By a 4–3 vote, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Tony Evers’ administration overstepped its authority when it extended the governor’s safer-at-home order through May 26, according to a report in the Associated Press.
Although some localities, including Dane County, remain in shut down due to local orders, the ruling ends the statewide order, effective immediately.
Evers first issued a safer-at-home order in March that closed schools and nonessential businesses through April 24, but Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm, an Evers appointee, extended it through the end of May, citing the need to slow the spread of the coronavirus [COVID-19]. The extension generated controversy as business owners balked, and Republican lawmakers took Evers to court.
Last week, Evers announced a series of public health guidelines for state businesses to gradually reopen and indicated that he saw no need to extend safer at home past May 26.
The Supreme Court’s ruling means that Evers, a Democrat, and Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature will have to work out an alternative plan for reopening the state.
Evers issued a statement regarding the ruling, saying it puts the health and safety of Wisconsinites across the state at risk, and requires the Department of Health Services to go through the rule-making process to be able to respond to an epidemic.
“Up until now, Wisconsin was in a pretty good place in our battle against COVID-19,” Evers states. “We had reached almost all our gating criteria. We had opened up 14,000 small businesses across the state, putting 90,000 folks back to work, and that was because of the good work of Wisconsinites across our state who banded together, stayed home, and stayed safe. Despite that good work, Republican legislators have convinced four justices to throw our state into chaos.”
