Mastriano Seeks Legislative Oversight & Input on Emergency Actions

HARRISBURG – State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-33) recently introduced a measure that aims to enhance legislative oversight and input on current emergency actions.

Mastriano is concerned about unilateral decisions made by the administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, without consultation or feedback by the General Assembly.

As a result, Mastriano introduced Senate Resolution 323 in an effort to generate discourse between the executive and legislative branches during the health crisis.

“The current decision-making process is not working. There has been no dialogue between the Governor and lawmakers, whatsoever,” said Mastriano. “I cannot recall any Governor in our history who has exercised so much power, with so little accountability or transparency as Governor Wolf. The Governor has not worked with the General Assembly, nor sought to build a coalition with Pennsylvanians, to come up with a plan to intelligently guide us through these times.”

The concurrent resolution was recently assigned to the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee. State Representative Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) has introduced the House version of the measure (HR836).

Mastriano cited concerns about numerous mandates that have been imposed by the administration, including the Governor’s flawed business waiver system. The criteria that was used during the process has been called into question, and lawmakers – led by Mastriano – have officially requested documentation depicting how those decisions were reached.

“We are a constitutional republic, where power is divided amongst three branches of government, and checks and balances should be in place to prevent any branch from wielding so much authority,” said Mastriano. “It is the constitutional responsibility of the General Assembly to provide oversight over the actions of the executive branch, especially during this crisis. We need to restore accountability, oversight and transparency before more damage is done.”

CONTACT: Scot Andrew Pitzer; spitzer@pasen.gov