The Pennsylvania eviction and foreclosure moratorium, meanwhile, expired Aug. 31. The statewide moratorium was first imposed by the state Supreme Court in March and was extended by Gov. Tom Wolf via executive order twice — first to mid-July and then to late August — after it was originally set to expire in May.
Mr. Wolf’s office said at the end of August that while it had explored the possibility of extending the moratorium until December, it had determined after a legal review that the governor does not have the legal authority to further extend the moratorium through executive order.
The announcement also comes only days after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a second COVID-19 relief package Thursday.
The $500 million measure, put up by Senate Republicans, would have included federal aid for small businesses, an extension of supplemental unemployment benefits and vaccine development — but it is a scaled-back version of an at least $2.2 billion bill desired by Democrats.
The bill was approved by a 52-47 vote, but fell short of the 60 votes needed to bypass a filibuster.
Nick Trombola: ntrombola@post-gazette.com.
