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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 18, 2024 02:55 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Russ Diamond |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | COVID-19 Restaurant Amnesty |
| In the near future I will be reintroducing legislation to provide relief to restaurants disciplined by the Wolf Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. My legislation will require that any disciplinary action taken, penalties paid, or violations noted for restaurants for failure to comply with COVID-19 protocols set forth by the Governor and the Secretary of Health during the disaster emergency related to COVID that began on March 6, 2020 be removed from official records, and in the case of penalties paid, be refunded. It is unacceptable to continue to punish owners of establishments who were faced with the impossible choice between defying the Wolf Administration’s heavy-handed orders and going out of business. Restaurants that were merely trying to stay afloat suffered enough through the pandemic and it’s time we do well by them and correct the actions taken by the Wolf Administration. As a matter of perspective, these disciplinary actions were taken under an indefinite disaster emergency system that no longer exists in Pennsylvania. The people of this Commonwealth were so outraged by administrative overreach during this period that they saw fit to change our state constitution, making Pennsylvania the only state in the nation to reduce its governor’s emergency powers via constitutional change. The General Assembly should embrace the People’s rejection of administrative overreach at the ballot box and take steps to heal this enduring and gaping wound on our body politic by granting administrative amnesty to those who were merely attempting to pay their bills and feed their families during one of the most difficult periods of the modern era. My legislation is a step in that direction, and I encourage you to stand up for our restaurant owners by joining me as a cosponsor. |