MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Legislators from across the state are reacting to Governor Tony Evers’ executive order requiring masks at indoor, public spaces.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos opposes a statewide mandate, but has reportedly indicated that he wouldn’t sue to stop it like he did the “Safer at Home” order.
“There are certainly constitutional questions here,” Vos says, “I would expect legal challenges from citizen groups.”
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). (IMAGE: Fox 11 WLUK)
That Supreme Court challenge tossed the order that closed most nonessential businesses in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus back in May. That could be more difficult this time around, as the high court shifts from 5-2 to 4-3 conservative leaning justices as Jill Karofsky joins the court on Saturday. Governor Evers says the rise in COVID-19 cases and the lack of people voluntarily wearing masks, not Karofsky’s induction, motivated his decision.
Vos would not say whether the Legislature plans to reconvene to challenge the order. Meanwhile, Republican State Senator Steve Nass, one of the Legislature’s most conservative members, called for lawmakers to meet in an emergency session to kill the order, which he called “illegal and unnecessary.”
Meanwhile, Evers has been under pressure from local governments and other Democrats to issue the statewide order. Democratic State Senator Chris Larson of Milwaukee started a petition for a statewide mandate.
“The governor has been hearing from a lot of people that are concerned about what’s happening in Wisconsin and how our numbers continue to rise, how we see Wisconsin being added to list in other states where they don’t really want us to come in because we aren’t controlling our numbers,” says Democratic State Representative Amanda Stuck of Appleton, “The governor is just reacting to the pressure, again, that constituents are putting on him because of what we see happening around us…He is trying to figure out how Wisconsin can better get a grip on our numbers. So certainly I do support him trying to take some kind of action to address the situation we’re in.”
Stuck says she’s seen local communities trying to take the lead due to the lack of leadership or guidance from the state level. But she thinks those efforts can only go so far, as separate communities created different rules.
State Representative Amanda Stuck (D-Appleton). (IMAGE: Courtesy of Representative Amanda Stuck)
“I do think that it really had to be a statewide issue, because doing it patchwork really isn’t going to help. If we are going to do some kind of order, it really needs to be something that is statewide that is consistent,” Stuck tells WTAQ News, “Ideally if we can do this short term, then eventually we can all get back to normal life sooner and these kind of orders will go away as soon as we can get these numbers under control. The best way to do that for people to follow the best advice.”
The statewide mask mandate goes into effect at midnight on Friday night – into Saturday. It is scheduled to last until September 28th.
WTAQ News reached out to over a dozen legislators from across Northeast Wisconsin, but most were unable to provide comment by press time.
