Committee to Consider Subpoenas after Wolf Administration Fails to Provide Information to Senate

(HARRISBURG) – With Governor Wolf and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) failing to provide information to the Senate on mandated business closures related to COVID-19, the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee has scheduled a meeting Thursday to consider a motion to subpoena the documents.

The committee will meet at 1 p.m. on the Senate floor to consider a motion to subpoena the records relating to the process by which employers could request a waiver or exemption from the business closure order of March 19, 2020, committee Chairman Senator Mike Regan (R-31) said. The hearing will be held remotely with members participating online or from the Senate floor. The meeting will be streamed live.

On April 24, Senator Regan and Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee Chairman Tom Killion (R-9) sent letters to DCED and Governor Wolf requesting information. The deadline for a response was today.

“We held a hearing during which DCED and the administration had the opportunity to provide clarity about their methodology behind granting waivers to some employers and not others,” Senator Regan said. “We then sent a letter requesting the same information and did not receive it. Tomorrow we will be taking definitive action.”

Senators Regan and Killion hosted a joint public hearing last week to address concerns raised about the Wolf Administration’s response to COVID-19. Employers and their representatives shared with the committees the impact the Governor’s closure of businesses has had on them and their counterparts throughout the Commonwealth.

Contact – Bruce McLanahan – bmclanahan@pasen.gov

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