The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday evening that Governor Tony Evers’ administration over-stepped its authority by extending the state’s Safer at Home order. The court ruled 4 – 3 in favor of Republican legislators who filed a lawsuit back in April. The lawmakers argued that Department of Health Services Secretary-designee, Andrea Palm, had exceeded her power by issuing an extension of the Safer at Home order until May 26.
Republican legislators asked the Supreme Court to block the extension and let them offer their own recovery plan. Legislators say the extension amounted to Palm writing rules without legislative input. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which represented Palm, said state statutes protect what Palm did – pointing to laws drafted over 100 years ago, giving her office the authority to combat communicable diseases during a public health emergency.
The ruling doesn’t mean Evers’ order is immediately void. Republicans had sought a temporary injunction to block the extension, with a 6-day stay to give state health officials time to go through the rule-making process. However, the state supreme court has apparently rejected the injunction and the 6-day stay. The GOP legislators have not yet offered any alternative plans.
