Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf today issued a veto of a bill that would give school districts the sole ability to make decisions on sports, including whether and how many spectators to allow.
The Wolf administration’s gathering limits of 25 people indoors and 250 people outdoors apply to youth sports, but legislation that cleared the state House and Senate would empower schools to make their own rules about the number of spectators permitted at games.
State Representative Jim Struzzi issued the following reaction statement on his Facebook page.
I am incredibly disappointed by the governor’s decision to continue prohibiting parents and families from the stands while their children participate in sports this year. For many of these students in their senior year, these will be the last games they play – their last times putting on a uniform for the schools, teams and sports that mean so much to them.
By choosing to veto House Bill 2787, which was passed with a bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate, the governor is severely lessening this experience for the student athletes and their families. These children deserve to look up into the stands to see the love and support from their families while on the field.
The General Assembly plans to hold a vote to override the governor’s veto as soon as possible.
The governor’s move sets up likely override votes in the Republican-controlled House and Senate, and it came on a day when 234 more virus cases were reported in the state. The bill passed both chambers with more “yes” votes than the two-thirds majority required for an override to succeed.
The bill passed both chambers with enough bi-partisan support to achieve the two-thirds’ majority (135 votes in the House and 34 in the Senate) needed for a veto override if the vote totals remain the same. It passed the House by a 155-47 vote and the Senate, 39-11.
Wolf said today: “They can somehow wave a magic wand and suspend sort of reality…. I can’t. And I don’t think Pennsylvania’s can afford to ignore that reality.”
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