect employees and customers."

The order also spells out standards for public-facing businesses, including requiring customers to wear facemasks on premises, reducing occupancy to 50% and maintaining six feet of social distancing space.

The order was set to take effect at 8 p.m. April 19.

Sales Tax

As part of the effort to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Wolf on April 14 announced businesses that collect Pennsylvania sales tax will not have to make Accelerated Sales Tax (AST) prepayments over the next three months. That means businesses that normally have a monthly prepayment requirement will not be charged penalties for missing the prepayment deadline during this three-month period.

"The spread of COVID-19 has put a tremendous strain on many businesses throughout the commonwealth that collect Pennsylvania sales tax," Wolf said. "Waiving this prepayment requirement will provide support to our businesses at a time when they are doing their part to help us prevent the spread of the virus."

Under normal circumstances, certain business taxpayers are required to make monthly sales tax prepayments to state coffers if their actual tax liability is more than $25,000 during the third quarter of the preceding year. The Department of Revenue is waiving the prepayment requirement in April, May and June 2020 to help business owners with cash flow during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ventilator Repairs

Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella joined with fellow treasurers from Delaware, Illinois, Rhode Island and Colorado to call on manufacturers of ventilators to release service manuals to repair ventilators for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

Without this critically important information, hospitals are unable to make repairs to ventilators, rendering them unusable during a time of dire need, Torsella said.

"In a public health crisis, every second counts," Torsella said. "There shouldn't be a single ventilator sitting in a closet because a hospital, already under extreme pressure, isn't able to make necessary repairs to it. I call on manufacturers of this lifesaving equipment to release this information and remove this barrier that hospitals are facing."

In a letter, the treasurers expressed their concern for hospitals that have ventilators in stock, but are unable to use them due to repairs that are needed. It is of particular concern that rural or needy hospitals that may use secondhand equipment without a service contract are unable to make their own repairs without the proper manuals from the manufacturers.

The American Medical Association estimates that U.S. health care providers have 170,000 of the breathing-assisting ventilators in their facilities, with unprecedented demand spurred by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Delaware Treasurer Colleen Davis, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner and Colorado Treasurer Dave Young signed the letter along with Torsella.