Vos, Fitzgerald file legal challenge to Gov. Evers’ extension of ‘Safer at Home’ order

By Andrew Weiland

Apr 21, 2020 2:36 pm

Wisconsin State Capitol

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State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, today filed a legal action in the state Supreme Court challenging Gov. Tony Evers’ recent move to extend his ‘Safer at Home’ order to May 26. The ‘Safer at Home’ order is a social distancing mandate that seeks to reduce the

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State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, today filed a legal action in the state Supreme Court challenging Gov. Tony Evers’ recent move to extend his ‘Safer at Home’ order to May 26. The ‘Safer at Home’ order is a social distancing mandate that seeks to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Wisconsin. Evers’ original order was set to expire on April 24, until he expanded it to May 26. The order has forced many businesses in the state to completely, or partially shut down, resulting in a massive number of layoffs. Several Republican legislators, including Vos and Fitzgerald, last week harshly criticized Evers’ move to extend ‘Safer at Home’ to May 26. [caption id="attachment_468692" align="alignright" width="214"]

Robin Vos

Robin Vos[/caption] “The public outcry over the 'Safer at Home' order continues to increase as positive COVID cases decrease or remain flat,” Vos and Fitzgerald said today in a joint statement. “There’s immense frustration regarding the extension, as it goes beyond the executive branch’s statutory powers. Wisconsinites are forced to sit by with no voice in the process. Other Midwestern states with more confirmed cases, like Ohio, have set firm dates to begin a phased reopening far earlier than the Evers administration. The governor has denied the people a voice through this unprecedented administrative overreach. Unfortunately, that leaves the legislature no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to rein in this obvious abuse of power. Wisconsinites deserve certainty, transparency, and a plan to end the constant stream of executive orders that are eroding both the economy and their liberty even as the state is clearly seeing a decline in COVID infections.” On Monday, Evers unveiled the ‘Badger Bounce Back’ program to lay out his plans for a phased reopening of the state and its economy. The state Department of Health Services today reported that 4,620 people in Wisconsin have tested positive for COVID-19, up 121 from Monday, and 242 people in the state have died from the virus, up 12 from Monday. Today's increase in positive cases was the smallest one-day increase for the state since April 13. Get more news and insight in the March 30 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. Subscribe to get updates in your inbox here.