The State Assembly passed a resolution Thursday that formally repealed Governor Tony Evers’ previous executive order regarding a mask mandate, only to see the Governor issue a new order. A new COVID-19 public health emergency order, which included the extension of the statewide mask mandate, was issued last month.
District 1 Representative Joel Kitchens was one of four area Republican lawmakers to vote against the repeal. He says that even though the mandate may be illegal, another alternative is needed before it should be repealed.
Kitchens, Rep. Jeffrey Mursau of the 36th District, Rep. David Steffen of the 4th District, and Rep. Ron Tusler from the 3rd District, joined three other Republican legislators to vote against the repeal.
Governor Tony Evers stated he is putting public health before politics when he issued the new Executive Order Thursday still requiring face coverings. The order is effective immediately and will negate the State Assembly’s repeal of the governor’s previous mask mandate extension last month. The news release on Thursday by Governor Evers cited a Marquette University Law Poll from last October that showed 72 percent of Wisconsin residents agreed that masks should be required in public places and that support for the mask requirement exceeded 60 percent at that time.
You can read the joint letter sent by the four area Republican legislators and the Governor’s Executive Order #105 and Emergency Order #1 here.
Assembly Speaker Robin Voss and other Republicans sent a letter to Governor Evers prior to the vote Thursday asking him to bring forward rules on masking for the legislature to review. The letter reads as follows.
The Wisconsin state law does not allow the Legislature to introduce rules for adoption. Only a governor or their agencies may do that action. We therefore are asking you to please introduce rules to the Legislature for our review that will do the following:
1) Enact reasonable masking requirements in places in Wisconsin that are susceptible to transmission of the virus to those who are especially vulnerable, such as health care facilities, nursing homes, mass transit, state government buildings, assisted living facilities, public schools, universities, and prisons.
2) Allow any private or public entity in the state that would like to require face masking to be allowed to do so on their property.
3) Require the Department of Health Services to pay for COVID-19 tests that anyone may take, free of charge, paid for by the state of Wisconsin.
4) The rules would be in place and reviewed by JCRAR every 30 days for any necessary modifications and would stay in place until a majority of eligible Wisconsinites are voluntarily vaccinated.
