Sen. David G. Argall Thursday reacted to Gov. Tom Wolf’s new plan to begin reopening the state, similar to the recently vetoed Senate Bill 327.

Argall, the Senate Majority Policy Chairman and prime sponsor of SB 327, noted that Wolf’s proposal would use a three-tiered system and benchmarks based on Department of Health metrics to open up the state by region, as first suggested by the state Senate last week.

Restrictions in rural regions of the state are expected to be relaxed throughout the month of May.

“It just doesn’t make sense to continue applying the same restrictions to small towns like New Philadelphia and big cities like Philadelphia,” Argall said.

“As the COVID-19 virus subsides, we must allow our employees to safely go back to work.”

At a public hearing Thursday, Argall questioned the Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development about the lack of transparency and accountability during their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Secretary declined to provide a timetable for when the list will be released, despite calls from many employees, employers and the media to do so.