Top Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers, acting with authority given them by voters in the May primary election, told Gov. Tom Wolf the opioid crisis disaster declaration will end this month.
At the same time, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman of Centre County and House Speaker Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County said the crisis would remain a top legislative priority.
“Rather than renewing the disaster declaration for a fifteenth time, we assure you our commitment to continuing our vital work,” Corman and Cutler said in a letter to Wolf, a Democrat.
Wolf made the initial disaster declaration in early 2018 and has kept it going through a series of fourteen 90-day renewals.
On Wednesday, he renewed it again. This time, though, it was only for 21 days unless extended by the Legislature.
The difference was amendments to the state Constitution approved by voters in the May 18 primary that curtailed the governor’s emergency-declaring powers.
One gave the General Assembly the ability to end or extend a declared emergency without the governor’s involvement, and the other ended a declared emergency after 21 days unless extended by lawmakers.
In a July 30 letter, Wolf asked Republicans, who control the House and Senate, to consider returning to Harrisburg to extend the disaster declaration. Currently, lawmakers are not scheduled to return for voting sessions until late September.
“The experts tell us that there is massive lingering trauma from this pandemic that will continue to manifest itself in mental health needs, physical health needs, and substance use challenges,” Wolf wrote.
According to Wolf, preliminary numbers show 5,063 Pennsylvania drug overdose deaths for 2020, an increase of more than 13% from the 4,458 reported for 2019. Additional reporting is expected to increase the 2020 total.
Disagreement over extension
Seeking yet another renewal, Wolf described benefits of an opioid command center set up in conjunction with the disaster declaration.
He also warned that without the declaration, the Department of Health would no longer be able to share with other agencies certain information from a state prescription-drug database. Wolf said that database has helped bring about big reductions in opioid prescribing.
Two rank-and-file Philadelphia Democrats, Reps. Mary Isaacson and Joe Hohenstein, also asked Republican House leaders in a letter to call the Legislature into session to extend the declaration.
Corman and Cutler pointed out to Wolf they were aware of only three other states currently under an opioid disaster: Arizona, Florida and Massachusetts.
Preparing for the end of the declaration, they asked Wolf to supply them with specific recommendations so House and Senate leaders could collaborate with the administration in fighting the crisis.
They were supported by other Republican leaders.
Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward of Westmoreland County said the administration and lawmakers have to collaborate more.
Letting the declaration lapse, Ward said, would amount to “eliminating barriers allowing government to work better together to help Pennsylvanians.”
House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County said many bills have been introduced to fight the crisis and, “It is clear renewing the declaration is unnecessary.”
A rank-and-file Republican, Rep. Mark Gillen of Berks County, said in an interview that Wolf had not demonstrated the effectiveness of the declaration.
The death toll from drugs in Pennsylvania remains unacceptably high, Gillen said.
“I would like somebody to demonstrate to me, in a tangible way, how this is moving the ball forward,” Gillen said.
Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com.
