Bucks State Senator Leading Charge To Curb Gov. Wolf's Powers

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — With the primaries in Pennsylvania rapidly approaching, there are several questions on the ballot for voters to answer, and one of them cuts to the heart of the most divisive issue in state politics for the past year: the pandemic and the economic shutdown.

A proposed amendment to Pennsylvania's constitution will appear on ballots for voters to decide on when they cast votes this spring: should the powers of the governor during a public health emergency be curbed?

Among the Pennsylvania Republicans in the General Assembly strongly advocating for such a restriction is State Sen. Bob Mensch, who represents the 24th district and parts of Montgomery, Berks, and Bucks counties.

"Our governor has assumed absolute power over your lives because of a pandemic, and there surely is a need for governmental involvement, but that would require all the government," Mensch wrote in a recent op-ed. "Our governor has refused to discuss his moves and his strategies with the legislature – your representatives in our government."

Mensch argues that Wolf has presided over numerous failures in pandemic response, ranging from a slow vaccine rollout, to decisions that led to COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes. He also echoes one the most common critiques: mitigation measures have been too strict on businesses, and there is a lack of transparency.

"Since first invoking “emergency powers,” Governor Wolf has shown no transparency in his unilateral behavior, leaving all of us to wonder what has happened to our constitutional rights," Mensch adds.

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On the ballot, there are two separate questions addressing the issue.

The first is titled the "Emergency Declarations Amendment," and would require that any emergency declaration require approval from the state legislature if it extends beyond 21 days.

The second, the "Legislative Resolution to Extend or Terminate Emergency Declaration Amendment," puts more power in the hands of the state legislature. It empowers the house to extend or terminate an emergency declaration from the governor's office by passing a resolution.

Wolf and many Democrats, meanwhile, have held that these emergency powers allowed the state to move quickly in an unprecedented crisis, and that removing the powers could cost lives.