PA House Attempt To Override Veto On School Sports Bill Fails

HARRISBURG, PA — An effort to override Gov. Tom Wolf's veto of a bill governing school sports and spectators during the pandemic failed in Harrisburg on Wednesday.

The House, which originally voted 155-47 to pass House Bill 2787, needed 135 votes to override the veto. Several members — including 24 Democrats — flipped their votes during the Wednesday override attempt and the measure fell short with 130 votes.

Wolf vetoed the bill Monday, saying it was "unnecessary."

The bill was intended to give local school districts exclusive authority to determine whether to hold in-person sports and extracurricular activities during the 2020-21 academic year.

"This bill is entirely unnecessary," Gov. Wolf said in a statement following the veto. "While I recommended against holding school sports before January 2021, it was a recommendation and neither an order nor a mandate. Local school governing bodies have maintained the authority to decide how extracurricular activities, including school sports, proceed at the local level."

The developments were met with rebuke from Republican House leaders, who said those who flipped their votes "should be ashamed."

Rep. Mike Reese, in a statement posted online, said the House members who voted against the override, "particularly those who initially supported the bill and now changed their vote – should be ashamed of the disregard they have shown to the people they were elected to represent."

The governor, in a statement issued Wednesday evening, thanked Democratic lawmakers for "protecting" Pennsylvanians.

“The bill would have done nothing more than create legislation for something that already exists. Instead of wasting time on a veto override attempt on a superfluous bill, the Republican legislature needs to start taking this pandemic seriously by focusing on the health and safety of our children, staff, and teachers in their learning environments, minimizing exposure to COVID-19, and preventing the spread of this deadly virus," Wolf said in a statement.

Wolf had addressed the issue during the question portion of a Monday morning news conference that was held to discuss the status of personal protective equipment in the state.

During that news conference he said the bill ignores a key reality: "There is a virus out there and that virus really likes it when you bring a lot of people together." Wolf said politicians can attempt to "ignore that reality" but "it's a fact."

He added, "I don't think Pennsylvanians can afford to ignore that reality, so I am going to veto it."

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman reacted to the failed attempt to override the veto by saying "it's unfortunate that those elected by the people did not stand with their constituents in the final votes."

Wolf has eased his guidance for fall high school sports competitions, reversing course to allow for spectator to attend games in person. The guidance still calls for a limit of 250 people all told for outdoor events and 25 for indoor events.

In early August, the governor shocked the state when he announced he was recommending no school sports until 2021. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association's Board of Directors has since voted 25-5 in favor of a sports season this fall.