The Pennsylvania Legislature’s Extension of Covid-19 Emergency Waivers After Seizing Unilateral Emergency Declaration Power

The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently extended the waivers it had issued to extend certain pandemic emergency provisions declared by the Governor, as the Legislature had after the end of the Commonwealth’s declared Coronavirus 2019 emergency in June. The provisions allowed the practice of medicine of those who were licensed out of state or who had allowed their licenses to lapse and similar provisions. The emergency was about to end by the end of June because of the success of Pennsylvania’s vaccination campaign and prior to the rise of the delta variant, but the Trumpist Republican Legislature ended it unilaterally shortly beforehand after the passage of a series of constitutional referendums that decreased gubernatorial emergency powers. Previously, the Chief Executive and the Legislative Branch shared the power to declare emergencies, as a governor could declare a temporary emergency and the General Assembly could end it if it had the votes to override a gubernatorial veto, but the referendums not only shortened the length of an emergency a governor can declare, but allowed the Legislature to end an emergency unilaterally by a resolution with a simple majority vote. Thus, in the name of opposing overreach by the Executive Branch, the amendments violate the Separation of Powers principle because they constitute an overreach of Legislative powers. The emergency restrictions had not been unpopular, just as the ongoing executive mandates the Governor had the unilateral authority to issue for state employees are popular, but the Legislators knew that every referendum ever put on the ballot is approved by Pennsylvania’s voters, as it would take an expensive campaign to educate voters fully on any proposal. Meanwhile, the Trumpist State Republican Committee spent significantly in favor of the proposals. Nevertheless, the GOP-led General Assembly did approve the medical practice waivers and now has unanimously extended them. Like Donald Trump and his supporters in other States who deny or minimize the danger of the pandemic, they oppose proven measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and instead prioritize business interests, even though reducing contagion would be beneficial for commerce, and a libertarian view of freedom as an end unto itself, over public health and safety amidst a contagious disease that has claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 Pennsylvanians. Conservatives, unlike Trumpists, instead believe in public responsibility.