Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photo: Shutterstock

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action from the week of June 8. The Pennsylvania Senate was in recess at press time, subject to recall on 12 hours' notice by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. The state House of Representatives was in recess and was scheduled to return to session Monday.

Speaker Retires

Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, announced that he would step down from his post before the end of the legislative session.

Turzai had announced in January his intention not to seek reelection and retire as a lawmaker. On June 10, Turzai said on the House floor that he would leave Monday.

The Associated Press reported that Turzai said he hoped "to move into the private sector" but did not announce any future plans.

In lengthy floor remarks that were part valedictory address and part policy speech, he revisited some of the issues he has championed, including changes to the state liquor system, economic development, natural gas drilling, opposition to abortion rights and school choice.

"The job, the position, is not mine," Turzai said. "I'm a steward. I get to sit in a beautiful office and get to meet people from all walks of life. And now it will be somebody else's turn. And that's good."

It was not immediately clear who might succeed him as speaker, the AP reported. The next in line within the House GOP caucus is Majority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County.

Other top House Republicans who might seek the job include Majority Whip Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County and Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor of York County.

Relaxing Restrictions

An overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians favor allowing businesses to safely resume operations, according to a poll released June 11 by the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank.

The poll of 500 registered voters conducted by The Polling Company Inc. found 74% support for proposals to "allow businesses that agree to follow CDC guidelines for social distancing to reopen and rehire workers." Voters also ranked jobs and the economy as their top priority, even above health care.

"More than half of all local, small businesses in Pennsylvania are at risk of closing permanently because of the Wolf administration's unfair and unclear shutdown policies," said

Commonwealth Foundation vice president Jennifer Stefano. "The majority of Pennsylvanians support reopening before untold damage is done to the mom-and-pop shops in our cities and towns. The governor should stop suing the legislature and allow this to be done quickly and safely."

The poll was conducted between May 16 and 20, and has a margin of error of 4.38%, according to a statement from the Commonwealth Foundation.

Consumer Complaints

Reports about travel and vacation problems topped the list of COVID-19-related complaints from consumers in Pennsylvania, while nationally reports about online shopping top the list of consumer complaints, according to new data released by the Federal Trade Commission.

A press release from the FTC said most of the COVID-19-related travel and vacation complaints from consumers are about problems with cancellations and refunds. COVID-19-related consumer complaints about online shopping include reports about items not arriving or not arriving when promised and items that are different than advertised. The FTC began releasing COVID-19-related complaint data in late March and is now releasing more detail about the types of complaints it has received from consumers in each state, according to the agency's statement.

From Jan. 1 through June 8, Pennsylvania consumers reported losing more than $3.1 million to fraud related to the pandemic, with a median loss of $446, the agency said. In addition to vacation- and travel-related complaints, other top COVID-19-related fraud complaints from Pennsylvania consumers included online shopping problems and mobile text messages.

Primary Elections

Results continued to pour in after the date of the June 2 primary election, with The Associated Press projecting the defeat of another Democratic incumbent, embattled state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, who trailed challenger Amanda Cappelletti.

Cappelletti, the former policy director of Planned Parenthood's Pennsylvania chapter, had 65% of the vote to Leach's 35%.

Leach was dogged by allegations of sexual harassment. A Senate-commissioned review of the allegations, conducted by Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, said that while Leach hadn't violated the law or policy of the Democratic caucus, he had engaged in "immature and unprofessional" conduct, according to a report on the WHYY website. Leach was also accused of sexual assault in a 1991 incident, an allegation he forcefully denied, and which Eckert Seamans said it could not verify or disprove.

In the only contested primary for statewide office, Nina Ahmad, a former Philadelphia deputy mayor, and Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb were locked in a tight contest for the Democratic nomination for auditor general, as mailed-in ballots were counted. Ahmad had 33% of the vote to Lamb's 28% with many mail-in votes remaining to be counted.

According to Spotlight PA, three other legislative incumbents—two Democrats and a Republican—were locked in tight races for renomination.