June 17, 2019

Please call Representative Kathy Rapp’s office TODAY and ask that she NOT support SB633.
Kathy Rapp
(717) 787-1367 
SB633 moved swiftly through the Senate and we need ALL HANDS ON DECK TO PUT THE BRAKES ON THIS BAD BILL! This bill would allow the Governor, at the request of the Secretary of the Department of Health, to bypass all safeguards that have been enacted to protect citizens’ rights by simply declaring a public health emergency. It allows unelected government officials to act without accountability to the Department of Justice, regulatory protocol, FOIA, and removes the possibility of criminal prosecution for actions of all persons working under emergency protocol. This opens the door for unprecedented, untested, intrusive, and even criminal procedures to be carried out by the government upon its citizens, leaving citizens with no legal recourse for harm inflicted upon them or their children.
The criteria outlined in this bill under which the Governor may declare a Public Health Emergency is vague and sweeping, allowing for even suspected, but not verified, disease occurrence to initiate an override of the constitutional rights of Pennsylvania citizens.

Simply put, this legislation allows for the temporary removal of the most fundamental rights of citizens on the basis of something as subjective as the suspicion of a potential health concern or a small pocket of drug users possibly consuming tainted drugs. It epitomizes government overreach and abuse of power under the guise of a declared emergency.

Talking Points:

• The bill is too vague in defining what constitutes a public health emergency.
• City and county government officials in New York are currently being sued for overriding its citizens’ constitutional rights during a declared public health emergency.
•  We need our legislators to ensure that our constitutional rights remain intact at all times.