5 ways Republicans are trying to reopen more businesses in Pa.

Meanwhile, Gov. Wolf outlines metrics he'll use to guide reopening of state

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Kate Landis / PA Post

The "ReOpen PA" protest outside the capitol in Harrisburg on Monday, April 20, 2020, featured numerous signs criticizing Gov. Tom Wolf's actions to shut down much of Pennsylvania's economy to contain the coronavirus epidemic. (Kate Landis / PA Post)

Kate Landis / PA Post

The “ReOpen PA” protest outside the capitol in Harrisburg on Monday, April 20, 2020, featured numerous signs criticizing Gov. Tom Wolf’s actions to shut down much of Pennsylvania’s economy to contain the coronavirus epidemic. (Kate Landis / PA Post)

Despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of legislation that would have forced him to follow federal guidelines to determine which business can re-open, and even though he’s announced his own phased in approach to loosening of restrictions beginning May 8, Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg aren’t letting the issue rest.

Here are five ways they are trying to reopen more businesses.

Construction

• Details: The state Department of Community and Economic Development would have to allow all public and private construction activities to resume as long as they follow safety measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Status: Passed the House on a 111-91 vote. On Wednesday evening, Gov. Wolf announced that he would allow construction to resume on May 1, one week earlier than previously announced. House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) welcomed the governor’s announcement. “Working with him on this issue showed we can move forward together on fighting COVID-19, while rebuilding the economy,” Turzai said late Wednesday evening.

• Bipartisan support: Some. Seven Democrats voted in favor. Five Republicans voted against.

• What to read: I wrote an explainer about the issue. The Engineering News-Record has many regional updates and a nationwide look.

Retailers

• Details: Business could reopen if they provide curbside pick service of online or telephone orders, or if they have no more than one customer and one employee in the store at a time.

• Status: Passed the House with a 112-90 vote.

• Bipartisan support: Some. Nine Democrats voted in favor. Six Republicans voted against.

• What to read: As supporters have noted, this is similar to what Wolf has announced for many state liquor stores. And PennLive’s Jan Murphy looked at the piecemeal approach lawmakers are taking.

Car dealerships

• Details: Wolf on Monday signed legislation authorizing remote online notarization, which he said would allow online car sales. But a bill from state Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington) would allow car dealerships to open if they provide hazard pay to workers, adequate personal protective equipment, paid sick leave and meet other requirements.

• Status: Passed the House 113-89

• Bipartisan support: Some. Four republicans voted against. Eight Democrats voted in favor.
  What to read: CBS Philly spoke with car dealer Gary Barbera who said limited online auto sales have been allowed in New Jersey, Delaware and New York. He also said while dealers can’t meet people in person, clients could still look at what they want at lots.

Marinas and golf courses

• Details: State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) wrote a letter to Wolf urging him to allow boatyards and marinas to open for personal use — which he noted is an important issue for many boaters and fishers on the shores of Lake Erie. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have allowed marinas and boatyards to remain open. He also urged Wolf to allow golf courses to reopen.

• Status: Laughlin’s letter to the Wolf administration is dated Monday. A spokesperson for Laughlin wasn’t aware of any legislation specifically targeting marinas and golf courses, but he said legislation Wolf vetoed would have covered them.

• Bipartisan support: Too soon to tell.

• What to read: PhillyVoice looked at the reopenings in New Jersey. Here’s Laughlin’s letter.

Lifting the emergency order

• Details: Lawmakers can revoke the governor’s disaster emergency power through a concurrent resolution, and some Republicans have prepared that “nuclear option,” Spotlight PA reports.

• Status: The legislation has been introduced, but even if the House and Senate passed a concurrent resolution, Wolf could veto it, and Democrats are unlikely to help Republicans on an override vote.

• Bipartisan support: The Senate measure has no Democratic co-sponsors. One Democratic lawmaker was listed as a co-sponsor of the House bill as of early this morning.

• What to read: Spotlight PA has the details.

Best of the rest

Jacqueline Larma / AP Photo

Sandra Thompson, right, speaks alongside Sandra Harrison, both golfers and members of a group of local women known as Sisters in the Fairway, during an interview with The Associated Press, Tuesday April 24, 2018 in York, Pa. A worker at the Grandview Golf Club in York called police on the group, accusing them of playing too slowly and holding up others behind them. Harrison has filed a lawsuit against the club in federal court, and Thompson has started a case in the York County Court of Common Pleas, the York Daily Record reports. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)

• our black women have sued Grandview Golf Course in York County, two years after  a worker there twice called 911 on them. The case gained national attention. Steve Chronister, a former York County commissioner who called police, told the YDR that he looked forward to taking the case before a judge. “I look at it as a fraudulent accusation of racism and discrimination that never happened,” he said.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Christian Hetrick reports on a bill that would make it easier for consumers and businesses to fix electronics, including cracked smartphone screens, tractors and ventilators.

• Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Pennsylvania State Police have seen bip drops in crashes and arrests, The Morning Call reports. The number of crashes that state police responded to dropped  from 1,235 the week of Feb. 22 to 391 last week.

• Brad Bumsted of The Caucus looks at how Gov. Tom Wolf is handling news conferences amid social distancing. A former press secretary in Democratic Gov. Robert P. Casey’s administration suggested Wolf hold press conferences with fewer reporters in order to allow follow-up questions.

Coronavirus stories from around the state and world

• San Jose Mercury News: Santa Clara County had nation’s first COVID-19 deaths, weeks earlier than thought

• San Francisco Chronicle: Early Santa Clara County coronavirus cases likely connected to China, microbiologist says

• KQED: COVID-19 Circulated in Bay Area Considerably Earlier Than Thought

• New York Times: A Coronavirus Death in Early February Was ‘Probably the Tip of an Iceberg’

• USA Today: Trump claims coronavirus tests are widely available. They are not

• Andy Slavitt: A New Study Indicates Asymptomatic People are Still Highly Contagious

• WHYY’s PlanPhilly: ‘We will choose life over death:’ SEPTA workers threaten service interruptions

• BillyPenn: Give help, get help: Two new apps offer food delivery — and a chance to volunteer

• York Daily Record: Coronavirus in Pa.: How a plastics maker helps companies get safely back to work

• PennLive: Coroner accuses Pa. Health Dept. of ‘Monday morning quarterbacking’ coronavirus deaths

• The Morning Call: Coronavirus threat to Pennsylvania food supply chain needs more attention, Republican lawmakers say

• Philadelphia Inquirer: A key Democratic group is suing to ease Pennsylvania’s vote-by-mail laws

Taking the pulse of Pa.’s media

Commercial news companies across Pennsylvania are struggling in the era of coronavirus shut downs and stay-at-home orders, just like most other businesses. Given the important role that news organizations play in their communities — as watchdogs and documentarians — PA Post is beginning a series of short Q&As with Pennsylvania news leaders. The first two interviews were published on Wednesday: Eric Ebeling with The Indiana Gazette, and Chip Minemyer with The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown. We’ll publish more in the coming days and weeks. (Shout out to Kate Landis for the idea and conducting the interviews.)