On Thursday, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor filed a lawsuit against the state Legislature in response to a package of proposed constitutional amendments that Republican lawmakers in the state legislature are pursuing.
Among these amendments is one that would say the state constitution does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions. The lawsuit was filed because Republican lawmakers are pursuing these amendments.
In the lawsuit that was brought before the state’s highest court, the plaintiffs argue that the proposed abortion amendment would violate privacy protections.
Wolf is advocating for the Supreme Court to overturn the amendments, arguing that they violate the Constitution and should be declared unconstitutional.
The legislators are making an effort to find a way around Wolf’s ability to veto legislation that he does not agree with.
In his campaign for the Senate, Fetterman makes effective use of various social media platforms.
Wolf contends that the act of including the abortion amendment along with four others in a bill that was approved by the General Assembly earlier this month as budget sessions were coming to a close violates a constitutional rule that prohibits the passage of legislation that addresses multiple topics that are not related to one another.
In a statement, Wolf said that the amendment relating to abortion was part of a larger effort by Republican lawmakers to “dismantle access to abortion and implement a radical agenda.”
Voter identification would be required under the other four amendments, gubernatorial candidates would be allowed to choose their own running mates, lawmakers would be given the authority to cancel regulations without facing a veto from the governor, and election audits would be implemented.
Voters will consider each question on its own, even though the House and Senate voted for them as a package, largely along partisan lines, to pass them.
A set of measures that Wolf claims “abridge personal liberties and freedoms and alters our current balance of power and constitutional checks and balances” is being challenged in a lawsuit because the bill has been described as “a mishmash of changes to at least four different articles of the constitution.”
According to the lawsuit filed by Wolf, the proposed amendments “are exactly the sort of complex changes that require careful deliberation at a constitutional convention before a fair and accurate presentation to the electorate.”
Wolf’s lawsuit, according to Jason Gottesman, a spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, has no legal basis and is an attempt to “subvert the power of the people’s voice in the General Assembly.”
In a joint statement, the leaders of the Republican caucus in the state Senate, Jake Corman of Centre County and Kim Ward of Westmoreland, referred to the lawsuit as “another reminder of Gov. Wolf’s oppressive hand.”
The senators wrote in their memo that “while the General Assembly is asking the citizens to vote on important issues, Governor Wolf is running to the courts to keep the citizens’ voices quiet.”
Before going to the people for a vote on whether or not to make changes to the Constitution, proposed amendments must first receive approval from both houses of Congress during two legislative sessions that occur two years apart.
On July 8, the package won initial approval from both chambers of Congress, with a vote of 28-22 in the Senate and 107-92 in the House.
When the new legislative session begins in January, lawmakers will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to submit constitutional amendment referendums to voters as early as the spring primary on May 16, 2023.
A sixth question, which would allow civil lawsuits over child sexual abuse that would otherwise be too old to pursue, was voted on separately and also awaits the second round of legislative votes beginning the following year.
This question would allow lawsuits to be pursued by people who are older than the age at which they could otherwise bring such a claim.
Read more:-
- Doesn’t Sound Like a Recession’: Even though the Economy is Contracting 2, Vice President Biden is Optimistic.
- Another Decline in the Us Economy is Causing Recession Fears.
- Doesn’t Sound Like a Recession’: Even though the Economy is Contracting 2, Vice President Biden is Optimistic.
Wolf stated that he took action on Thursday because of a requirement that stated the Department of State was required to advertise the language of proposed amendments after the first round of votes by the House and Senate and at least three months before a fall election. Wolf’s action was in compliance with this requirement.
That advertising period begins on Tuesday, he stated, which is why he also included his own acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
When it comes to achieving policy goals that Wolf opposes, Republicans have increasingly turned to the process of amending the constitution. 2021 will be the year that they
voters gave a narrow yes vote to two amendments that would limit Wolf’s authority in the event of a pandemic emergency after they were successfully added to the ballot.
