No less an authority than the Pa. Supreme Court noted this possibility when it rejected a challenge to Wolf's authority on Monday.
The Governor may, by proclamation or executive order, declare a state of disaster emergency, 35 Pa.C.S. § 3701(b), “upon finding that a disaster has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat of a disaster is imminent.” 35 Pa.C.S. § 7301(c). This state of disaster emergency shall continue until the Governor finds that the threat or danger has passed or that emergency conditions no longer exist, but may not continue for longer than ninety days unless renewed by the Governor. Id. As a counterbalance to the exercise of the broad powers granted to the Governor, the Emergency Code provides that the General Assembly by concurrent resolution may terminate a state of disaster emergency at any time. Id.
The Court also notes that Pa. is one of only five states that allow a Governor to exercise emergency powers beyond 60 days.
The real answer is to end Wolf's authority, not pass a bill we all know will never survive a veto.
61 comments:
Tom The Power Drunk Authoritarian and his Doctor Dickless are a national embarrassment. Just because Dick threw his club away doesn't mean the rest of can't golf safely. There's no basis in health or safety for the golf ban. This is all about Dick and not liking clubs. There's no other sound explanation.
Bernie. Pretend you are the President of the United State. The people want to hear what needs to be done as far as what steps are to be taken in the next 30 days. I'm a Republican but know Republicans don't have all the answers, nor the Democrats.
But its in your hands. What happens starting TODAY and for at least the next month. The country wants to hear. Now!
Inasmuch as I do not think Governors have the authority to abrogate civil liberties the way they have, it necessarily follows I do not believe the President has such authority. I would, however, advocate that Governors open up ASAP. As I have insisted from the beginning, I believe the following procedures make sense and are effective: (1) wash hands; (2) social distance; (3) ramped up testing, with the goal of testing EVERYONE; (4) contact tracing; (5) strict quarantines of those infected; (6) isolation of contacts; (7) urge re-opening of ALL businesses that can follow #1 and #2. Construction to proceed ASAP, especially since a study shows the disease is transmitted almost entirely indoors. The biggest mistake in this entire debacle was Trump's initial; refusal to recognize a problem existed, together with a failure to test and trace immediately. I would divert census workers to contact tracing. There are 300 million people in this country. We are testing 100k per day. That should be increased to at least 1 million per day.
good list
I would add that large gatherings (e.g. concert venues, arenas, stadiums) still be shut down. impossible to vector all the contacts that might come out of there
10:39PM
First tell the truth, Covid-19 is a real virus, that is being used to kill populous movements on the right and more importantly on left, all over the world. From Brexit to the yellow vest movement in France, protest in Hong Kong, there are many examples. Here in America both Trump and Sanders are populous movements, Sanders on the left has succumb to the virus, I suspect ESS will end the Trump movement in fall.
This has been a perfect test for the fall, when the outrage of a fixed election could erupt and require a lock-down to quell the righteous outrage.
Once again, whatever course of action Wolf chooses, it would be best if it gives indication that some restrictions CAN be eased, even if only in places like a few Counties. Coming out every day with an expanded list of new Edicts is the wrong way to go.
In response to Bernie O'Hare at 10:53:
Testing and tracing sound great, but do you know the accuracy of the tests (I don't; honestly asking)? I believe the first tests yielded a 30% false negative rate, and if that hasn't improved I'm not sure how effective it is to ramp up testing at this time.
Also, if we now have accurate tests, do we have enough tests? If we need more, how do we get them? If we have to force increased production, what do we stop producing to make more testing kits?
Don't get me wrong, I do agree that testing should be increased if possible, but I don't know if I'd need it before re-opening.
Similarly, I'm not sure of the value of contact tracing. That certainly works with certain illnesses. But when you have a virus that can be transmitted by people not showing symptoms for up to 14 days before they show symptoms (if they ever do show the symptoms) the value of contact tracing is GREATLY diminished.
Back to the original post, I'm assuming that if the Legislature terminates the emergency, it can be done by a simple majority and it can't be vetoed.
