TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Thursday, Feb. 4, the Wisconsin State Senate (with the State Assembly concurring) passed 2021 Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3), striking down Gov. Tony Evers Executive Order #104 of January 19, 2021, and subsequent Emergency Order requiring masks and face coverings to be worn in public places. The State Senate and Assembly took the action, with Rep. Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk), Lincoln County representative, voting with the majority to repeal the Governor’s declared state of emergency.
The reason was fundamentally not about masks at all, but about Gov. Evers issuing such orders in contradiction to Wisconsin State Statutes, i.e., the laws of the State of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin State Statute Section 323.10 says, in part: “A state of emergency shall not exceed 60 days, unless the state of emergency is extended by joint resolution of the legislature.”
No such extension by the Stage Legislature occurred. And, despite the clear limits of the Statute, Gov. Evers issued orders extending the state of emergency that effectively expired with Executive Order #72 on May 11, 2020, on four separate occasions: on July 30, 2020; on Sept. 22, 2020; on November 20, 2020; and then again on Jan. 19, 2021, with the issuance of Executive Order #104.
“Gov. Evers’ executive overreach needs to end now,” said Rep. Callahan. “Today’s vote was not about masks; it was about ending a continued disregard for the rule of law.”
Callahan said the administrative rule-making process is the lawful way for the governor to introduce state health orders, as noted by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. However, Gov. Evers continues to issue successive and unlawful orders.
“The governor’s unilateral, one-size-fits-all approach is not the way to address the COVID-19 crisis,” said Rep. Callahan. “That plan may work for Madison or Milwaukee, but it may not work for the Northwoods, and it’s about time my constituents have a say in the matter.”
The passage of SJR 3 resolved that, “regardless of whether Executive Order #104 should ever be construed as having conferred on the governor any authority to exercise the powers granted by section 323.10 of the statutes, Executive Order #104 is hereby terminated and revoked. The revocation of Executive Order #104 [further] terminates any and all of the governor’s actions or orders related to the declared public health emergency to the extent the authority for those orders or actions depend on Executive Order #104, or sections 323.10 or 323.12 of the statutes.”
Nonetheless, Gov. Evers promptly issued another Executive Order #105 and a subsequent Emergency Order #1 requiring face coverings in the state of Wisconsin again, all within an hour of the State Senate’s vote, according to some sources, sending a clear message that he does not intend to follow the Wisconsin State Statute or the ruling of the State Legislative bodies.