It’s for that reason the pandemic has managed to spark a national conversation about the question of how much power a state’s executive branch should be allowed to wield during an emergency - and for how long. We only allow it in the most extreme circumstances.” “We don’t normally allow our executives to rule by decree, essentially. “That’s an extraordinary act in a democratic society,” Bob said. In his view, a showdown over emergency powers was inevitable, not only because lockdown orders and other pandemic precautions are unusual on their own, but because restrictions have been handed down by the executive branch in one form or another for so long. Clifford Bob, a political scientist and author at Duquesne University.īob said he’s been studying the amendments and the political energy building around them for some time. “I see it as kind of the next move that frustrated legislatures would make in this kind of chess game that they are playing with the governor,” said Dr. The question both of them are asking boils down to this: who gets to say how the state reacts to an emergency? That fight ultimately yielded the two emergency powers ballot questions voters will make their decisions on in May. The state Supreme Court then let Wolf veto that move. Some lawmakers even tried overturning the governor’s disaster declaration last summer. They asked for detailed COVID-19 data and meetings with administration leaders, which came in dribs and drabs.
GOP lawmakers and leadership claim they were trying to get more involved in that decision-making process. The whole time, Republicans have railed that he was acting unilaterally. That’s despite the fact that the administration was broadly using the Disease Control and Prevention Act to avoid answering Right-to-Know requests that would have more clearly revealed the governor’s decision-making process. He’s pointed to the constant data drops and public appearances he and other agency leaders have made throughout the pandemic as evidence of his transparency. Tom Wolf has defended the executive actions his administration took to limit the coronavirus’ spread.
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“This is maybe in my 22-year career one of the most important issues that Pennsylvanians have ever had to weigh in on, and that is the balance of power of government,” state Senate President Pro Tem Jake Corman (R-Centre) said.
One would limit a governor’s disaster proclamations to three weeks at a time, while another would make it easier for state lawmakers to vote them down.īoth are more broadly seen as one of the first official referendums on the Wolf administration’s handling of the pandemic, which has drawn the ire of many statehouse Republicans and a mix of adulation and defense from Democrats. (Harrisburg) - Voters in the May 18 primary will get to weigh in on two ideas to change how different branches of state government could exercise their powers during an emergency.īoth of them would amend Pennsylvania’s constitution. State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) pitches voters on voting up a pair of constitutional amendments that would limit the governor's future emergency powers on Apr. Now, it’s time to find better ways to interact with you and ensure we meet your high standards of what a credible media organization should be. The days of journalism’s one-way street of simply producing stories for the public have long been over.
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