If so, the Legislature should do so immediately, and follow the steps similar to those I advocated for the NorCo Council in a previous post:
1) Have the Governor submit a list of temporary "emergency" powers (be it restrictions on people and businesses; closures of government functions; additional programs needed; etc.) that he believes he needs, as well as what criteria he will use or circumstances he would want to see before lifting each of them.
2) The Legislature should debate whether those measures are needed and approve the ones it deems necessary, with a sunset provision that those programs/restrictions END IF NOT RENEWED by the Legislature within 14 days.
Quite honestly, this is what Wolf should have done immediately after his initial emergency declaration. It's not exactly rocket science to expect him to have a plan to undo whatever he does under his emergency orders and communicate it to the public, but it's becoming clear that he hasn't thought it out that far or doesn't want to share it.
Also, while I believe the Legislature should hold the vote to terminate the current emergency immediately, the termination should go into effect after 10 days, with the Governor having three days to present those measures he deems still needed and the criteria he's using to determine when they would be ended. As previously mentioned, he should already have it. That gives the legislature 7 days to debate the measures that Wolf still thinks he needs, and Wolf to make his case for the ones that don't have bipartisan support.
If there's something that crops up that wasn't included but is needed, the Legislature can approve it and add it to the list of items already terminating in no more than 14 days.
So we'd end up with a plan, clearly stating the purpose of the extraordinary and TEMPORARY powers the Governor wants, and those measures having the approval of the Legislature.
That's the way the system should work, right?
"The biggest mistake in this entire debacle was Trump's initial; refusal to recognize a problem existed, together with a failure to test and trace immediately."
You had me at 100% agreement until this. I can't stand one thing about Trump, from his fakeness to his low IQ. And he owns certainly 10 days of dithering before stopping Chinese flights. When he finally did it, however, he was savaged by Democrats, who were still encouraging large gatherings in NYC and NOLA. Did you call him a over-reacting xenophobe at that time? If not, you were one of few Ds who didn't.
To follow on the 11:51 post, the criteria for reopening that the Governor should present, should be implemented on a county-by-county basis absent a legitimate reason for doing it statewide.
PA is a large and very diverse state. It makes no sense to have the same restrictions on less populous parts of the state that you have in hot-spots here in the Valley.
By reopening things county-by-county, you'll also likely learn things along the way that will be helpful when trying to reopen other counties.
An example of how poorly thought out some of this is. Let’s say 25 teens are inside your local 7-11 store. All wearing face masks with only their eyes showing. They all begin robbing and looting, turning over displays, etc. After the rampage, they stream outside to the parking lot, leaving masked, law-abiding citizens inside and out.
How do you convict anyone?
If a model's alleged key inputs (hospitalizations) can vary by orders of magnitude while its alleged outputs (deaths) only move by a couple of percentage points, the model is nonsense, and any and all policy recommendations based on it should be ignored.
Decisions are being made by people who are in way over their heads, and using fiction to justify the decisions. Our controllers have no control of the facts.
I'm sure black males are just gonna' love being required to put on a mask before walking into a store. I'm talkin' to you, Lance Wheeler, lol!
A lot of people have short memories. On February 24 Nancy Pelosi visited Chinatown in SF and encourage people to support the businesses there because the virus was under control and there was no danger. Now she and the Dems are attacking Trump for not taking the virus seriously in February. It is is the Year of the Rat, and Speaker Pelosi is a prime example.
People of pa voted for the dem Wolf--this is what you get
Governor Cuomo in New York just extended his state’s shutdown until May 15. Watch what Governor Wolf does next!
12:54, You certainly don't "remember" it. You picked it up from RedState or the Washington Examiner. But the story is true. Pelosi did tour Chinatown on 2/24 and encouraged people to patronize the Asian American restaurants that were being avoided by so many people. She said it was safe, and I certainly agree. https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/02/24/coronavirus-speaker-house-nancy-pelosi-tours-san-franciscos-chinatown/
. . . . And there we are. Now announced, Pennsylvania shut down extended to May 15 ! Told ‘ya so.
"I'm sure black males are just gonna' love being required to put on a mask before walking into a store. I'm talkin' to you, Lance Wheeler, lol!"
