Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is pushing to radically rewrite his state’s health code to give his administration authoritarian police powers as he seeks re-election.
The Democrat’s proposed change would give Pennsylvania’s Department of Health centralized police powers under the guise of “disease control measures,” including the ability to enter homes and schools without a warrant, access confidential medical records, and impose statewide school mask mandates for disease prevention. The Department of Health reports to the governor’s office, meaning this change would give Shapiro — and his successors — the ability to single-handedly implement draconian policies across the state.
“The administration’s proposed new regulations on mask mandates and communicable diseases are deeply concerning,” Pennsylvania lawmaker Michele Brooks told The Daily Wire. “These include catch-all authority to impose masking, distancing, and virtually any other disease-control measure it wants, a statewide vaccine database with mandatory reporting, authority to restrict attendance at funerals, and extraordinarily broad powers to monitor private health information and enter private property.”
Pennsylvanians voted to limit the unilateral emergency powers of the governor’s office through a constitutional amendment in May 2021. Shapiro, who touts himself as a moderate and centrist, is said to be on Democrats’ short list of possible 2028 presidential nominees. His office did not respond to The Daily Wire’s requests for comment.
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