Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week of July 27. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess at press time. The Pennsylvania Senate was subject to being recalled to session by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. The state House of Representatives was subject to recall by Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster.

Emergency Transparency

A measure aimed at increasing government transparency in emergency declarations became law July 27 without the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf.

House Bill 2463, sponsored by state Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, was approved unanimously by both houses of the General Assembly.

The law requires the state government to respond to requests under the Right-to-Know Law even if state offices are closed during a disaster declaration.

Backers of the measure say members of the public and media have been stymied in finding out the reasoning of decision-making in the Wolf administration. After state employees were told to work from home in March, Republicans said in a statement, records requests languished without response.

Wolf decided against using the veto to derail the bill, but did not sign the measure.

The bill has been enrolled as Act 77 of 2020.

"Act 77 provides legislators, Pennsylvania residents and the news media the answers they need to be informed about the data and retrieval methods the Wolf administration is using in its decision-making during this pandemic," said state Rep, Stephen Barrar, R-Delaware, who co-sponsored the bill. "Many of its decisions have come with severe consequences for residents and the many businesses operating in the commonwealth. It is wrong for government officials to withhold this critical information, especially now. The public has a right to know and the Wolf administration and future administrations must be held accountable."

Climate Change

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa Jr., D-Allegheny, on July 30 introduced a bill that would create what he calls a "Cap and Invest" program for the state's electric power sector, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Senate Bill 15 would instruct the state Environmental Quality Board to reduce carbon pollution emissions from the electric power generation by at least 90% by 2040. To achieve that the board may develop a market-based carbon pollution limit. A statement from Costa said a cap-and-invest approach would generate revenue for investment in economic development, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Costa said his bill has attracted 16 co-sponsors.

"The federal government has abdicated responsibility on climate change—states, local governments, private companies and citizens must take the lead in enacting equitable policies to mitigate the growing impacts of climate change," Costa said in a statement. Revenue generated from the program would be directed toward programs that promote clean air, mitigate utility bill impacts and protect low-income consumers, increase energy efficiency, and assist workers and communities impacted by the closure of power plants or mines, the statement added.

The bill had not been printed by press time.

Preschool Intervention

Wolf announced July 28 the direction of $3 million for preschool early-intervention programs serving children 3 to 5 years old, with developmental delays and disabilities, to purchase personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and hire additional staff.

The funding, which would come from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, will help to keep students and staff safe and meet the unique challenges of COVID-19, a statement from the Wolf administration said. The CARES Act gives governors the discretion to determine the use of emergency education relief funds.

"Early intervention services are essential to young children and families in Pennsylvania and this money will go a long way to helping children stay safe and thrive within the education system in Pennsylvania," Wolf said. "These services are provided at no cost to families and this administration will continue to ensure that funding is provided for the programs." Approximately 13,700 children are enrolled in early-intervention classrooms in Pennsylvania, the statement said.

Trauma Awareness

As a companion to Wolf's policy initiative called Reach Out PA: Your Mental Health Matters, the Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR) is releasing the "Trauma-Informed PA" plan as a guide for citizens and service providers statewide on what it means to be trauma-informed and healing-centered.

This plan was developed over four months in an effort led by OAR and the Trauma-Informed PA Think Tank, formed in February.

"Thanks to the Office of Advocacy and Reform and its think tank members for this innovative and vital plan on how to be trauma-informed, something many Pennsylvanians may not be familiar with, but that can be a guiding principle for our continuing efforts to support and protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians and everyone in our commonwealth," Wolf said in a statement.

The plan, which includes 43 specific recommendations, focuses on six key areas:

• Ensuring that universal training in trauma awareness is afforded.
• Ensuring all state agencies' policies and practices are trauma-informed and more focused on prevention and healing.
• Mandating that all licensed and funded entities become trauma-informed.
• Building and supporting grassroots and community-based efforts to become trauma-informed.
• Recognizing and healing from the traumas of major crises like COVID-19.
• Preventing and healing racial, communal and historical traumas, whether they be individual or systemic.

Implementation of the recommendations is set to begin this year, according to the statement.

Mental Health

The state House of Representatives Human Services Committee held an information hearing to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of Pennsylvania residents and how the mental health community is addressing those needs—particularly in rural areas.

Rep. Tom Murt, R-Montgomery, majority chairman of the committee, said July 29 that he plans to use evidence adduced at the hearing to formulate solutions.

Representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, doctors of psychiatry and county and private mental health services providers throughout the commonwealth testified about rising levels of financial distress, anxiety, depression, insomnia and unresolved grief during the pandemic, according to a statement from Murt's office. They said isolation caused by the statewide shutdown and stay-at-home orders has contributed to an increase in substance abuse and relapse, despair and thoughts of suicide. Children are also experiencing fear, nightmares, anxiety and regressive behavior such as bed wetting.

Kristen Houser, deputy secretary of the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, testified that admissions to psychiatric hospitals and treatment centers have been down during the pandemic.

Dr. Erika Saunders, who chairs the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Penn State Health, concurred that "telehealth has been enormously helpful in certain circumstances," but not the more serious cases that require hospitalization. She also said access to technology is an issue that must be addressed for telehealth to be widely available in rural Pennsylvania.