Days after Pennsylvanians approved changing the regulations concerning the governor’s abilities to extend disaster declarations, Governor Tom Wolf has extended the Covid-19 disaster declaration.
In a statement yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf said that he was in touch with members of the general assembly over the referendum votes that now limit the length of initial declarations to 21 days and would give the legislature the power to extend it instead of leaving it with the Governor. Wolf said that even if the assembly wanted to end the disaster declaration today, it would not be able to do so as the votes for the primary election have yet to be certified. When the results are certified, which is expected in late June, then the state legislature can take over.
Wolf also said that he is talking with legislature members over the future of this declaration. The reason for this extension is that Wolf feels more time is needed to make sure “we do not risk valuable resources that will help Pennsylvania recover from the pandemic.”
Statewide mitigation efforts, with the exception of the mask orders, are still set to expire on Memorial Day.
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