OK. That's really funny.
Our shut down will also be extended to May 15. This is a power struggle that has little to do with health and safety. Wolf is having a blast with this. Show up at the rally in Harrisburg on Monday and tell Wolf and his supporting Democrats you need to work and want the state reopened.
There is no order extending the shutdown to 5/15 yet, and I just deleted a comment stating there was. You wasted about 20 minutes of my time, asshole.
Saw this reported on CNBC website. So, it really could be Fake News. I sure hope so, as patience is wearing thin in many states.
"Contact tracing" is the new word for "metadata".
The Michigan poetasters show the true colors of the f#@k my neighbor crowd. They had kids, no masks, no distancing, Trump flags, confederate battel flags, AR-15's and back slaps and handshakes.
This has nothing to do with rational thought or the public well being. It is more of the same form the "me first" easily manipulated crowd who see everything as a black and white issue since they have no concept of nuance and moderation .
Sad state of affairs'.
"An example of how poorly thought out some of this is. Let’s say 25 teens are inside your local 7-11 store. All wearing face masks with only their eyes showing. They all begin robbing and looting, turning over displays, etc. After the rampage, they stream outside to the parking lot, leaving masked, law-abiding citizens inside and out.
How do you convict anyone?"
By the phones they will likely be carrying, by using Contact Tracing or Metadata captured from the phones as well as actual chatter along with facial recognition software that can identify individuals with less than 35% of the face showing.
3:31 PM
"By the phones they will likely be carrying, by using Contact Tracing or Metadata captured from the phones as well as actual chatter along with facial recognition software that can identify individuals with less than 35% of the face showing."
I guess that'll have to do until the microchips get implanted.
3:42PM
Or until the 7-11 is closed by government edict, like all the mom & pop places.
I expect many police officers to react “ What the Hell is going on here? I can’t sort this all out” Then, watch and wait until everyone goes away on their own. I really wouldn’t blame the officers. They’ll be criticized no matter what, and later be defeated by a slime ball attorney.
I think we're losing sight of why these measures were put in place to begin with.
It was to prevent the hospitals from being overwhelmed with Covid19 patients and not having the capacity (either in beds or equipment like ventilators) to care for them (and patients with other life-threatening illnesses). It was not to reduce cases of (or deaths from) Covid-19 to zero.
In our area, the hospitals are keeping up just fine. I spoke to someone at LVH recently who said they have plenty of space and ventilators at this time. Even in NY, they have not used most of the additional field/naval hospital beds that the federal government provided, and the actual ventilators needed have been well below the amount the NY Governor thought he needed.
That's all good news, and I think we have to START loosening things up and see where that takes us in the context of overwhelming the medical system, since that was the reason given for the extreme measures to begin with. To me, allowing more businesses to open is a logical place to start.
People will continue to get Covid-19 the same way they get the seasonal flu. Some will die from it, the same way they do from other diseases. But it's time to remember how we got here and to start moving - responsibly - in the other direction.
Exactly.
4:29PM
Correct. That was the first round of official bullshit.
I wonder if the "patriots " will take responsibility if or when covid deaths increase or the curve starts climbing?
Will they have the intestinal fortitude to call for harsher measures to reduce the death of others.
Do they care just about themselves?
given their statements and actions pretty safe bet is they only care for themselves.
Do Wolf a favor and terminate the shutdown.
He then gets to point to the legislature for any increase in the death toll.
The bill adopts Federal standards which allows the legislature to point the finger to the feds when people die.
it is an example of cowardice from the legislature.
5:26PM
The government cares about you.
"I wonder if the "patriots " will take responsibility if or when covid deaths increase or the curve starts climbing?"
How about you? Are you taking responsibility for the suicides, domestic violence, increased crime and the blatant unfairness in deciding what is or is not life-saving? You are too gutless to even identify yourself and are in no position to question the responsibility of anyone.
you bat your ball your blog.
the question still remains.
BTW
seems there was a spike in new cases in Lehigh.
apr 11 58 cases
apr 12 64 cases
apr 13 63 cases
apr 14 56 cases
apr 15 119 cases
apr 16 77 cases.
