$50 million state aid package, future recovery help, ready for Gov. Wolf's signature

Both the state House and Senate passed a $50 million recovery package Wednesday intended to help families and businesses deal with the growing economic fallout from the coronavirus threat.

According to press releases sent by several Republican senators, Senate agreed Wednesday the package after the House had done so earlier.

The package awaits the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf.

The General Assembly passed several measures that:

• Changes state unemployment compensation laws;

• Gives more money for health care facilities in the state.

• Move the 2020 primary from April 28 to June 2, allow county election officials to consolidate polling places as needed, among other things.

• Amend the school code to eliminate penalties for schools that fail to meet the required 180 days of instruction during the pandemic.

The changes were among those sought by both Democrats and Republicans.

There were among items state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, sought in a six-point recovery package in a letter to Wolf on Tuesday.

His colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who worked to craft legislation via remote hookups, said they’ve heard countless pleas for help.

“As this has gone on, we’ve learned a lot,” state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield said before the Senate vote. “It’s been amazing. I was on the phone with constituents until 10:30 (Tuesday) night. People are reaching out through social media. These people are so upset, and the least I can do is try to answer their questions.”

“Trying to give independent contractors unemployment is one of the big important things we need to do, along with waiving the job search requirement because everyone is closed and no one is hiring,” Ward added.

State Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Allegheny, issued a call for co-sponsors for a bill to extend the filing deadline for state sales taxes by 45 days to provide breathing room for businesses hit by the shutdown.

Brewster said Harrisburg lawmakers need to create a state stimulus plan to fill in gaps in the federal stimulus and create a bridge to the future for when Pennsylvania begins to emerge from the covid-19 shutdowns.

“Infusing cash into the economy through grants to small business, bolstering unemployment compensation, accelerating public works projects, reducing business tax liability over the long-term, expanding bonding capacity and coordinating the response through a one-stop response office are ways the state can step in and speed relief,” Brewster wrote Tuesday in a letter to Wolf.

He said essential businesses such as media companies and restaurants that remain open, despite taking deep hits to revenue, will need assistance to get back on track.

“Some of these folks won’t be around to access low-interest loans if they don’t get some help,” Brewster said prior to the Senate vote.

The former McKeesport mayor, who was elected to the General Assembly after retiring from a three-decade career in banking, has seen the impact an economic meltdown can wreck on a small town.

As a young man, he watched McKeesport — once a booming steel town — lose more than half of its population when the mills began to close four decades ago. As mayor, from 2004-08, he struggled to keep the city out of distressed status and meet the payroll as the economy tanked along with tax revenues.

“People are talking about the impact (the shutdown) will have on Pittsburgh. But you could see the same impact across 2,700 municipalities. No matter how small you are, you are going to experience this,” he warned.