Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday rejected three bills passed by the Republican majority Legislature, vetoing measures regarding transgender athletes in school sports and poll watchers.
He also struck down the Human Services Code, blowing a hole in the state budget as lawmakers were trying to finish the annual flurry of votes that accompany the annual spending plan.
Wolf had previously warned he would strike down the bill to prohibit transgender athletes from playing sports that align with their gender identity. In his veto message, he said the bill would have โa devastating impact on a vulnerable population already at greater risk of bullying and depression.โ
He also vetoed a bill โ sponsored by Franklin County Sen. Doug Mastriano, the GOPโs nominee for governor โ to let all registered voters of Pennsylvania serve as poll watchers in any precinct in the state.
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โThis bill does nothing to increase access to voting,โ he wrote. โInstead, this bill undermines the integrity of our election process and encourages voter intimidation.โ
Wolfโs third veto was based on a provision in the Human Service Code that would have prohibited a state agency from contracting with a vendor of financial management services.
โThese self-directed services allow participants to make choices about their own care, with this model supporting both participants and direct care workers,โ he wrote in his veto message.
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Vetoing the legislation created a $1.8 billion gap in the budget, Wolf said, but after the veto lawmakers put language from the Human Services Code into a different bill and passed it.