May 15, 2020 2 min read

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale gave an update on Thursday on his office’s audit of the process the state used for more than 40,000 applications from businesses seeking to remain open for the last two months.

DePasquale, a Democrat, discussed the audit he first promised to conduct at the end of April. He made the decision at the time amid complaints from businesses and pointed questions from GOP lawmakers about the system by which the Department of Community and Economic Development granted waivers that allowed some businesses to stay open while most were subject to state-mandated closure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Because COVID-19 is going to be with us for quite some time, I want to make sure the waiver process really reflects the delicate balance between protecting lives and protecting livelihoods,” DePasquale said. “In the past two weeks, my team has conducted extensive research using publicly available information and more than three dozen emails my office has received in the past two weeks.”

He said that he has three initial goals in the review: evaluating the criteria that DCED used to distinguish between “life-sustaining” and “non-life-sustaining” businesses, and compare its method with a different model developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; examining the process itself; and consistency.

“This will include checking to see if any outside influence played a part in the final decision,” he added.

The DCED said last week that 6,060 businesses received waivers, and another 12,826 were denied. An additional 11,635 were notified that their request did not require an exemption, while 11,619 submitted applications before becoming subject to guidance that is specific to their industries, such as construction projects, golf courses and auto dealers.

Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, previously said he welcomed the scrutiny of his administration.

DePasquale said his department’s official audit meeting with DCED officials is scheduled for May 21.

He emphasized that it was too early to give information about specific businesses, but he did say it was common for businesses to complain about supposed unfairness when it came to which ones received waivers and other, apparently similar, companies did not.

“There may be a legitimate reason, so I’m not making a judgment on that, but that’s something that rises as a level of concern,” he added. “There may be very valid reasons, but that’s something that comes up as a concern.”