Amendment 5186 to House Bill 2419 P.N. 3581, Regular Session 2019-2020

H2419B3581A05186 NAD:EJH 04/21/20 #90 A05186

AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL NO. 2419

Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE GROVE

Printer's No. 3581

Amend Bill, page 2, lines 2 through 30; pages 3 through 8,

lines 1 through 30; page 9, lines 1 through 9; by striking out

all of said lines on said pages and inserting

Section 2101-C. Legislative findings.

The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) A novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, entered the

United States in late January 2020 and has spread throughout

the states, including this Commonwealth.

(2) On March 6, 2020, the Governor declared a disaster

emergency, citing a threat of imminent disaster that is of

such a magnitude and severity as to necessitate extraordinary

measures to protect the health, safety and life of this

Commonwealth's citizens.

(3) The impact of COVID-19, including all the necessary

measures taken to mitigate the spread of the disease, has

severely disrupted the Commonwealth and its subdivisions and

is producing short-term and long-term negative economic

consequences.

(4) In order to effectively manage the current disaster,

all branches of the Commonwealth's government must work

cooperatively to identify immediate and urgent issues,

provide a structure to catalog the Commonwealth's response to

the disaster emergency and create a forum to receive

testimony, information and recommendations from individuals,

business and industry.

(5) In addition to managing the existing public health

challenges of COVID-19, the Commonwealth will need a recovery

plan once the emergency subsides to address the innumerable

issues resulting from the disaster emergency, including the

impact to the economy.

(6) The most effective manner to achieve these critical

needs is to form an interbranch task force.

Section 2102-C. 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:

"Order." As follows:

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(1) The declaration of disaster emergency issued by the

Governor on March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March

21, 2020).

(2) A declaration of disaster emergency relating to the

novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, issued after March 6,

2020.

"Task force." The COVID-19 Cost and Recovery Task Force

established under section 2103-C(a).

Section 2103-C. Task force.

(a) Establishment.--The COVID-19 Cost and Recovery Task

Force is established.

(b) Membership.--The task force shall consist of the

following members, appointed within five days of the effective

date of this section:

(1) The Governor or a designee.

(2) The President pro tempore of the Senate or a

designee .

(3) The Majority Leader of the Senate or a designee .

(4) The Minority Leader of the Senate or a designee .

(5) The Speaker of the House of Representatives or a

designee .

(6) The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives

or a designee .

(7) The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives

or a designee .

(8) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a

designee.

(9) A judge of the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court

or a judge of the court of common pleas appointed by the

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

subsection (b) shall make appointment or replacement appointment

by the transmission of a letter to the Governor, all ex officio

members and all appointing authorities under subsection (b).

(c.1) Executive advisors.--The following shall serve as

advisors to the task force:

(1) An officer or employee of the Department of

Agriculture to represent the Secretary of Agriculture.

(2) An officer or employee of the Department of Banking

and Securities to represent the Secretary of Banking and

Securities.

(3) An officer or employee of the Department of

Community and Economic Development to represent the Secretary

of Community and Economic Development.

(4) An officer or employee of the Department of

Education to represent the Secretary of Education.

(5) An officer or employee of the Department of Human

Services to represent the Secretary of Human Services.

(6) An officer or employee of the Insurance Department

to represent the Insurance Commissioner.

(7) An officer or employee of the Department of Labor

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and Industry to represent the Secretary of Labor and

Industry.

(8) An officer or employee of the Department of

Transportation to represent the Secretary of Transportation.

(d) Advisory committees.--The following shall apply:

(1) The task force may establish advisory committees to

review issues relating to the COVID-19 public health

emergency that require executive, legislative or judicial

action and to report related information to the task force.

(2) Members of an advisory committee shall be

individuals appointed by the task force who have experience

in the issue being reviewed. Members of the task force and

individuals who are not members of the task force may be

appointed to an advisory committee.

(3) Individuals appointed to an advisory committee who

are not members of the task force shall represent the

geographic, racial, gender and socioeconomic diversity of

this Commonwealth. Individuals appointed to an advisory

committee who are not members of the task force may not be a

lobbyist as defined in 65 Pa.C.S. § 13A03 (relating to

definitions) or an officer or an employee of a political

party or political committee as defined in section 801 or

1621(h) of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known

as the Pennsylvania Election Code.

(4) A member of the task force shall serve as the

chairperson of each advisory committee.

(5) An advisory committee established under this

subsection may be directed to review issues related to issues

arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact those

issues have had on the Commonwealth.

(e) Chairperson.--The Governor or a designee under

subsection (b)(1) shall serve as chairperson of the task force.

