A resolution dubbed as the Republicans' “nuclear option” was passed in the state House of Representatives Thursday.

“I don't know who is calling it that, but if you saw the vote last night, it was bipartisan,” said state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th.

House Resolution 836 passed late Thursday evening by a vote of 117-85. The resolution would terminate the section of Gov. Tom Wolf's disaster declaration that segregates businesses based on the designation of essential and nonessential as part of his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The declaration would remain in place and allow for the state to continue collecting federal funding.

Eight Democrats joined unanimous Republican support for the resolution.

Mustello said she could not speak for Democrats, but she believed the votes were a sign of changing opinions.

“I think they're hearing from their own constituents,” Mustello said. “We've done what we were told to do. The people (who) are angry are coming from both parties.”

The resolution now goes to the state Senate. If it passes, it will land on the governor's desk.

Wolf said he too wants to return to normal, but for the past few weeks he has used the term “new normal” when describing a future beyond the three-phase reopening of the state's economy.

“I'm getting pressure from all over the place, including from myself,” Wolf said. “I'm frustrated by where we are.”

Wolf said the goal was to prevent the outbreak from overwhelming health care systems across the state. When the virus first reached the state in March, the state's Department of Health was reporting an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases daily. Now, the number of new cases appears to be on the decline, testing is at an all-time high and state officials are turning back to containment strategies through bolstered contact tracing.

“Everybody wants to get back. I want to get back to as normal as we can be,” Wolf said. “It's a matter of how do we get people to feel comfortable and confident they can go back to life as they want it to be in this post-disease-infested world?”

Mustello said Pennsylvanians have done everything asked of them, and it is time for a full reopening of the state.

“I think the message the governor should take from this is Pennsylvanians are ready to get back to normal, not a new normal, but back to the lives we remember from before this pandemic,” she said.

Wolf said now is a time for caution, not to move full-speed ahead. He said a resolution forcing faster movement will only put the state and its residents at risk.

“That's not going to help in terms of getting people to feel comfortable,” Wolf said.