Wisconsin GOP repeals governor’s statewide mask mandate (UPDATE)

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By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature on Thursday repealed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate, brushing aside warnings from health experts against making Wisconsin one of only 10 states without a statewide order.

The Assembly vote came a week after the Senate voted to kill the mandate. Republicans, who control both chambers, argued that Evers exceeded his authority by repeatedly extending the mask mandate without legislative approval. The repeal will take effect on Friday, after both GOP legislative leaders sign it.

Evers could defy the Legislature by issuing a new order putting a fresh mask mandate in place, a move that would force the Legislature to vote again to repeal. The latest mask mandate had been in place since August. Local mask ordinances, including one in Milwaukee and Dane County which includes Madison, remain in effect.

Evers did not immediately comment on the Legislature’s action.

The Assembly voted 52-42 to repeal the mandate, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition.

The Supreme Court could end the legislative back and forth with a ruling in a pending case that says Evers must secure lawmakers’ approval every 60 days. The court could also say he doesn’t need approval, thus forcing the Legislature to repeal every order Evers issues with which republicans disagree.

Health experts say masks may be the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has killed nearly 6,000 Wisconsinites, and that a repeal risks creating confusion and sending the wrong message about the importance of masks.

“We should be wearing masks,” said Democratic state Rep. Robyn Vining. “Masks save lives.”

Republicans say the issue isn’t about masks, but whether Evers can legally issue multiple emergency health orders during the pandemic. The Legislature argues he can’t, and must secure their approval every 60 days. Evers contends the changing nature of the pandemic allowed him to issue multiple orders and mask mandates.

“I know you want to make it about masks. It’s not,” said Republican Majority Leader Jim Steineke. “It’s about the rule of law.”

The coronavirus has ebbed in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the U.S., but health experts have warned of a continuing danger, including the emergence of new and more contagious variants. All of Wisconsin’s neighboring states have some form of mask mandate, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

The repeal is the latest defeat for Evers, who has struggled to combat the pandemic. Republican lawmakers last year persuaded the state Supreme Court to scrap his stay-at-home order. And a bar in Amery and the group Pro-Life Wisconsin persuaded a state appeals court to kill limits he had placed on indoor gatherings.

Before Thursday’s vote, Assembly Republicans sent Evers a letter saying they would support a more limited mask mandate that applies to places “susceptible to transmission of the virus.” Republicans said that includes health care facilities, nursing homes, mass transit, state government buildings, assisted living facilities, public schools, universities and prisons.

Republicans called on Evers to submit a rule proposal to enact such a mandate, promising such a request would be “reviewed fairly and judiciously.”

The Assembly also passed a bill that contains a provision designed to ensure the state doesn’t lose about $50 million a month that pays for food stamp benefits for roughly 243,000 low-income people in the state. Federal law requires there to be an emergency health order in place to receive the money. The Senate planned to meet Friday to approve the bill, sending it to Evers.

Evers has not said whether he will sign the bill. It would also prohibit the closure of churches during the pandemic and bar employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated for the disease. It also gives the Legislature control of how federal money for fighting the virus is spent.

Evers had supported a previous, more limited, version of the bill.

Nearly 60 organizations are registered in opposition to the repeal of the mask mandate, including groups representing hospitals, doctors, nurses, EMTs, school administrators, businesses, children, Milwaukee schools, American Indian tribes, pharmacists, firefighters, local health departments, senior citizens, churches and dentists.

The Assembly passed a bill Thursday designed to ensure the state doesn’t lose about $50 million a month in federal food stamp money. The Senate plans to give final approval to that on Friday.