(f) Participation.--A member not physically present may

participate by teleconference or video conference.

(g) Quorum and voting.--The following shall apply:

(1) A majority of the members of the task force

participating in person, teleconference or video conference

shall constitute a quorum.

(2) Action of the task force must be authorized or

ratified by majority vote of the members of the task force.

(h) Meetings.--The following shall apply:

(1) The task force shall meet at least once a week.

Additional meetings may be called by the chairperson as

necessary. The chairperson shall schedule a meeting upon

written request of four members of the task force.

(2) The first meeting shall be convened within 10 days

of the effective date of this paragraph.

(3) The task force may take actions necessary to conform

to public gathering requirements ordered or recommended by

the Secretary of Health or the Centers for Disease Control.

(4) The task force shall permit the public to view or

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listen to an advisory committee meeting through

contemporaneous methods and make the recordings available on

the Department of Community and Economic Development's

publicly accessible Internet website.

(5) The task force or an advisory committee may hold

public hearings if necessary.

(i) Expenses.--Members shall not receive compensation but

shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in service of

the task force.

(j) Support.--The Office of the Governor, the Senate, the

House of Representatives and the Administrative Offices of the

Pennsylvania Courts shall provide administrative services to the

task force or advisory committee .

(k) Applicability.--The following shall apply:

(1) (i) Except as provided under subparagraph (ii), the

act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the

Right-to-Know Law, shall apply to the task force.

(ii) Correspondence between a person and a member of

the task force and records accompanying the

correspondence submitted under section 2104-C(a)(3) shall

be exempt from access by a requester under the Right-to-

Know Law. This subparagraph shall not apply to

correspondence between a member and a principal or

lobbyist under 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 13A (relating to lobbying).

(2) Except as provided under paragraph (3), the task

force shall be deemed an agency for the purposes of 65

Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).

(3) Public notice of a meeting of the task force shall

be made by the by the chairperson no less than 24 hours prior

to a meeting.

(4) A member of the task force shall be deemed a public

official for the purpose of 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 11 (relating to

ethics standards and financial disclosure). A statement

required to be filed by a member under 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a)

(relating to statement of financial interests required to be

filed) due to the individual's membership on the task force

shall be filed only with the State Ethics Commission.

(5) The task force shall be considered an independent

agency for the purposes of the act of October 15, 1980

(P.L.950, No.164), known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

Section 2104-C. Functions of task force.

(a) Powers.--The task force shall have the following powers:

(1) To request periodic updates from each agency under

the Governor's jurisdiction, independent agencies, the

legislature and the unified judicial system on any actions

taken in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

(2) To appoint advisory committees under section 2103-

C(d).

(3) To receive communications from individuals,

businesses, nonprofit entities, local governments and any

other entity regarding issues under subsection (b)(2).

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(b) Duties.--The task force shall have the following duties:

(1) To monitor and track the response by the

Commonwealth to the COVID-19 public health emergency during

the time that the order remains active, including all actions

taken under the authority of the order.

(2) To identify issues of immediate public importance

relating to the COVID-19 public health emergency that require

executive, legislative or judicial action and to make

recommendations to the proper branch in a timely fashion.

(3) To develop and submit a recovery plan to the

Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and Judicial Branch of

the Commonwealth's government. A recovery plan shall include

a documented, structured approach that describes how the

Commonwealth and its political subdivisions can expeditiously

resume mission-critical functions, including the restoration

of housing, transportation, education and other public

services and economic activity to levels equal to or better

than their predisaster states through a series of short-term,

intermediate and long-term strategies and actions. The

recovery plan may be based in part or in whole on the Federal

Emergency Management Agency's resources for recovery planning

and managing recovery.

(4) To make a final report no later than six months

after the order is terminated by executive order,

proclamation or operation of law documenting all of the

following:

(i) Actions taken by executive agencies under the

order.

(ii) Legislative enactments made in response to the

COVID-19 public health emergency.

(iii) Judicial orders made in response to the COVID-

19 public health emergency.

(iv) A summary of actions undertaken by local

governments in response to the COVID-19 public health

emergency.

(v) A detailed summary of the actions taken by the

task force and each advisory committee established under

section 2103-C(d).

Section 2105-C. Appropriation.

The amount of $1,000 is appropriated from the General Fund to

the Department of Community and Economic Development for payment

of reasonable expenses under section 2103-C(i). The

appropriation under this section shall not lapse until the

expiration of this article under section 2106-C. Any amount of

the appropriation unexpended or uncommitted upon the expiration

under section 2106-C shall lapse.

Section 2106-C. Expiration.

This article shall expire six months after the order is

terminated by executive order, proclamation or operation of law.

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