MADISON, Wis. Democrats in the Wisconsin State Legislature are introducing a bill that would create a statewide mask mandate through the legislative process.
Citing Republican arguments on the floor of the Assembly Thursday saying their attempts to throw out Gov. Tony Evers’ emergency order was about the governor’s powers and not about the mask mandate, Democrats Friday announced their plans to introduce a bill that would put a statewide mask order in place for the remainder of the pandemic, until President Joe Biden declares the national coronavirus emergency over.
“The Republicans who voted to overturn Wisconsin’s mask order have sworn up and down that it ‘isn’t about masks,’ and there was bipartisan opposition in both houses to overturning it, so I look forward to strong bipartisan support for this bill,” Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said in a statement announcing the proposal.
Wisconsin s mask mandate remains in place and the push to repeal it is on hold. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinThe state Assembly delayed its vote to end the mandate, saying new information had come to light. I hate being caught by surprise. We usually don t have that happen, Assembly speaker Robin Vos said. After delaying Thursday s session by more than four hours, Vos announced the Republican-led Assembly would postpone its scheduled vote to repeal Gov. Tony Evers emergency health order and mask mandate.The reason? The lawmakers were caught off guard by news from Legislative Fiscal Bureau that by ending the emergency health order, Wisconsin would lose nearly $50 million a month in Federal Emergency Foodshare funding, impacting nearly 250,000 families in need. It s not about masks, it s about money, Hunger Task Force Executive Director Sherri Tussler said.Tussler was the first to warn that lawmakers may be overlooking the fallout from ending the health order
Jan 29, 2021
MADISON (WKOW) GOP leaders in the state Legislature split Thursday on how to go about ending Governor Tony Evers emergency order and its mask mandate.
The obstacle they encountered was a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau stating Wisconsin could lose as much as nearly $50 million per month in federal food relief benefits. That s because the state would no longer have an emergency order in place.
Senate Republicans sought to avoid that scenario by introducing an amendment to the COVID relief package that is still pending in the Senate.
The Senate, with its GOP majority, passed the amendment early Thursday afternoon before moving it to the Assembly.
MITCHELL SCHMIDT
Assembly Republicans paused efforts to eliminate Gov. Tony Eversâ statewide mask mandate after reports surfaced that doing so could cut the state off from more than $49 million in federal food assistance for low-income families this month.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the chamber postponed a vote originally scheduled for Thursday on a Senate-approved joint resolution that would effectively eliminate Eversâ emergency order and accompanying mask mandate. Vos said he still plans to pass the measure, which could reach a vote next week, but first wants to get a clear picture on any financial impact it may have on the state.