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Posted on 02/24/2021 12:19:18 PM PST by lightman
Republican legislative leaders are accusing Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration of trying to sabotage their effort to reassert their authority in determining the length of an emergency disaster declarations in Pennsylvania.
They say the governor’s Department of State intentionally worded two proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the May 18 primary ballot in a way to try to make them fail to garner voter support.
“This wasn’t a mistake,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, about proposed amendments’ wording.
“The governor is so desperate to cling on to power that they crafted this language on the May ballot to mischaracterize the amendment,” said House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County.
Corman, Benninghoff and Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, spoke about the ballot questions at a Capitol news conference on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Wolf defended the wording as necessary to provide context to the referendum voters are being asked to consider.
One of the proposed amendments would limit the length of an emergency disaster to 21 days, but it could be extended through passage of a concurrent resolution of the General Assembly. Currently, the constitution allows a governor’s emergency disaster to last up to 90 days and can be extended indefinitely.
The state department’s wording of that is:
“Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration—and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration—through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?”
A separate amendment would allow the General Assembly to terminate an emergency disaster without having to present it to the governor for his signature. This stems from a state Supreme Court ruling that said the General Assembly can’t act unilaterally to end a governor’s emergency declaration. The court said it would have to win the governor’s approval to take effect.
Here is the state department’s wording of that referendum:
“Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law so that: a disaster emergency declaration will expire automatically after 21 days, regardless of the severity of the emergency, unless the General Assembly takes action to extend the disaster emergency; the Governor may not declare a new disaster emergency to respond to the dangers facing the Commonwealth unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution; the General Assembly enacts new laws for disaster management?”
Wolf spokeswoman Lyndsay Kensinger said, “The ballot questions fairly, accurately and clearly apprise the voter of the issue to be voted on. The proposed amendment removes the existing check and balance – already contained in the PA Constitution – of presenting concurrent resolutions to the governor for approval or disapproval.”
The administration also points to a series of court cases that emphasize the need for voters to have context to the question before them.
Wolf, along with his Democratic allies, have made clear their opposition to these proposed constitutional changes that grew out of the Republicans’ discontent with Wolf’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Democrats say the governor’s decisions related to the pandemic had the public’s health and safety at their heart and the proposed constitutional amendments are an attempted power grab by the Republican legislative majorities.
But the Republican leaders maintained their intention behind the proposed amendment, which passed both chambers with bipartisan support in two consecutive legislative sessions, is intended to give the people a voice in determining the length of an emergency disaster.
“We’re not trying to take away the governor’s power,” Ward said. “We’re trying to reinstate our equal branches of government. And if there’s still an emergency going on, yes, the governor still has a state of emergency call but we would get a seat at the table to look at things too.”
Benninghoff said the administration’s decision to word the referendum in the way they did begs the question: “Why are they so afraid?”
“All we’ve asked for is to have a voice,” he said.
Particularly disturbing to the GOP leaders were the phrases “regardless of severity of the emergency” and “removing existing check and balance” that they maintain are intended to scare voters and get them to vote no.
“This is shameful,” Benninghoff said. “I’m just dumbfounded by the way this was written and frankly, Pennsylvanians deserve better.”
This is the latest in a series of issues that have arisen with other proposed constitutional amendments since Wolf has been governor.
Recently, lawmakers seethed over the failure by the state department to advertise a proposed amendment that would open a two-year window for litigation by survivors of child sexual abuse who are beyond the statute of limitations. Lawmakers and victims’ advocates wanted it to appear on the May ballot. That botched effort led to the resignation of Kathy Boockvar as the department’s secretary.
Five years ago, it was the state department’s wording of another proposed constitutional amendment about judges’ mandatory retirement age that became the center of controversy that resulted in an unsuccessful court challenge by Senate Republicans. The dispute over that referendum played out so close to the primary election that the question ended up appearing on ballots twice. The first time the question appeared, it didn’t count and the second time it narrowly passed.
Going forward, Corman said they are looking to take the state department out of the role of writing the ballot questions and putting it in the hands of the bi-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau. The bureau is at the center of the legislative action that led up to its passage through the General Assembly and knows the intent behind it, Corman said.
As for these proposed amendments, Corman said no court challenge is contemplated, citing the Republicans’ unsuccessful track record on various matters in the Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court.
Instead, he said they will focus on educating voters about the ballot questions.
“This is about how we move forward as a government and do we want one person making all these decisions. I don’t think our framers designed our government that way,” Corman said. “We will hopefully again do our best to educate the voters so they can make the call.”
Last week, Wolf signed another 90-day extension of the state’s disaster declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be in effect until the May primary.
Pennsylvania Ping!
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What else should we expect from our “slope-shouldered mediocrity”, as Tucker called him? What a tyrannical cretin!
Cretin?
But he went to M.I.T. and was an Oxford Fellow!
/s
“Cretin?
But he went to M.I.T. and was an Oxford Fellow!”/s
The PhD is in Poly Sci. Ergo, it could have come from a cereal box top. Yes, it’s from MIT, but as with most universities these days, there are real degrees and worthless ones. As for Oxford, I couldn’t find anything about that clown going there. But then again, the Rhodes committees that select Americans for the scholarship are here, not there. Oxfordians have been known to refer to many of the American Rhodes Scholars as “Rhodents” because of the “much ado about nothing” so frequently displayed. I imagine that Clinton was so regarded, since he was “sent down” for something...and we know what that something is.
Maybe it’s just me, but I have no problem voting “yes” to both of these as worded and fully intend to do just that in May.
(1)
“Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration—and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration—through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?”
(2)
“Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law so that: a disaster emergency declaration will expire automatically after 21 days, regardless of the severity of the emergency, unless the General Assembly takes action to extend the disaster emergency; the Governor may not declare a new disaster emergency to respond to the dangers facing the Commonwealth unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution; the General Assembly enacts new laws for disaster management?”
All that’s missing is a FU at the end. This looks like malicious compliance.
At this point there is no check and balance on the Governor; the governor is allowed too much LACK of a check on their emergency powers.
You shouldn’t have a problem. But low information voters and democrats ( I repeat myself) will.
‘But he went to M.I.T. and was an Oxford Fellow!’
the only kind of fellow he should be is one wearing an orange jump suit...
SPJNK.
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