Our goal is to safely reopen Pennsylvania businesses that can comply with scientific guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians, frontline health care providers and first responders, and get citizens back to work.

I am disappointed Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed Senate Bill 613, which would have created clear and consistent guidelines concerning business closures and given them the opportunity to reopen IF they could do so safely. However, it is clear our approach prompted Wolf to take a step in the same direction by setting May 8 as his target date to partially resume private construction and consider lifting stay-at-home orders in areas of the state with minimal COVID-19 cases.

Construction has continued without interruption in most other states because it is important work and is an industry that can easily comply with CDC guidelines. The House passed House Bill 2400, which I co-sponsored, to allow all public and private construction activities to resume operations if they can adhere to scientific CDC guidelines to protect workers. Our action prompted the governor to announce he would allow the restart of all construction on May 1.

We also passed:

Senate Bill 841 to allow online car sales in the Commonwealth. The governor signed this bill into law. Surrounding states have allowed dealerships that follow appropriate health and safety protocols to remain open and I believe Pennsylvania dealerships that follow CDC safety guidelines should be afforded the same opportunity.

House Bill 2388, which would allow all auto dealerships to reopen if they choose to do so, safely.

House Bill 2376, the One Staffer/One Shopper bill, which would allow a retail business staffed by one employee to open for business if it allowed only one customer into the store at a time. The bill is designed to enable shoppers to visit smaller venue retailers and avoid the larger crowds often present at big box stores.

House Bill 1822, which would provide protections for workers impacted by COVID-19, ensuring they cannot be terminated or demoted for becoming ill or abiding by a doctor’s order to quarantine.

House Bill 1869, which would relax staffing requirements for Basic Life Support Services across Pennsylvania and provide compensation and disability benefits related to COVID-19 to certain emergency responders and Pennsylvania National Guard personnel. The bill is now on its way to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 857, which would enhance the availability of telemedicine in the Commonwealth is now on the governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would improve safe access to care in this time of social distancing, as well as boost accessibility and affordability of care in rural and other underserved areas of the Commonwealth.

Since mid-March, the Department of Labor and Industry has received more than 1.5 million unemployment claims. I am well aware of the extreme delays, system crashes and other problems filers have experienced in trying to claim the benefits they need. I continue to stress to administration officials the dire need of so many Pennsylvanians struggling to pay their bills and put food on their tables. For general information about unemployment compensation benefits, visit https://www.dli.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

The department opened its online application for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program to provide benefits to self-employed workers and independent contractors. That system has also had more than a few glitches, but I have been assured it is functioning properly now.

While the statewide stay-at-home order has been extended to May 8, the governor outlined a color-coded, phased plan he intends to use to reopen the Commonwealth’s economy. Under the plan, areas with fewer confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be the first to move toward reopening with other regions remaining under current orders until they reach a level of fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 people for a period of 14 days.

The governor compared the three phases to a traffic light, with the entire state currently in shutdown or the "red" phase. Areas in the northwest and northcentral portions of the state are most likely the first regions to move into the yellow phase, and ultimately the green phase when they can open completely. For details about what the governor would permit in each phase, visit

https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-reopening-targeted-for-may-8-in-north-central-northwest/

Nearly $16 million is on its way to Pennsylvania food banks, which are providing critical assistance to Pennsylvanians during the COVID-19 crisis. The state received $14.9 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for The Emergency Food Assistance Program to provide critical support and food to Pennsylvania’s food banks and emergency food assistance network working to feed the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians in need.

To stay up to date on legislation we are working on in the General Assembly, please visit www.RepMoul.com or I can be reached 717-334-3010.