Senator Mastriano

The Pennsylvania Constitution Cannot Be Circumvented
Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33)

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of Health (DOH) is creating regulations that would expand its authority to wield the same power Gov. Tom Wolf did in 2020-21. These regulations threaten to give the governor sweeping emergency power Pennsylvania voters acted to limit in 2021. If the governor can simply move that power into the DOH and exercise it through regulation, then the constitutional protection adopted by the people means little.

Pennsylvanians remember why they changed their constitution. In 2020, Gov. Wolf used extraordinary emergency powers to control the commonwealth. Department of Health Sec. Levine drove the administration’s public-health response, while Shapiro backed Wolf and Levine’s policies as Pennsylvania’s attorney general. Today, Shapiro is governor, and his DOH is seeking expanded regulatory authority. We cannot separate what is happening now from what Pennsylvanians experienced then.

Pennsylvanians remember this because we lived it. Government shut down schools and sent children home. Students lost proms, graduations, sports seasons and milestones they never got back. Parents struggled to work while their children sat at kitchen tables staring into computer screens instead of sitting in classrooms.

Government decided which businesses were essential and which were non-essential, then ordered those it deemed non-essential to close. Men and women who had spent decades building a family business, supporting their families and employing their neighbors suddenly had government tell them their livelihood was “non-essential.” Revenue stopped, but mortgages, rent, utilities, insurance and bills did not. Employees lost paychecks and jobs. Independent business owners watched everything they had spent their lives building hang in the balance.

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HARRISBURG – Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) today announced more than $4.6 million in state grant funding for 21 projects across Franklin and Adams counties, delivering significant investments in public safety, water and sewer infrastructure, emergency services and community facilities.

The highly competitive grants were awarded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Statewide Local Share Account Program.

“These investments will make a real difference in communities across Franklin and Adams counties,” Mastriano said. “They will put new fire and police equipment into service, strengthen aging water and sewer systems, improve community facilities and help our municipalities and volunteer organizations meet needs that would otherwise fall heavily on local taxpayers.”

Mastriano worked in cooperation with Reps. Rob Kauffman (R-89), Dan Moul (R-91), Rich Irvin (R-81), Chad Reichard (R-90) and Catherine Wallen (R-193) to support the successful applications.

“I’m grateful for the partnership of our House members and, especially, for the work of the municipalities, authorities, first responders and community organizations that developed these projects,” Mastriano said. “These are exactly the kinds of investments that state government should be making — projects that improve public safety, strengthen essential infrastructure and enhance the quality of life in the communities we call home.”

Adams County
• Biglerville Borough – $82,769 – Purchase and upfitting of a new police vehicle for the Biglerville Borough Police Department.
• Bonneauville Borough – $110,214 – Improvements to the borough’s storm sewer system.
• Carroll Valley Borough – $500,000 – Expansion of sanitary sewer infrastructure along Country Club Trail Road.
• Fairfield Municipal Authority – $300,000 – Rehabilitation of the authority’s sanitary sewer system.
• Franklin Township Municipal Authority – $100,000 – Purchase of emergency generators for two well sites, helping ensure continued water service during power outages and emergencies.
• McSherrystown Borough – $100,000 – Acquisition of municipal equipment.

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September 15, 1776 - British forces under General William Howe captured New York during the American Revolution.