Jan 30, 2023 3 min read

People all over the world will always remember how COVID-19 completely upended their lives. It was a truly challenging time we couldn’t have anticipated.

But Pennsylvanians experienced another unexpected occurrence of arguably equal magnitude. When tough decisions had to be made, our representative government – designed to reflect the will of the people – was essentially nullified.

Despite the clear design of our government with three co-equal parts, the executive branch elevated itself above the legislative and judicial branches in an obvious violation of the checks and balances afforded by the Pennsylvania Constitution.

While it is wrong no matter the context in which it happens, it was even worse at a time when so much was at stake. Elected officials, like myself, are supposed to be the voice of the people. My colleagues and I wanted to work with then-Gov. Tom Wolf so we could, together, come up with the most effective solution to balancing the health of commonwealth residents with their educational and professional needs.

However, we were fully barred from any collaborative effort. Wolf made unilateral decisions in a vacuum, decisions that had serious and long-lasting consequences. People were not allowed to work at a time when the unemployment compensation system was completely overwhelmed, leaving families without any income for months on end. Children were kicked out of their classrooms, leaving them no option other than to attempt to learn at home in an entirely different setting using unfamiliar technology. Not surprisingly, many of them struggled and are still trying to close their learning gaps years later. We can only hope the consequences don’t last a lifetime.

To protect Pennsylvanians from the grave effects of another episode of the executive branch or an unelected bureaucrat usurping authority to issue open-ended orders or regulations, my colleagues in the Senate and I voted in favor of a constitutional amendment.

The amendment would empower public servants in the General Assembly to overturn a regulation that conflicts with the will of the people so they don’t have to answer again to a single individual who inappropriately commandeers unilateral power.

Constitutional amendments are required to pass both chambers of the General Assembly in two consecutive legislative sessions and then be approved by Pennsylvania voters in a ballot referendum. This measure was approved last session by the Senate and House of Representatives.

Should this amendment pass the House of Representatives again before the 2023-24 legislative session ends, it will ultimately be up to the voters to decide if they are in favor of amending the state constitution.

Regardless of if we feel the pandemic was handled optimally in the commonwealth, most people can agree that one person should not hold all the power and shut down the debate that, quite often, leads to the best solution. Every single branch of government should be accountable to the people without any authority to act unilaterally at the expense of the people they’re supposed to serve.

Sen. Camera Bartolotta represents the 46th Senatorial District, covering all of Greene County parts of Beaver and Washington counties.