REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS STATEMENT ON PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S PROPOSED HEALTH POLICY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 7, 2026

“Emergencies have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.” — F. A. Hayek

Governor Josh Shapiro’s Department of Health has proposed a 502-page rewrite of Pennsylvania’s disease-control rules (Regulation #10-242 / IRRC #3490) without a vote of the General Assembly. Comments close September 21.

Shapiro is using measles cases and fear of “measles-associated” deaths to justify an administrative-state power grab. That fear is the pretext. The regulation is the product.

As proposed, his DOH would claim authority to:

Enter homes, schools, and businesses without a warrant
Speak to students without parents present
Access private health records
Build a statewide vaccination database
Impose mask mandates unilaterally

After COVID, Pennsylvania voters limited gubernatorial emergency powers. This action by Governor Shapiro seeks to nullify that vote by regulation.

These rules do not have to take effect. Enough public comments can force Shapiro’s DOH to withdraw them or IRRC to reject them. What he is doing in Pennsylvania will be copied elsewhere if it succeeds.

Take action now (deadline: Sept. 21):

Email DOH: RA-DHCHAPTR27PROPREG@pa.gov (Subject: Regulation #10-242 / IRRC #3490)
File with IRRC: https://irrc.state.pa.us/contact/comments.cfm

Read / track this proposal: https://www.irrc.state.pa.us/docs/3490/AGENCY/3490PRO.pdf
Comments filed so far: https://www.irrc.state.pa.us/regulations/fullList.cfm?ID=3505&typ=ppc

Watch your own state. Fight the same proposal if it appears.

About the Republican Liberty Caucus: The Republican Liberty Caucus is a 527 voluntary grassroots membership organization dedicated to working within the Republican Party to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free markets. Founded in 1991, it is the oldest continuously-operating organization within the Liberty Republican movement.