Pa. House lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19, delaying election, rent relief legislation

Harrisburg, Pa. — The state House of Representatives canceled its voting session Thursday after a Republican lawmaker tested positive for the coronavirus, delaying a crucial vote to extend a rent relief program that has just expired.

Speaker Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) announced the House will be adjourned until Oct. 19, minutes after Rep. Paul Schemel (R., Franklin) said in a statement that he had tested positive on Thursday morning, after attending a committee meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday.

The news disrupts a last-minute scramble to extend and fix the state’s $150 million rent relief program, which was meant to help Pennsylvanians struggling to pay rent during the pandemic but has been riddled with problems since it launched in July.

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