State business closures in response to COVID-19 investigated by House Government Oversight Committee

Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover), chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, announced Friday a suggestion made by Gov. Tom Wolf for the committee to investigate the state’s business closure response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolf’s overall COVID-19 response has drawn several questions particularly related to his March 19 decision to close all “non-essential” businesses and implement a waiver system to allow certain businesses to remain operational. Critics of the governor’s order said that the distinction between essential and non-essential businesses was unclear and that the ensuing waiver system put in place under the Department of Community and Economic Development did not appear to follow any set of standards.

The questions asked of the Wolf administration by the public and members of the General Assembly have been left unanswered.

“A second wave of COVID-19 is forecast to hit in the fall and potential third wave later,” Grove said. “We have a short window of time to seek answers to these questions, so the same mistakes aren’t repeated if mitigation measures are taken again.”

Established last year, the House Government Oversight Committee is a nine-member entity that aims to provide better legislative oversight on how tax dollars are spent and how state agencies operate. It will release its report in the coming months.