MADISON- On a 4-3 vote the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Governor Evers acted outside his authority last year when he issued several health emergency orders without seeking approval from the Wisconisn State Legisalture.
Today’s ruling does eliminate the statewide mask mandate, but does not change the individual mandates that communities, like the City of Milwaukee, have put in place.
State law says governor’s may issue health emergencies for sixty days, at which point lawmakers must approve an extension.
In writing for the majority decision, Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote, “The question in this case is not whether the Governor acted wisely; it is whether he acted lawfully. We conclude he did not.”
Governor Evers’ office responded to the court ruling with the following statement.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, I’ve worked to keep Wisconsinites healthy and safe, and I’ve trusted the science and public health experts to guide our decision making. Our fight against COVID-19 isn’t over—while we work to get folks vaccinated as quickly as we can, we know wearing a mask saves lives, and we still need Wisconsinites to mask up so we can beat this virus and bounce back from this pandemic.”
This story will be updated with more detail throughout the day.