Gov. Tony Evers has sent a letter to the Wisconsin State Legislature asking lawmakers to pass a COVID-19 compromise bill as the first bill of the 2021–22 legislative session, according to a release from the administration’s office.
In December, Evers announced LRB-6592, a compromise bill resulting from several weeks’ of conversations with Republican legislative leaders. The letter urges the Legislature to find consensus beyond a first compromise bill to address the many pressing issues facing Wisconsinites and support the state’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report from the Wisconsin State Journal, the first of the GOP counterproposals released yesterday would bar mandatory vaccinations, prevent local health officers from issuing coronavirus restrictions for more than two weeks without other approval, protect businesses from lawsuits seeking damages for COVID-19 exposure, temporarily relax restrictions for K–12 students seeking open enrollment at another school district, and require two-thirds approval by school boards in order for schools to offer virtual instruction. Other measures would grant the Legislature authority over how future federal aid dollars are spent, which has been opposed by Evers.
