Under Article XVIII-B, Section 1801-B of the Election Code, the general primary election will now occur on June 2, 2020, once it is approved by the governor.

On the evening of March 25, 2020, the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives unanimously voted to approve a number of COVID-19 emergency response bills in an effort to adapt to the continued public health emergency caused by the pandemic. The bills are currently awaiting final approval by Governor Tom Wolf.

Key provisions of the COVID-19 emergency response bills, which cover a range of issues from the commonwealth’s educational system to unemployment benefits, are summarized below.

Senate Bill 751―Public School Code

The amendment to the Public School Code, codified as Section 1501.8, applies only to the school year 2019-2020 and waives Pennsylvania’s current requirement that schools be kept open for at least 180 instructional days per school year.

The amendment also empowers the Secretary of Education to take the following actions, among others:

• Order the closure of all schools until the threat to health and safety caused by the pandemic has ended;
• Increase the number of flexible instructional days that schools may opt to use; and
• Waive certain minimum requirements related to performance ratings for professionals, the completion of career and technical education programs, prekindergarten instruction and student-teaching programs.

Under Section 1501.8, school districts are now required to make a “good faith effort” to create a learning plan for students during the period that schools remain closed. Plans must be submitted to the Department of Education and posted on the school’s publicly accessible website. In addition, all schools must provide the parents or guardians of any student who receives special education services with written notice of the school’s plans for ensuring that the student continues to receive education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The amendment also maintains current funding for school districts and school entities (including charter schools), as well as current compensation for all school staff who were employed as of March 13, 2020.

Senate Bill 422 ―Election Code

Under Article XVIII-B, Section 1801-B of the Election Code, the general primary election will now occur on June 2, 2020, once it is approved by the governor.

Other emergency provisions relevant to the 2020 general primary election include, among others:

• Permitting the consolidation, closure and redesignation of polling places due to shortages of available volunteers and locations;
• Revisions to permissible polling place locations, including opening up locations that serve or dispense alcoholic beverages as potential polling places; and
• Requirements that any polling location be directly accessible by a public street and an outside entrance.

New polling places are to be made available to the public no later than 15 days prior to the election.

The emergency provisions applicable to the 2020 general primary election will expire on July 3, 2020.

House Bill 1232―Fiscal Code

The emergency amendments to the Fiscal Code will directly affect taxation and healthcare funding.

Taxation

Under Article I-A, Section 101-A, the Department of Revenue will be granted temporary authority over taxation during the state of emergency declared on March 6, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department will extend all filing and payment deadlines to coincide with the federal Tax Reform Code, including deadlines for individuals who are required to declare and pay estimated personal income tax and the filing of informational returns for S corporations and partnerships, estates and trusts. The calculation of any interest or penalties for failures to meet the extended deadline will be disregarded for the period between April 14, 2020, and July 16, 2020.

This legislation also authorizes the Department of Community and Economic Development to work with local political subdivisions to extend deadlines related to the local Earned Income Tax Credit to July 15, 2020.

Section 101-A will expire on July 31, 2020.

Healthcare

Section 1735-A.1 of Article XVII-A.1 enables the Secretary of the Budget to transfer $50 million from special funds under the governor’s jurisdiction to a restricted account to be used for medical equipment and supplies for healthcare entities to meet urgent patient and staff needs necessary to address surge demands. These funds may only be transferred to the extent that funding authorized by the federal government and the governor’s disaster proclamation are insufficient to meet the needs of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 response.

Under Section 1736-A.1, temporary regulations authorized under the Medical Marijuana Act— which were set to expire in May 2020—will now remain in effect until November 20, 2021, or until the publication of the final form regulations by the Department of Health, whichever is sooner.

House Bill 68―Unemployment Compensation Law

The emergency amendment to the Unemployment Compensation Act, pursuant to Section 1601 of Article XVI, activates emergency rules enabling the Secretary of Labor to waive certain provisions and eligibility requirements under the act in order to accommodate claimants whose unemployment is related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

For the duration of the disaster emergency as declared by the governor, this amendment also waives (1) the act’s one-week waiting period; and (2) all job search and registration requirements. This section further enables the secretary to enact temporary regulations aimed at taking full advantage of applicable changes to federal law, such as extensions on the length of time that unemployment benefits can be made available.

Article XVI will expire on January 1, 2021.

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Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

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If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Sharon L. Caffrey, Sean S. Zabaneh, any member of the COVID-19 Strategy Team or the attorney at the firm with whom you are in regular contact.

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