On April 25, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) rolled out his plan for a gradual reopening of the state, which says that construction can resume on Friday, May 1, as long as it is in accordance with safety and COVID-19 mitigation standards.
To advocate for the safe reopening of construction, ABC chapters in Pennsylvania formed a Construction Safety Task Force, which consisted of ABC members throughout the state. Together, they submitted a comprehensive report to the administration with recommendations for the eventual reopening of the industry. The administration’s “Guidance for the Construction Industry” adopted many of the principles and recommendations from ABC. For example, it offers guidelines that require employers to develop, implement and enforce safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as enforcing social distancing, providing hand washing stations and identifying a “pandemic safety officer.”
ABC Pennsylvania advocated for numerous bills that would reopen the industry, including House Bill 2400 and Senate Bill 1105, which would have permitted public and private construction activities to resume as long they adhered to social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ABC Pennsylvania also lent collective support to Senate Bill 613, which would have required the administration to develop a COVID-19 plan for businesses to adopt as a condition to reopen, but the bill was vetoed by the governor April 20.
ABC will provide the latest information on ABC’s involvement in reopening the economy in Newsline.