Click here to read the Evers administration response in full.
The Governor of the State of Wisconsin and his administration filed a legal response to the Republican-led Wisconsin legislative lawsuit in the Wisconsin Supreme Court against the Governor’s extension of the “Safer at Home” order until May 26 to protect people against the coronavirus pandemic.
The response asks for the Supreme Court to throw out the lawsuit, saying the repercussions of such a move “endangers lives.”
“Safer at Home is working. It is saving lives,” said Governor Tony Evers in a statement.
“This lawsuit puts people’s lives at risk by trying to take away Safer at Home, the best and most effective tool we have to save lives and prevent our hospitals from being overrun.”
The Evers administration argues that the number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin were doubling every 3.4 days, but with “Safer at Home” restrictions in place, they were doubling every 12.4 days.
“The Legislature respectfully suggests that this Court stay enforcement of its injunction for a period of six days, to allow DHS sufficient time to promulgate a new emergency rule consistent with Wisconsin law,” the Republican lawsuit says in its conclusion.
“The public outcry over the Safer at Home order continues to increase as positive COVID cases decrease or remain flat. There’s immense frustration regarding the extension, as it goes beyond the executive branch’s statutory powers,” said Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, according to TMJ4 News.
“Wisconsinites are forced to sit by with no voice in the process. Other Midwestern states with more confirmed cases, like Ohio, have set firm dates to begin a phased reopening far earlier than the Evers administration.”
Four days after the extension, Evers came out with the “Badger Bounce Back” plan to give guidelines as to when many businesses would re-open.
The Evers administration had to file its legal response by a deadline in order to have the Supreme Court review the request.
