AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
September 10, 2026
Issue
502 Pages of Changes!
Details
If you think social distancing, masking, vaccine mandates, business and school closures were bad during COVID, just wait and see what happens if these proposed Department of Health (DOH) regulations are approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC)! The Shapiro administration is proposing 502 pages of regulatory changes concerning Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases.
Remember back in May 2021 PA voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that limited a governor’s emergency powers. Pennsylvania was the first state to take this action! Also, in 2021 the PA Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Health lacked the authority to impose the statewide school mask mandate. Now, Governor Shapiro is striking back with a vengeance!
Here’s a little of what we’re looking at if these 502 pages of changes are okayed by the IRRC:
- require that health care providers participate in a centralized government vaccine database.
- Mandatory provider reporting of every vaccination.. Parents must opt out in writing.
- would allow health officials to meet privately with school children (in public AND private schools) without parental notification or involvement of school officials. These interactions could involve questions about pregnancy, sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity!
- Pregnancy resource centers that provide HIV or STD testing could also face reporting and referral requirements.
- Broader disease reporting requirements could be imposed on all health care providers.
- DOH reps may enter homes, schools and other locations during investigations without a warrant.
- Broad power to impose masking, social distancing, school closures.
- The terms ‘pregnant woman’ and ‘mother of a newborn’ have been replaced with ‘pregnant or postpartum individual’ throughout the 502-page proposal.
Action Steps:
Such broad changes should be debated in the legislature, not through regulation! Your voice must be heard in opposition to this government overreach and these attacks on privacy, parental rights and the Constitution!
The public can submit comments on the proposed regulations through Sept. 21. Comment letters must be emailed to irrc@irrc.state.pa.us and RA-DHCHAPTR27PROPREG@pa.gov
The email must reference Rulemaking #10-242: Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases; IRRC #3490 to be considered. Your message can be as simple as “Stop the government overreach” or “These proposed changes are an attack on my privacy rights” or “Stop attacking my parental rights to make decisions for my own children”. Please feel free to submit a more detailed message!
