Local lawmakers are poised to fight back after Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would give school districts the sole ability to make decisions on sports.

House Bill 2787 would allow schools to determine whether and how many spectators to allow.

“Gov. Tom Wolf promised to veto House Bill 2787, and this afternoon, he did. The legislation would ensure decisions about the resumption of school sports and allowing spectators at those events be made at the local level,” Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said Monday night.

“Once again, the governor made a unilateral decision, choosing instead to ignore the voices of students and parents all across Pennsylvania who believe sports activities can safely take place,” Heffley said.

He said, “We should do everything we can to allow parents to come in.”

He advocated for choice. “We’re not forcing athletes to play. We’re not forcing parents to come.”

Heffley said people who have health issues can make the choice not to go to games, but he wants to open up for parents and grandparents who want to attend. He maintains that stadiums are big enough for social distancing to occur. “Sports are part of school, part of life. You get one chance to be a senior.”

He contrasted high school sports to the overflow at Beltzville State Park this summer. “The governor allowed thousands of people every weekend at Beltzville.”

Heffley said the HB 2787 passed both the House and the Senate with a large, veto-proof bipartisan majority. “I look forward to voting “yes” again on a veto override when we return to session.”

Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Berks/Carbon/Schuylkill, said Monday night, “By choosing to veto HB-2787, which was passed with a bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate, the governor is severely lessening this experience for the student athletes and their families. These kids deserve to look up into the stands and see those people who support them the most.”

Knowles said, “The General Assembly plans to hold a vote to override the governor’s veto as soon as possible.”

The Wolf administration’s limits on gatherings of 25 people indoors and 250 people outdoors currently apply to youth sports, capping attendance at football games and other school sporting events and extracurricular activities. The vetoed legislation sought to empower schools to make their own rules about the number of spectators permitted at games.

Some families have chafed at the statewide limits, saying attendance could safely be expanded while still allowing for adequate physical distancing.

Despite overwhelming, bipartisan votes in both the Senate (39-11) and the House of Representatives (155-47), Wolf has vetoed a bill that would give local school boards the authority to set crowd limits for K-12 school sporting events.

State Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill-Berks, also released a statement Monday.

“I voted in favor of this bill because local people know their communities better than our governor, who prefers a one-size-fits all approach. I doubt he could find most of the communities I represent without GPS assistance.”

Because this was a House bill, the veto override process must begin in the House of Representatives before it moves to the Senate. “Let me be clear: I will vote in favor of overriding the governor’s veto on K-12 school sports,” Argall said.

Wolf, a Democrat, said at a news conference Monday that statewide gathering limits need to be applied consistently to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Pennsylvania has reported more than 150,000 confirmed virus infections and 8,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Wolf later vetoed the bill, the last day he could do so before it automatically became law.

“I’m always amazed at politicians thinking that they can somehow wave a magic wand and suspend, sort of, reality,” Wolf said.

Both chambers of the GOP-controlled General Assembly approved the bill by veto-proof two-thirds majorities, and Republican lawmakers pledged to hold votes in an attempt to override Wolf’s veto.

“In vetoing this bill, Gov. Wolf stands directly opposed to children and families looking for some semblance of normalcy and to receive the numerous invaluable benefits of fully participating in school sports,” House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre, said in a statement.

Though the bill passed with bipartisan support, an override isn’t a given. Democratic lawmakers have shied away from defying a veto by Wolf, and Wolf has not lost an override vote since he became governor.

“Those conversations will begin happening now,” said Bill Patton, spokesperson for House Democrats.

The bill is the latest way that Republicans in the Legislature have tried to limit Wolf’s power under health and emergency disaster laws during the pandemic.

Wolf said the bill is unnecessary because, while he recommended the cancellation of school sports until at least January, it was not a mandate and districts were free to make their own decisions. And he said the Department of Health must retain authority to set gathering limits, especially with the onset of cold weather and flu season.

The legislation “does nothing to promote public health or ensure that our children have a safe learning environment,” he wrote.

Michael Rubinkam of The Associated Press contributed to this report.