Trial Engrossment of Amendment A06546 to House Bill 2549 P.N. 3824, Regular Session 2019-2020

A06546

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2549

Session of

2020

INTRODUCED BY EVERETT, MAY 26, 2020

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 26, 2020

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled

"An act relating to the finances of the State government;

providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for

ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint

Underwriting Association, for entertainment business

financial management firms, for private dam financial

assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for

the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,

bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the

collection and recovery of fees and other money or property

due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,

the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds

and securities belonging to or in the possession of the

Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the

Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the

courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the

Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and

all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," providing for reopening of designated county

COVID-19 countywide reopening plan for businesses.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known

as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding an

article to read:

ARTICLE I-A

REOPENING OF DESIGNATED COUNTY

Section 101-A. Criteria to transfer to Green Phase.

(a) Eligibility.--A county which has been designated by

executive action to be in the Yellow Phase may, after 21 days in

the Yellow Phase, transfer to the Green Phase if:

(1) the area in which the designated county is located

has experienced less that 50 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000

residents for the preceding 14 days;

(2) the governing body of the designated county

determines that it is in the best interests of the residents

of the county to move to the Green Phase;

(3) the governing body of the county determines that

there are sufficient medical assets available in the area to

address the number of COVID-19 cases anticipated based on the

historical rate of cases in the area; and

(4) the governing body of the county determines that

there is sufficient testing in the area to monitor public

health indicators and adjust orders and restrictions as

necessary to ensure the spread of disease remains at a

minimum.

(b) Process.--The governing body of a designated county

which meets the requirements of subsection (a) may, by

resolution, transfer the designation of the county from the

A06546 - 2 -

Yellow Phase to the Green Phase.

Section 102-A. Operation upon transfer to Green Phase.

The following shall apply to a county that has transferred to

the Green Phase under section 101-A:

(1) Businesses may operate under Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention Phase 3 guidance.

(2) Individuals must follow Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention Phase 3 guidance.

(3) Gatherings must be limited to 250 individuals at a

single location using Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention Phase 3 guidance.

(4) Amusement parks, zoos and outdoor entertainment

venues may have more than 250 individuals on the premises at

one time, except that the venues may not have gatherings of

more than 250 individuals at a single location. Venues must

follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

ARTICLE I-A

COVID-19 COUNTYWIDE REOPENING PLAN FOR BUSINESSES

Section 101-A. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this article

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Business." A corporation, partnership, limited liability

company, limited liability partnership, business trust, sole

proprietor or other individual or entity doing business and

operating within a physical location in this Commonwealth,

regardless of whether the physical location is open to the

public.

"County." A county or home rule charter county of any

classification.

A06546 - 3 -

"COVID-19." As identified in the proclamation of disaster

emergency issued by the Governor on March 6, 2020, published at

50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21, 2020), and any renewal of the state of

disaster emergency.

"Governing body." The board of county commissioners or the

county executive or other person exercising the functions of the

county executive in a county without a board of county

commissioners.

Section 102-A. Transfer to green plus phase.

(a) Eligibility.--A county which has been designated by

executive action to be in the green phase may, after 14 days in

the green phase, transfer to the green plus phase under this

section if:

(1) The county has not experienced a significant

increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in that 14-day period.

(2) The governing body of the designated county

determines that it is in the best interests of the residents

of the county to move to the green plus phase.

(3) The governing body of the designated county

determines that there are sufficient medical assets available

in the county to address the number of COVID-19 cases

anticipated based on the historical rate of cases in the

county.

(4) The governing body of the designated county

determines that there is sufficient testing in the county to

monitor public health indicators and adjust orders and

restrictions as necessary to ensure the spread of disease

remains at a minimum.

(b) Process.--The governing body of a designated county

which meets the requirements under subsection (a) may, by

A06546 - 4 -

resolution, transfer the designation of the county from the

green phase to the green plus phase.

provision of law, the governing body of a county that

transitions to the green plus phase under this section may

develop and implement a countywide reopening plan for businesses

subject to closure by the Governor due to the spread of COVID-19

which shall require that businesses implement, to the extent

possible, applicable guidelines from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

A06546 - 5 -