News Talk 104.1 posed a written question to Governor Wolf during his 2 p.m. press conference this afternoon.
The question was as follows:
Q: Does the Governor believe his order is a violation of law?
If not, what law is being cited as the justification for this order?
Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Wolf, Sara J. Goulet, provided this response to News talk 104.1 moments ago.
“No, he does not (believe his order is a violation of law). Pursuant to the Emergency Management Services Code, the governor is granted extraordinary powers upon his declaration of a disaster emergency, such as COVID-19. Among these powers, the governor may control the ingress and egress into the disaster area, the movement of persons, and the occupancy of premises within the disaster area, which has been established to be the entire commonwealth for the COVID-19 disaster emergency. The secretary of health separately is authorized under the law to employ measures necessary for the prevention and suppression of disease.”
The order in its entirety is available here.
20200319-TWW-COVID 19-business-closure-order
Stay tuned to News Talk 104.1 & 1600 WEJS and talkwilliamsport.com for details on this developing story.
