PRINTER'S NO. 4467
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2903
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY SNYDER, OCTOBER 2, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, OCTOBER 2, 2020
AN ACT
Amending Title 51 (Military Affairs) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in veterans' organizations, providing
for COVID-19 mitigation order exemption and for COVID-19
crisis veterans' organization grant program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 51 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding sections to read:
§ 9305. COVID-19 mitigation order exemption.
Any national veterans' organization, incorporated unit of a
national veterans' organization or affiliated organization who
holds a restaurant, club or catering club license under the act
of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code,
shall be exempt from section 1(A) of the 20200715 TWW Targeted
Mitigation Order, except that:
(1) All service must be at a table or booth and bar
service shall be prohibited.
(2) Occupancy shall be limited to 25% of stated fire
code maximum occupancy or 50% of stated fire code maximum
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occupancy if the licensee is a participant in the Open &
Certified Pennsylvania Program.
(3) A discrete indoor event or gathering within a bar
shall be limited to 25 individuals.
§ 9306. COVID-19 Crisis Veterans' Organization Grant Program.
(a) Establishment.--The COVID-19 Crisis Veterans'
Organization Grant Program is established in the department.
Grants provided under the program shall be used by any eligible
organization during the novel coronavirus pandemic 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.
(b) Publication and notice.--The department shall transmit
notice of the COVID-19 Crisis Veterans' Organization Grant
Program availability to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin within 30 days of the
effective date of this section.
(c) Grant applications.--The department shall develop an
application for the COVID-19 Crisis Veterans' Organization Grant
Program available to any eligible organization within 30 days of
the effective date of this section. The application shall be
made available and posted on the authority's publicly accessible
Internet website and be in a form that can be completed
electronically or through the United States mail.
(d) Appropriation.--The following shall apply to any
appropriation from money received by the Commonwealth under the
Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
(Public Law 116-136) for purposes of making grants under this
section:
(1) The sum of $10,000,000 of the amount appropriated
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shall be expended for the purpose of making grants to
eligible organizations.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may
use up to $60,000 of unencumbered funds from the amount
appropriated for administrative costs for the implementation
of this section.
(e) Expiration of authority.--The authority of the
department to award grants under this section shall expire six
months after the effective date of this section.
(f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Eligible organization." Any branch, post or camp of
honorably discharged servicemen or servicewomen or an affiliated
organization thereof that is deemed eligible to receive grants
under section 9304(d) (relating to grants to veterans' service
officer programs).
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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