MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly plans to send the question of whether the state’s mask mandate should be repealed back to the state Senate, which voted last week to end the requirement.
The Assembly delayed a vote last week amid concerns that repealing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ emergency order tied to the pandemic would result in Wisconsin losing about $50 million a month in federal money for poor people.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says the Assembly will pass a fix for that problem and a resolution repealing the mask mandate. That will require the Senate to vote again.
“As we did our due diligence, legislative attorneys and conservative legal experts confirmed the Senate amendment had unintended consequences and would actually expand the governor’s emergency powers,” Vos said in a statement Wednesday morning.
“The Assembly Republicans will adopt a new amendment to AB1, the Coronavirus Relief Bill, to correct that error,” Vos continued. “We will also approve the Assembly version of the executive order repeal, Assembly Joint Resolution 4. The bill and resolution will be sent back to the Senate for that chamber to take up when it meets again in mid-February.”
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