‘COVID 2.0’: Lawmakers push back on sweeping health ‘police power’in key battleground state

Demonstrators protest Pennsylvania’s COVID lockdown policies during the pandemic.(Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images)

Pennsylvania voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2021 limiting the duration of agovernor’s disaster declarationto 21 days unless extended by the General Assembly.Those emergency powers played a central role inthen-Gov.Tom Wolf’sstatewide mitigation orders.

In the 502-page proposed Regulation 10-242, Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases, the Pennsylvania Department of Health proposes expanding the list of reportable diseases, infections and conditions and updating the rules to reflect changing expert standards.“The Department proposes to add language in this subsection, indicating that the Department or a local health authority may enter an apartment, a building, a health care facility, a school, college or university, or other location as necessary to conduct its investigation under 208 this chapter,” one provision highlighted by critics reads.

“I don’t think that we want a very left-leaning governor with his Department of Health and their henchmen having this kind of police power in Pennsylvania,” Diamond said.

A spokesperson for Health Secretary Dr.Debra Bogen — who led the Pittsburgh area’sCOVID mitigationresponse — said Shapiro “did not personally propose” the updates and rejected critics’ characterizations.

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“Any misconstruing of these proposed changes designed to scare Pennsylvanians is inaccurate and disingenuous,�

A Shapiro spokesperson also responded to criticism Wednesday, saying the governor’s philosophy is that “public health depends on trust” and emphasizing that the proposed health regulations are part of a larger effort to update about 200 regulatory areas across state agencies.

“Once public comment concludes later this month, [Shapiro] will weigh in, and the regulations will be revised accordingly,” she said.

Lapowsky said Shapiro’s emphasis on public trust includes respecting parental rights.Critics say the proposed regulations could give health officials greater authority over certain disease-control measures involving children, including masking.Lapowsky added that the governor believes “government should work closely with the people it serves.”

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Ruhland said the Pennsylvania Department of Health began analyzing and proposing regulatory updates several years ago and that the regulations in question are 25 years old and need modernization to “better support evolving public health needs and manage dangerous disease.”

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While the proposed regulations do not themselves enact a newmask mandate, they would broaden disease-control language beyond “surveillance,” a term central to litigation over Pennsylvania’s statewide school masking order during the pandemic.

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“Everybody in the United States was impacted by COVID one way or another,” said Topper, R-McConnellsburg.

“We were one of the worst locked-down states in the entire nation.And we had one of the worst death rates from COVID… We don’t want unelected bureaucrats making those decisions.We need to follow the [Commonwealth] Constitution, which says, ‘Hey, you can declare a public health disaster emergency if you want.But after 21 days, the legislature gets to say whether you can continue that or not’.”

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Pennsylvania Gov.Josh Shapiro speaks during a re-election campaign kickoff event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Jan.8, 2026.(Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

State Sen.�end-round” around voters.

“Pennsylvania endured enough government overreach during COVID.We will not go back,” said Mastriano, whom President Donald Trump nominated to serve as U.S.ambassador to Slovakia.

Jason Richey, an attorney and the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, also dubbed the changes “COVID 2.0.”

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State Rep.Russ Diamond leads a COVID-19 anti-lockdown demonstration at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg.(Reuters Connect Partner/Reuters)

“These are even worse than the COVID rules… [DOH] can look at your medical records.They can enter any building and go in without a warrant to do an investigation.They can even take your kid from school and talk to him privately without your consent,” Richey said in a video recorded outside a Pennsylvania Department of Health office in Lehigh County last week.

Beyond the public health implications, Topper said he is concerned that the proposed regulations would expand government authority.

Topper and Ruhland both encouraged Pennsylvanians to submit feedback on the proposed regulations before Monday’s public-comment deadline.