In Weeks v. Dep’t of Hum. Serv. of PA, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reviewed preliminary objections filed by the Department of Human Services in response to a class action initiated by Pennsylvanians whose public assistance benefits were terminated by Act 12 of 2019. The plaintiffs claimed that the act violated the “single-subject rule” and the “original purpose rule” in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The plaintiffs alleged that amendments to the bill did not relate generally to a single unifying subject. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court already ruled against issuing a preliminary objection in the matter. Based in large part on the Supreme Court’s analysis, the Commonwealth Court sustained the preliminary objections and dismissed the petition for review.
