The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved a bill which will permit all businesses to reopen if they follow Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and other guidances on Tuesday.
Sponsored by Sen. Bob Mensch, the bill was voted on 107-95 with mostly Republican approval votes.
Under the bill’s guidance, Gov. Tom Wolf would have to create a plan which requires businesses to follow both CDC and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidelines in order to reopen.
The bill comes four weeks after Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close in March as a precaution against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pennsylvania, where there are 26,490 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has become a hot spot for the virus in the eyes of the federal government, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Vice President Mike Pence told Wolf that the White House is making Pennsylvania a priority to receive medical equipment, the Inquirer further reported
“So we’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that we are keeping Pennsylvania safe and that we’re doing that by staying home and making sure that the businesses that remain open are absolutely essential,” Wolf said during a press conference on Wednesday when asked about the bill. “The better job we do here, the sooner we’re gonna get through this phase and the safer we’re going to keep Pennsylvania.”
This bill will head to the Senate.
Be the first to comment