Lawmakers eye final steps to end declaration, extend waivers
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature plans to return to session to vote both to end Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic disaster emergency declaration and to extend hundreds of regulatory waivers. A bill up for a vote Thursday would extend the waivers until Sept. 30, unless Wolf’s administration ends them sooner. The waivers go back to March 2020, and cover a wide swath of government requirements. Wolf had warned lawmakers that ending them immediately could hurt the state’s recovery. Separately, Republican lawmakers plan to pass a resolution Thursday to end Wolf’s disaster emergency declaration, carrying out what they see as the new powers given to them by voters in last month’s statewide referendum.