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Senate rejects business vaccine rules

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In a vote that split Pennsylvania’s senators, the U.S. Senate rejected President Joe Biden’s corporate vaccine mandate – a vote that could presage further GOP campaigns this year.

The narrowly Democratic-controlled Senate voted 52-48 Wednesday to overturn Biden’s order, which tasked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with enforcing vaccine mandates on large private employers. Two Democrats joined their GOP colleagues to shoot down the mandate.

The vote won’t overturn the order – it likely wouldn’t make it through the House – but it demonstrates the depth of Republican opposition to federal mandates intended to stop the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., voted to end the mandate, while Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., voted to uphold it.

“This vaccine mandate has neither legal nor constitutional authority, and it can and should be formally struck down in all arenas, including by Congress,” Toomey said in a statement after the vote, stressing that he backs vaccination as an individual choice. “Coercing vaccination through an employer will lead to people leaving the workforce, which is bad for those families and the people their workplace serves.”

Some businesses and GOP-controlled state governments have challenged the mandate in court, leaving its future in limbo. Under the order, businesses with more than 100 employees would have to order employees to get shots or submit to weekly testing.

Republican congressional leaders claimed the order was a case of government overreach that infringed on individuals’ rights – a claim many candidates are making as the 2022 midterm election season begins. State Republicans have won challenges to Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 measures, including by constitutional amendment.

Plan would pull Pa. from Chinese investments

A conservative state lawmaker is targeting Chinese businesses with a push to divest state resources from what he calls “companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”

Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Adams, circulated a memo this week for a bill that would pull state funds and pensions from targeted companies. His proposal didn’t detail what constitutes a Communist Party-controlled business.

“For far too long, Pennsylvania has invested hundreds of millions in government funds to a regime that continues to trample on human rights,” he said.

The bill follows a trend, particularly at the federal level, of attempts to sanction and target the Chinese government and members of its Communist Party. The U.S. government announced this week that its diplomats will not be taking part in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, in protest against Chinese government policies.

While Mastriano’s bill would mandate a state government boycott of China, past legislation has done the opposite: banning businesses from boycotting foreign countries. A state law passed in 2016 bans state contractors from participating in human-rights boycotts against Israel backed by Palestinian groups.

First election maps appear

The first proposals for Pennsylvania’s next congressional map are circulating in Harrisburg as lawmakers open their public negotiations.

On Wednesday, House Republicans published their first official proposal, a citizen-drawn map that creates occasionally serpentine districts and appears to hurt reelection chances for some Democrats.

“The introduction of this map is a starting point, and we look forward to hearing the thoughts of residents across Pennsylvania about how this map would impact their community and how they are represented in Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, head of the House State Government Committee.

Under the proposal, entire counties including Venango, Somerset and Bedford would be swapped wholesale into neighboring districts, while much of northeastern and central Pennsylvania would be completely redrawn.

Other unofficial proposals and compromise versions have circulated among political observers and journalists, and more are slated to be revealed next week.

No matter the map, one party is set to lose a seat: Population changes mean Pennsylvania will have 17 representatives after the 2022 election, down from 18. Which seat is eliminated – and which representatives are drawn out of their districts – remains to be seen.

Santa credit would cover costs

Performers who portray Santa Claus and the companies that hire them could get a tax break if a proposal in Harrisburg moves forward.

State Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Susquehanna, drew headlines this week when he proposed a “modest tax credit” for Santas and their employers. Citing a shortage of Santas and high demand after a 2020 holiday slump, Fritz said performers could be encouraged by a credit for “Santa-related expenses.”

Even if a bill is formally proposed in the coming days, it would have to pass both chambers in a three-day window to make it into law by Christmas.

Ryan Brown covers statewide politics for Ogden Newspapers. He can be reached at rbrown@altoonamirror.com.

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