Seems the mitigation measures need to be increased.
requiring masks seems like a reasonable attempt to drop the number of new cases.
6:31 PM
A 35% drop in one day!
@4:29 your comment is right on the money. Most of the other comments are nothing more than partisan sniping. The reason for the shutdown was to flatten the curve. The state has 48% of hospital beds and 70% of ventilators available. Time to phase in a start very slowly. If a hotspot develops close down that area or county. People get killed crossing the street, that doesn't mean we stop traffic. One of the commenters stated that the people wanting to open are greedy profiteers LOL. Tell that to the guy who frames houses for a living and has two kids to feed. People can't even get through to file an unemployment claim. The breadlines are growing time to move on cautiously.
I don't always agree with you Bernie but I think your fair.
6.36
odd as the number of tests were fairly even over those two days.
so erring on the side of caution would be the better stratagem.
There is NO reason why Governor Wolf can’t begin to open things up on a County-by-County basis. The Federal Plan is now fully revealed. Sounds good to me. Again, the best method for Governor Wolf is County-by-County. These are the people closest to their community and it’s needs. I have faith in my Northampton County leaders to make the call, WITHOUT undue influence from Governor Wolf.
6.38
"reason for the shutdown was to flatten the curve. The state has 48% of hospital beds and 70% of ventilators available."
So hooray there are enough ventilators for the sick to die on.
the purpose is to slow and halt the spread of the disease.
saving lives.
Since people get killed crossing the street we should remove speed limits?
Anon 6:31 said:
"Seems the mitigation measures need to be increased.
requiring masks seems like a reasonable attempt to drop the number of new cases."
But dropping the number of new cases wasn't why these measures were implemented. It was to keep the numbers needing care from overflowing the hospitals' capacity.
But we haven't needed had either the number of cases or the numbers needing hospitalization. We also found ways of mitigating symptoms so that many patients don't require hospitalization.
It's time to start to relax the measures gradually and restore our rights.
I have watched every White House Press Conference on this matter in their entirety. I find it interesting, tonight is the FIRST time this COVID-19 Virus has regularly been referred to as a flu-like illness. Up until now, many have pointed out the numbers with COVID-19 will turn out to be no different than a bad ‘regular’ flu season.
This is also the FIRST time any of the charts and graphs depicted lines for 4-5 previous ‘regular flu’ numbers. The visual evidence was clear as to similarity. That’s GOOD news !
7.21
" any of the charts and graphs depicted lines for 4-5 previous ‘regular flu’ numbers. The visual evidence was clear as to similarity. That’s GOOD news !"
so having two groups dying at the same rate is good news?
Seems to me just one group dying is bad enough.
7:21 Yes the purpose was to slow the spread of the disease so the medical system would not be overwhelmed all at once. It appears we have accomplished that goal. You are not going to spread of the disease until there is a vaccine. Nothing is "just peachy" it's a bad choice or a worse choice really. What's your solution, stay locked down for 18 months? It's great if your retired, have no mouths to feed, and get a government pension. People are starving, people are watching everything they worked for circle the drain. Stop being a selfish boomer, (i'm a boomer)n stay and home a collect your check and let the young people get back at it with caution and prudence of course.
8.00
you will stop the spread of the disease by the mitigation efforts in place.
all of the new restrictions have an effect on spreading the disease.
want to have people go back to work/
Sounds like an good idea as long as you avoid say a second wave.
However the most dangerous people are the ones who ignore any of the guidelines
they expect everyone else to fix the problem.
they want to do what they want with no thought or care for others.
opening up everything has risks and people will die because of it.
reducing that number will mean restrictions.
one problem
https://twitter.com/price_laborecon/status/1250803426197454848
"PA Representative Bob Brooks
@RepBobBrooks
Wearing a N95 respirator mask upside down on the PA House floor. Brooks voted to send ALL non-essential PA workers back to work this week as ESSENTIAL PA nursing home workers pictured below are still wearing homemade masks."
"The breadlines are growing time to move on cautiously."
Capitalism has finally achieved what communism did 70 years ago, a locked down society with breadlines.
