Mustello holds amendment forum
BUTLER TWP — At a forum Sunday, state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said the purpose of the proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot May 18 is clear: “It's so everyone will have the opportunity to vote for the future of Pennsylvania.”
About 50 people attended the event at the 11th Frame restaurant, 540 Fairground Hill Road, which provided two experts to outline the amendments and offer their perspective. Speaking were Kevin Kane, a senior government affairs specialist for the Commonwealth Foundation, a think tank based in Harrisburg, and Grant Gulibon, deputy state director of the Pennsylvania chapter of Americans for Prosperity.
Mustello hosted the event to make voters aware of the questions and encouraged them to vote yes on all three. She and the experts said voting yes on the questions will give the General Assembly more control during disaster declarations.
Four questions, including three proposed state constitutional amendments, will be on the ballot for voters of all affiliations. The fourth question is a statewide referendum making municipal fire and emergency services companies eligible for loans.- Question 1 asks whether the General Assembly should be able to terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration or a portion of such a declaration without needing the governor's approval.- Question 2 asks if some of the governor's authority in a disaster declaration should be transferred to the General Assembly.- Question 3 asks voters if a new section should be added to the state constitution that provides equality of rights under the law that shall not be denied or abridged because of an individual's race or ethnicity.Kane said regarding the first two questions, local legislators should make decisions on disaster declarations.“These people are closer to businesses and working families and are more in tune with protecting public health and safety while making sure you can keep your job, feed your family and send your kids to school,” Kane said.He asked those gathered if Gov. Tom Wolf has toured Butler County to gauge his disaster declaration's impact on businesses and families or if he had telephoned.Those in attendance shook their heads in response.“That should scare the crap out of you that one person can shut you down in a matter of minutes,” Kane said.Kane said he has talked to nonconservatives who will vote yes on changes to a governor's powers regarding a disaster declaration.“We've got to vote yes, because we can't let this happen again,” Kane said.Gulibon said the state is in the midst of Wolf's fourth 90-day extension of his coronavirus pandemic disaster declaration.He said voting yes on the amendments would reduce extensions to 25 days.Voting yes would also preclude a governor from declaring another disaster using the same criteria as the first declaration without approval by the General Assembly.“Both questions center on giving the power back to the people and their representatives,” Gulibon said.He said the legislature voted last summer to end the disaster declaration, but the governor vetoed it as is his right within the current state constitution.“A yes vote would eliminate that,” Gulibon said.He added 30 states have measures in place whereby their legislators can vote to terminate the governor's disaster declaration.“These amendments add checks and balances to protect our lives and livelihoods,” Gulibon said.
Joe Caparosa, who co-owns Family Bowlaway and the 11th Frame restaurant with his brother, Kevin, said his bowling center and restaurant were closed for months, and takeout food sales only provided 3% of his normal profits during the pandemic restrictions.Now operating at a reduced capacity, he has followed all required protocols throughout the past year, which has not always set well with his customers.“I've had people ask to meet me in the parking lot,” Caparosa said.The 11th Frame received two warnings, he said, for a woman who walked to the bathroom without a mask on and a man drinking alcohol without ordering food.Caparosa said he has seen competitors who ignored the governor's restrictions receive no warnings.“We tried to follow the rules and what we have seen is uneven enforcement,” Caparosa said. “It doesn't seem fair when you're trying to do the right thing.”But Caparosa hesitated to ignore Wolf's restrictions, as the state has the power to pull his liquor license.“That's a big stick they have,” he said.He said federal Paycheck Protection Program grants and those distributed by the county have allowed his family to continue operating their business.“Without them, we might have had a different outcome,” Caparosa said.
During a question and answer session, both Mustello and state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21th, agree that voter law changes are necessary.Neither disagreed with a man who is a proponent of the Georgia voter laws, which have caused controversy in recent weeks. The man said he thinks mail-in ballots used in the 2020 elections were faulty.He asked Kane if voting yes on the amendment questions meant Pennsylvania would forward voter laws such as those enacted in Georgia.Kane responded the tide could turn that direction with the hard work of state legislators, “but we need to win this first.”Supporters of the new Georgia voting laws say they restore voter confidence in the process and make the elections more secure. The laws have been panned by Democrats, who say the laws disenfranchise some voters. However, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp maintains the laws actually expand access to voting.“We need ballot reform in Pennsylvania, desperately,” the man said.Hutchinson replied “I'm on board 100%,” and Mustello agreed.
Regarding the county Democrats' views on the constitutional amendment questions, Catherine Lalonde, chairwoman of the county Democratic Committee said all court cases she has seen that seek to limit or refute Wolf's restrictions have been thrown out.She added emergency declarations are what allowed Pennsylvania to receive millions in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds during the pandemic.“We could be cutting off our own aid (by approving the constitutional amendments),” Lalonde said.She also questioned running disaster declarations through the time-consuming process of passing the legislature.“I think it's very shortsighted to limit the governor and any future governor,” she said. “Basically, an emergency can't wait for committees to discuss it.”Mustello called the contention that disaster declarations would be stalled by going through the legislative process “fear tactics.”“All we're saying is open up Pennsylvania,” she said.
