Two pieces of legislation introduced by Rep. Frank Farry (R-Langhorne) in response to the COVID-19 crisis have advanced in the legislative process.
House Bill 2541 would allow local county commissioners, in consultation with local health officials, to reopen businesses in counties during a health emergency if certain criteria are met. In addition, House Bill 777 would allow social clubs, including veterans’ organizations, to keep a full share of small games of chance funds for one full year after a state of emergency is lifted.
More specifically, House Bill 2541 would give individual counties the power to reopen once consulting with their local emergency management team and health department or a director of health, including a specific health authority that a county may contract with.
“The state’s process of reopening has been very challenging and has lacked transparency,” said Farry. “The Bucks County Department of Health has testified that our cases have significantly gone down and mitigation efforts have been successful.”
House Bill 2541 now awaits consideration in the full House.
House Bill 777 would allow for social clubs to elect to keep up to 100 percent of the proceeds for one year after the emergency declaration is rescinded. Currently, clubs keep 40 percent of the proceeds of small games with the remaining 60 percent going to support community organizations. This bill would be applicable not just during the COVID-19 disaster but would remain in statute for other disasters such as weather-related emergencies.
“This legislation will help clubs in our district, including our veterans’ organizations, rebuild their resources after this crisis,” Farry said. “These organizations are imperative to our communities, especially our veterans.”
House Bill 777 now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
“I understand the people of our state are facing a great deal of adversity and challenges during this time,” Farry said. “These pieces of legislation are aimed to support, rebuild and safely reopen our state.”
