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PRINTER'S NO. 3999
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
915
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY METCALFE, BOROWICZ, JAMES, BERNSTINE, COOK,
DAVANZO, DIAMOND, DUSH, EVERETT, FRITZ, GREGORY, IRVIN,
JOZWIAK, KAUFFMAN, KEEFER, M. K. KELLER, MOUL, MUSTELLO,
PYLE, ROAE, ROWE, RYAN, SANKEY, SCHMITT, ZIMMERMAN, WARNER
AND KNOWLES, JUNE 23, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 23, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Impeaching Thomas W. Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania, for
misbehavior in office.
BE IT RESOLVED, That Thomas W. Wolf, Governor of
Pennsylvania, be impeached for misbehavior in office and that
the following Articles of Impeachment be exhibited to the
Senate:
ARTICLE I
On March 6, 2020, Governor Wolf declared a disaster emergency
for this Commonwealth, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21,
2020), related to the COVID-19 outbreak as authorized under 35
Pa.C.S. ยง 7301(c) (relating to general authority of Governor).
On March 19, 2020, Governor Wolf issued an order mandating the
closure of all businesses not deemed "life-sustaining" as
determined by Governor Wolf's administration. On April 1, 2020,
Governor Wolf issued a Statewide order mandating that citizens
of this Commonwealth stay at home.
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While Governor Wolf had the legislatively delegated authority
to declare the disaster emergency related to the COVID-19
outbreak, Governor Wolf did not have the authority to issue
subsequent orders following the disaster declaration that
deprived citizens of this Commonwealth of their most basic
rights affirmed by the Constitution of the United States.
Governor Wolf's orders violate the prohibition against unlawful
seizures and the right not to be deprived of property without
due process of law or just compensation under the Fourth and
Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Moreover, Governor Wolf's orders violate the right of citizens
of this Commonwealth to equal protection under the law
guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States. In addition, Governor Wolf's orders violate
the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly rights guaranteed
to citizens of this Commonwealth by the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
Wherefore, Governor Thomas W. Wolf is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
ARTICLE II
After Governor Wolf mandated the closure of "non-life-
sustaining" businesses across this Commonwealth on March 19,
2020, Governor Wolf ordered the Department of Community and
Economic Development to create a waiver program through which
newly shuttered businesses could apply to reopen. The waiver
program was applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner,
leading to inconsistent and unjust results which determined the
fate of the livelihoods of many citizens of this Commonwealth.
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Businesses providing the same service received different
waiver decisions under the waiver program. Businesses which had
been previously granted waivers under the waiver program saw the
waivers revoked without justification. Governor Wolf did not
create an appeals process for businesses to allow businesses to
challenge denials under the waiver program. Governor Wolf also
provided no detailed information to the public that would
indicate how decisions under the waiver program were being made.
Governor Wolf's mandated business closure orders have
devastated this Commonwealth's economy. The draconian nature of
Governor Wolf's mandated business closure orders, even as
compared to similar orders in other states, ensured that this
Commonwealth's path to economic recovery will be painful and
slow. Many of the businesses that Governor Wolf ordered
shuttered will never reopen. Governor Wolf's mandated business
closure orders have disproportionally impacted small businesses
because larger businesses which sell a variety of products were
more easily deemed "life-essential" by Governor Wolf's
administration.
Wherefore, Governor Thomas W. Wolf is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
ARTICLE III
While Governor Wolf knew that his mandated business closure
orders would forcibly cause historically high unemployment in
this Commonwealth, Governor Wolf failed to direct the Department
of Labor and Industry and the Office of Unemployment
Compensation to appropriately staff and administer unemployment
compensation offices to provide citizens of this Commonwealth
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with essential unemployment benefits. As many citizens of this
Commonwealth found themselves no longer receiving a paycheck
through no fault of their own, the only income available was
through unemployment benefits administered by the Office of
Unemployment Compensation.
Governor Wolf's failure to direct the Department of Labor and
Industry and the Office of Unemployment Compensation to
appropriately staff and administer unemployment compensation
offices after Governor Wolf issued his mandated business closure
orders left many citizens of this Commonwealth facing delays of
weeks and even months in merely receiving notices that they have
been determined to be eligible to receive unemployment
compensation benefits. Desperate citizens of this Commonwealth
have been unable to get assistance over the phone or via e-mail
from unemployment compensation offices to determine when they
will receive unemployment compensation benefits.
Owners and employees of businesses that were forced to
shutter under Governor Wolf's mandated business closure orders
rely on unemployment compensation benefits to meet their most
basic needs, including housing payments and food. Governor Wolf
should have known well in advance and begun preparing for the
massive influx of unemployment compensation claims after he
issued the mandated business closure orders. Governor Wolf's
failure to direct the Department of Labor and Industry and the
Office of Unemployment Compensation to appropriately staff and
administer unemployment compensation offices further contributed
to the suffering of the citizens of this Commonwealth initially
created by his mandated business closure orders.
Wherefore, Governor Thomas W. Wolf is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
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disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
ARTICLE IV
Governor Wolf failed in his duty to protect the citizens of
this Commonwealth who are most vulnerable to COVID-19: residents
of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Although
Governor Wolf had ample notice that residents of nursing homes
and long-term care facilities were at severe risk of contracting
and dying from COVID-19, Governor Wolf failed to direct the
Department of Health to develop and implement a comprehensive
plan to protect them. More than two-thirds of all COVID-19-
related fatalities in this Commonwealth have occurred in nursing
homes and long-term care facilities.
On March 18, 2020, the Department of Health issued guidance
urging nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit and
readmit patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. This
decision directly endangered all residents and staff of nursing
homes and long-term care facilities. Moreover, the Department of
Health moved far too slowly to implement COVID-19 testing for
residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care
facilities in comparison to neighboring states that required
such testing.
Wherefore, Governor Thomas W. Wolf is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
ARTICLE V
Governor Wolf has actively withheld critical information from
the public, press and General Assembly regarding issues
pertaining to the COVID-19 outbreak. State agencies under
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Governor Wolf's jurisdiction have stopped responding to requests
under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the
Right-to-Know Law, during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Governor
has refused for months to release requested information related
to the waiver program for reopening businesses shuttered by
Governor Wolf's mandated business closure orders established
under the Department of Community and Economic Development.
While Governor Wolf has finally begun to release some of the
relevant information regarding the waiver program, his delays
and obfuscation have been and continue to be entirely
unacceptable. The Governor has refused to respond to a subpoena
issued by the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness
Committee of the Senate for records pertaining to the waiver
program, forcing the Senate to take legal action to attempt to
obtain the requested records. Numerous inquiries from the press
seeking details about the waiver program have also been denied.
The right of the public, press and General Assembly to access
critical government records and information becomes more, not
less, important during a period of crisis.
Wherefore, Governor Thomas W. Wolf is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
The House of Representatives hereby reserves to itself the
right and ability to exhibit at any time hereafter further
Articles of Impeachment against Governor Thomas W. Wolf, to
reply to any answers that Governor Thomas W. Wolf may make to
any Articles of Impeachment which are exhibited and to offer
proof at trial in the Senate in support of each and every
Article of Impeachment which shall be exhibited by them.
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