House Bill 2387 would provide an interim budget that would take us into November. It would fully fund K-12 and higher education for a full 12 months so students will have the resources they need when they return to the classroom this fall. The bill would also ensure core government services will continue without interruption, and contains no broad-based tax increases. I supported House Bill 2387, which passed in the House by a vote of 103-99. As of this writing, the bill is under consideration in the Senate.

We recognize the growing strain on families, small businesses and our economy. I hear from so many of you about the struggles and frustrations you are facing as a result of this pandemic and prolonged mitigation efforts. I see the harm being done by a governor who needs to be reminded that it is not his job to tell us what is good for us. I am working every day to get our Commonwealth and its citizens back on track.

While most citizens have been doing their best to tolerate state-ordered stay-at-home orders, the General Assembly has been caught up in a flurry of legislative activity aimed at reopening Pennsylvania and freeing people to go back to work. Unfortunately, some of our legislation has made it through both the House and Senate only to be vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

A day after the governor vetoed three bills aimed at safely reopening Pennsylvania, the House attempted an override vote on House Bill 2388, which would have allowed vehicle dealerships, lawn and garden centers, cosmetology salons and barber shops, messenger services, animal grooming services and manufacturing operations to reopen while adhering to approved health and safety guidelines. The vote was 115-87, 21 votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed for an override.

House Bill 2412, which I co-sponsored and would have helped reopen real estate services in the Commonwealth, was also vetoed by the governor. But immediately after the veto, the governor announced new guidance to allow real estate operations to resume statewide anyway. This is not the first time the governor has acted in response to actions of the House. The same occurred with the construction industry, online vehicle sales, reopening plans and more. We are helping to drive the agenda toward reopening and will continue to do so, regardless of who takes the credit.

The third veto involved a Senate bill that would have given county officials the ability to develop their own emergency mitigation plans for business.

In other legislative activity, I co-sponsored legislation to permit restaurants, bars and clubs in the yellow or green phases to resume operations with outdoor seating and permit the same to resume operations with indoor seating, both adhering to health and safety protocols. These bills are now under consideration in the Senate. Another bill headed to the Senate would allow residential cleaning services to resume operations during the COVID-19 emergency, provided they follow social distancing and other safety protocols. A bill to allow the sale of cocktails to go, has been signed into law.

An alarming number of Pennsylvania’s coronavirus victims have been senior citizens in nursing care facilities. The House recently approved legislation that I co-sponsored, to help prevent coronavirus deaths at the state’s nursing home facilities, personal care homes and assisted living residences. The Senior Protection Act (House Bill 2510) is a bipartisan initiative that aims to use regional health system collaboratives to better manage personnel, protocols, testing and expenditures to protect our vulnerable senior citizens who live in these facilities. More than 3,000 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths – nearly 70% of the state’s fatalities – have occurred among these residents. This is unacceptable. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Finally, if you are an outdoor enthusiast, this may interest you. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced the statewide reopening of all All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) trails in state forests. The opening also applies to designated motorcycle trails in Bald Eagle State Forest, including a dual sport trail running through the Seven Mountains region and a trail for off-highway motorcycles on Shade Mountain. ATV riding is only permitted on designated trails in Pennsylvania state forests. State forest roads, state parks and state game lands are not open to ATV riding. The DCNR website has the locations of the 11 ATV trail systems on state forest lands. All ATVs in Pennsylvania (except ATVs used solely for business or agricultural purposes) need to be registered and titled. Due to COVID-19, all ATV registrations scheduled to expire through Sunday, May 31, have been extended until Tuesday, June 30.

DCNR also announced additional openings of state park and forest facilities, mainly in counties advancing to the governor’s yellow phase of reopening.