Responding to a letter sent by Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday (August 25), calling on them to pass legislation “that will require schools and child care centers to implement masking requirements while in the classroom,” Republican leaders of both the Pennsylvania House and Senate have urged the governor to stick with the current approach of “allowing local officials to manage and respond as needed,” to the growing number of Covid-19 cases being reported throughout the state.
Republican House Caucus spokesperson Jake Gottesman issued this statement.
Given that these decisions are being made at the local level, with input from community members and families – those most directly impacted by the decisions – it is clear that the state does not need to intervene to tell communities how to best govern themselves.
For GOP legislators there are good Covid mandates and bad Covid mandates.
In June, Republicans on the House Labor and Industry Committee unanimously approved HB-262, introduced by Rep. Russ Diamond, that would impose a state-wide mandate prohibiting any employer (in either the private or public sectors – even hospitals) from requiring an employee to be vaccinated.