So looks like we're back to "zero is the only acceptable number."
Gotta stop that second, third, fourth, fifth...nth wave.
7:55 -
There was ample evidence to show numbers of cases/deaths attributed to COVID-19 were being inflated. To reach the COVID-19 numbers being reported, the cases total includes what were PRESUMED cases, not only confirmed cases.
Second, the number of reported cases this year for seasonal flu, and pneumonia are lower this year than last, showing those illnesses were possibly listed as COVID-19.
The number of deaths was inflated by the method used to indicate CAUSE OF DEATH being inflated to include POSSIBLY connected to COVID-19, when in reality could have been actually due to heart failure or other, very serious existing illnesses present.
More than half of all deaths came from Nursing Homes were deaths are unfortunately common every year.
Hope this helps to show, present COVID-19 numbers are higher, in part, by ‘juicing’ the numbers up.
"I have watched every White House Press Conference on this matter in their entirety. I find it interesting, tonight is the FIRST time this COVID-19 Virus has regularly been referred to as a flu-like illness. Up until now, many have pointed out the numbers with COVID-19 will turn out to be no different than a bad ‘regular’ flu season."
Unlike you, I've been unable to watch every news conference in its entirety. But I have watched or listened on c-span radio to several of them, including today. There was a demonstration of three weeks showing two different flu strains as well as Covid-19. The flu and Covid-19 are n=both respiratory viruses. But the big differences are (1) Covid-19 is more contagious; (2) Covid-19 is more lethal, although I think the data show it is not ten times more lethal than the common flu, as was originally stated; and (3) there is no vaccine for Covid-19. So let's not slip into the flu comparisons. Just as some of you have over-reacted, others have been guilty of downplaying this virus. It does appear that the virus is abating, and in some areas of the country, has been very mild. I like the rollout of "Opening Up America aGAIN."
Right now, it looks like 3-4 states can choose to re-open NOW. Maybe a total of 20 states by the end of next week. Great for residents in those states.
But, in Pennsylvania, we might be forced to stay ‘Closed’ for weeks and weeks longer. Our foolish Governor Wolf can be expected to slow walk the journey back to normal, especially if New York Mayor Cuomo tells him to do so. However, the pressure to get moving HERE will ramp up by the day.
Unfortunately, Governor Wolf, and his ilk, can work the number of virus cases being reported to justify his madness.
Bernie, I like the roll-out, too. But, no announced vaccine will be any more reliable than present flu vaccines. The next arrival of what we now call COVID-19, if it happens, will in reality be muted into something different. At least, it can be identified quickly and we are far more prepared to lessen its severity, I believe.
Of course, whatever the new strain is called, it might be just as quickly spreading as this strain was. Every Seasonal Flu is different from previous year Seasonal Flues. Each flu vaccine is different than the previous year vaccine. Just the way it is.
Corrected 11:52 post, change to ‘mutated.’ Sorry.
If covid-19 were more lethal it would be less contagious, because those with it would die before they could spread it.
The more lethal, the goal should be a quicker and tighter lock-down.
Covid-19 is certainly more contagious because the symptoms are so mild in most cases that people spread it easily, they don't even know they're sick and recover. This makes it particularly dangerous for those with compromised health and the elderly as they will be infected before herd immunity is achieved. Unless distribution of a vaccine is immediate the damage will be done.
The more contagious without an available vaccine, the goal should be herd immunity among those healthy individuals as quickly as possible, while locking down those who are vulnerable until herd immunity is achieved.
11.43
"New York Mayor Cuomo"
think you meant Governor
11.43
"Unfortunately, Governor Wolf, and his ilk, can work the number of virus cases being reported to justify his madness."
actually the feds cut the number of tests in PA .
no tests allows the feds to claim less corona cases so everything is getting better when the reality is quite different.
6:32 - your assertion is the opposite of what I see happening. Certainly, amounts of items requested have been reduced according to need, but your implication needs better proof to convince me. Begin by telling us the number of available tests now stored withiin this state. We’ll go from there.
7.29
look at the stats as to the number of tests. there is a daily list of how many are done
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