Dec. 01, 2020
ABBOTTSTOWN – Gov. Tom Wolf recently sided with trial lawyers, putting special interests over people, when he vetoed House Bill 1737, which would have provided commonsense limited liability protection from frivolous lawsuits to employers and many others. In response, Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland), who offered his unwavering support of the bill, issued the following statement:
“The governor’s veto of
House Bill 1737 is a slap in the face of all those who worked tirelessly to comply with the governor’s own regulations concerning COVID-19 mitigation. The crux of the bill was that it would have provided limited liability protection to businesses, schools, nursing homes and others with protections from frivolous lawsuits stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Instead of affording them rational protection from such lawsuits, the governor gave the greenlight to his trial attorney friends when he caved to their pressure. This bill would not have protected those who put our children, workers and community at risk. Anybody who exhibits gross negligence would have been held accountable as part of the bill.
“In addition to providing limited protections to Pennsylvanians who did the right thing by adhering to mitigation efforts, the bill also would have helped promote agritourism businesses in the Commonwealth, which is in dire need following the governor’s business closures. Farmers across the state, and particularly here in Adams and Cumberland counties, work hard to protect the public while creating family-friendly events and activities. I do not believe those efforts should cost a family their farm or livelihood and leave them penniless. In the upcoming session, I will continue to support a stand-alone agritourism immunity bill to send back to the governor’s desk.”
Representative Torren Ecker
193rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepEcker.com /
Facebook.com/RepTorrenEcker