Sep. 14, 2021
HARRISBURG – Agreeing there are procedural concerns over how Pennsylvania’s current statewide mask mandate for schools was implemented, Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) thanked House Health Committee Chair Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest) for
her letter calling on the Joint Committee on Documents to review the mandate.
“Our institution can only do the work the people of the Commonwealth have entrusted to us if our processes are respected and followed,” Cutler said. “This letter is not a vote for or against masking, or vaccines or any other mitigation measure. It’s about recognizing a continuing pattern of this administration abusing the delicate balance of power that our Constitution creates which vests the General Assembly with the authority and responsibility to make laws and policies.”
The Joint Committee on Documents is made up of 11 members, including leaders from both chambers, appointees from the executive branch, the attorney general and two members of the public.
As stated in Section 7.1 of the Pennsylvania Regulatory Review Act (Act 181 of 1982), if a standing committee or commission finds that a published or unpublished document has been unilaterally promulgated, then the committee can present the matter to the Joint Committee on Documents. The Joint Committee on Documents shall then determine whether the document should be promulgated as a regulation.
“Every agency is bound by law to follow an established process to implement a new regulation on the residents of Pennsylvania. If they do not, this process is the appropriate remedy to bring forth all of the legal arguments and issues and consider the validity of the executive action,” Cutler added. “The governor’s administration should focus more on the education of our children and addressing the long-term consequences of his previous school shutdown and not policing who is and is not wearing a mask.”
Speaker Bryan Cutler
100th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
.jpg)