- Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 April 2020 14:35
Rep. Bud Cook (R-Washington/Fayette) joined his colleagues in the state House in voting for legislation that would require the governor to develop and implement a plan to mitigate COVID-19 for businesses and allow those businesses that can meet the requirements of that plan to reopen.
The plan must be developed using Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) guidelines.
“This legislation is a no-brainer. The purpose of Senate Bill 613 is to reopen many of Pennsylvania’s businesses safely and responsibly,” said Cook. “It’s time we trust ‘We the People’ and have a plan that brings fairness, transparency and accountability.”
Senate Bill 613 was amended in the House to include provisions which direct the governor to produce a plan to allow businesses that can follow CDC and CISA’s essential workforce guidelines to resume working in Pennsylvania.
“With the passage of Senate Bill 613 we are sending a much-needed message to the governor that we need to have a more sustainable long-term plan and we need to focus on our economic recovery,” continued Cook. “Flattening the curve should not also mean we flatten our economic recovery. We must give businesses the opportunity to adjust to the challenges we are all facing right now. We can do this in a safe and responsible way and Senate Bill 613 is a good proposal that will provide that. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of Pennsylvanians by allowing safe and essential businesses to reopen.”
