On Friday, Governor Tom Wolf vetoed a house bill that would have eased coronavirus-related restrictions on bars and restaurants.
House bill 2513 would have allowed bars and restaurants to operate at 100% capacity. The bill would also allow patrons to sit at bars, provided that they remain socially distant, and would also eliminate the requirement of purchasing a meal to buy an alcoholic beverage. In his statement that went with the veto, Governor Wolf said that the bill would jeopardize public health and safety as the establishments would be allowed to operate without following any CDC or state-issued mitigation guidelines, and that could lead to a further spread of the Coronavirus.
Wolf also claimed the bill contained “constitutional infirmities” as it would try to take away power from the executive branch. He said that the only way to alter a currently existing emergency declaration is to issue a concurrent resolution to terminate it.
The bill heads back to the State House and Senate. The PA Legislature has the option to override Wolf’s veto, but a 2/3rds majority vote of both the House and Senate are needed to overrule the governor.
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