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Ex. DUT-PA-010 Standing duty Primary source read

Enforcement guidance (letter)

Business Closure Order Enforcement Guidance (letter to law enforcement executives and District Attorneys)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (letter to the law-enforcement community and District Attorneys, published by the Pennsylvania State Police) · Pennsylvania (State)

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The COVID Project

The record

Jurisdiction
Pennsylvania
Level
State
Authority
Orders of the Governor and the Secretary of Health of Mar. 19, 2020 (PA-002, PA-003); 35 Pa.C.S. sec. 7301; 35 P.S. secs. 521.5, 521.20; 71 P.S. sec. 1409; 18 Pa.C.S. sec. 5101
Issued
2020-03-23 Mar. 23, 2020
Effective
2020-03-23 08:00 a.m. (enforcement of the closure orders) (read as 2020-03-23)
End
With the closure orders (phased out May 8 to July 3, 2020 by PA-010, PA-011 and their amendments); the statutory provisions it identifies are standing (read as 2020-07-03)
In force
Standing since Mar. 23, 2020 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
Quarters
2020 Q22020 Q3
Limitation types
Business closureStanding duty
Addressees
  • businesses; persons generally
Character
agency position statement
Collection
Standing duties: Pennsylvania DUT-PA

Operative words

Thus, pursuant to 71 P.S. § 1409, any person that fails to abide by the Orders, or any other order of the Department of Health or who resists or interferes with any officer or agent thereof in the performance of his or her duties, is in violation of 71 P.S. § 1409, and subject to the criminal penalties stated therein.

Penalty

71 P.S. sec. 1409 ($10-$50 and costs; 30 days in default); 35 P.S. sec. 521.20(a) ($25-$300; 30 days in default); 28 Pa. Code sec. 27.8(a); 18 Pa.C.S. sec. 5101 (misdemeanor of the second degree); Liquor Code suspension and revocation

What it required

Told every police department and District Attorney that the closure orders 'are enforceable through criminal penalties, under the Disease Control and Prevention Law of 1955 and the Administrative Code of 1929,' that 'citations for businesses in violation of the Orders would reference 71 P.S. sec. 1409 and/or 35 P.S. sec. 521.20(a),' that 18 Pa.C.S. sec. 5101 (obstructing administration of law) was available 'for more serious violators,' that sec. 521.20(b) 'provides authority for local law enforcement agencies to issue citations,' and that enforcement 'will be progressive,' beginning 'with a warning' and 'prioritized to focus on businesses where people congregate.' Character as recorded: agency_position_statement (release, FAQ, memorandum or statement; order_penalty layer).

Retrieval note

This is the 'Enforcement Guidance' to which the Department of Health's industry guidance documents (PA-054, PA-059) direct law-enforcement officers. It states the Commonwealth's own legal theory of the duty: the closure 'is a measure that has been taken to control the spread of a communicable disease... and has been ordered by the Governor and the Secretary of Health.'.

A record of The COVID Project. The instrument's text is the source's; the summary fields are The COVID Project's reading of it. Not legal advice.