Month: March 2020

Gov. Tony Evers has directed Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to issue an agency order prohibiting mass gatherings of 50 people or more statewide to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

This order is effective on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and will remain in effect for the duration of the public health emergency declared by Executive Order #72 or until a superseding order is issued. This order includes any gatherings at locations such as public or private schools, theaters, museums, stadiums, conference rooms, meeting halls, taverns, health and fitness centers, and places of worship.

Critical infrastructure and services such as grocery stores, food pantries, childcare centers, pharmacies, and hospitals are exempt from this order. Restaurants and bars are required to operate at less than 50 percent capacity or have fewer than 50 people, whichever is less.

“While it was a difficult decision knowing the impacts on communities, families, workers, and businesses across our state, I believe limiting gatherings to less than 50 people is another critical step we can take in slowing and reducing the spread of COVID-19,” said Gov. Evers. “Keeping folks safe and healthy has to be our top priority during this crisis.”

Decisions about the implementation of other community measures will be made by state and local officials based on CDC and DHS guidance, as well as the scope of the outbreak.

The following interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19.

To prevent stigma and discrimination in the workplace, use only the guidance described below to determine risk of COVID-19. Do not make determinations of risk based on race or country of origin, and be sure to maintain confidentiality of people with confirmed COVID-19.

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers declared a public health emergency in response to new cases of COVID-19, directing the Department of Health Services (DHS) to use all the resources necessary to respond to and contain the outbreak. Just this week Wisconsin has had 5 new cases of COVID-19 and Illinois and Minnesota have also seen increased cases.

With these new cases there needs to be extensive contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19. Wisconsin also has 37 residents returning to Wisconsin from the Princess Cruise Ship who may have been exposed and need to be in monitored self quarantine for 14 days.

“We have been working aggressively to slow the spread of COVID-19, and this declaration allows us to get the resources we need to continue to be proactive when it comes to protecting Wisconsinites,” said Gov. Evers. “It is the latest step in the work our state agencies have been doing around the clock with our health care partners to prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic.”

The Governor signed an executive order that directs DHS to take all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent and respond to incidences of COVID-19. It allows the Department to purchase, store, or distribute appropriate medications, regardless of insurance or other health coverage, as needed to respond to the emergency. It also authorizes state funds to support local health departments with costs related to isolation and quarantine, as well as the use of the Wisconsin National Guard.

Over the past decade, the rise of online short-term home rental services such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO has given customers more options but posed challenges for states like Wisconsin and its local governments seeking to collect taxes on these sales. The online platforms initially left it up to the rental owners themselves to collect and remit any taxes on their sales. That often didn’t happen, leading to lost revenues for governments and different treatment for hotels, which must collect state and local taxes from their customers.

Over time, Wisconsin has gradually ramped up its collections efforts and has now updated state law to hold the platforms legally responsible for collecting revenues from these sales. As of January 1, any lodging “marketplace provider” processing transactions for a third-party seller must also collect and remit all applicable state and local taxes on those sales. The DOR has said it recently sent letters to marketplace providers informing them of this new requirement.

The new state law makes clear that room taxes would still need to be collected by an online business that has no physical presence or employees in Wisconsin but that meets the test laid out in Wayfair of doing 200 or more transactions a year in the state or annual sales of more than $100,000. The law also says that homeowners renting their property through registered marketplaces are not required to collect taxes on those online sales, even if the platform they are using does not.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be meeting with Senate and House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss “a possible tax relief measure” that would provide “a timely and effective response to the coronavirus.”

“We are to be meeting with House Republicans, Mitch McConnell, and discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief,” Trump said at a press briefing with coronavirus task force members.

On Friday, the Office of Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today asked health plan issuers to help Wisconsinites access the care they need to diagnose and treat any cases of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019).

The bulletin issued earlier this afternoon by Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable outlines a series of measures that insurers, self-funded plans, pharmacy benefit managers and cooperative health plans (collectively, health plan issuers) are being requested to take in order to help meet the current public health challenge posed by COVID-19, including: reviewing their current state of readiness to respond to any new COVID-19 cases; waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 laboratory and radiology testing; and verifying that their provider networks are prepared to respond to a possible increase in the need for health care services in the event more COVID-19 cases are diagnosed in Wisconsin. A complete version of the bulletin can be accessed here on the OCI website.

“Costs should not be a barrier to people receiving necessary treatment,” said Governor Tony Evers. “We will continue to monitor the situation and take the necessary steps to address this evolving public health challenge.”

“We appreciate all stakeholders working with OCI to ensure that Wisconsinites are protected and have access to the care they need,” said Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable.

Members of the public who have questions about COVID-19 are encouraged to visit the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/covid-19.htm.

Nonfarm payrolls grew far more than expected in February as companies continued to hire amid a growing coronavirus scare.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 273,000 new jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate was 3.5%, matching its lowest level in more than 50 years. An alternative measure of joblessness that counts those not looking for work and holding part-time jobs for economic reasons edged higher to 7%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for payroll growth of 175,000 and a 3.5% jobless level. Average hourly earnings grew by 3% over the past year, in line with estimates, while the average work week, considered a key measure of productivity, nudge up to 34.4 hours.

There was more good news for the jobs market: the previous two months’ estimates were revised higher by a total of 85,000. December moved up from 147,000 to 184,000, while January went from 225,000 to 273,000. Those revisions brought the three-month average up to a robust 243,000 while the average monthly gain in 2019 was 178,000.

Yesterday, Governor Evers announced that 152 Wisconsin communities will  receive grant awards from the Multimodal Local Supplement (MLS), which is a one-time $75 million funding program for local transportation projects. Statewide, 84 towns, 34 cities and villages, and 34 counties will receive funding from the program.

The Governor was joined by Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary-designee for this announcement in Brown County near County Highway M. Through the MLS program, County Highway M will be receiving $1 million towards widening and improving the road, and adding sidewalks, bike lanes, and a controlled pedestrian crossing.

The MLS program was designed to allow communities to prioritize their transportation needs and submit projects ranging from roads and bridges to harbors and railroads, to transit equipment and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.

Over 1,600 applications were received, largely for road projects. Local government officials attributed the large number of applications both to the need and to the streamlined application design of the MLS program.

Just as it did almost eight years ago, the Supreme Court will once again weigh in on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

The Supreme Court has already rejected a challenge to the  constitutionality of the mandate once. In 2012, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with the court’s four more liberal justices that the mandate was constitutional because the penalty imposed on individuals who did not buy health insurance was a tax, which the Constitution allows Congress to impose.

But in 2017, Congress enacted an amendment to the ACA that set the penalty for not buying health insurance at zero – but left the rest of the ACA in place. That change led to the dispute that is now before the court: A group of states led by Texas (along with several individuals) went to federal court, where they argued that because the penalty for not buying health insurance is zero, it is no longer a tax and the mandate is therefore unconstitutional. And the mandate is such an integral part of the ACA, they contended, that the rest of the law must be struck down as well. California and the other states joined the lawsuit to defend the mandate.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted California’s petition for review, which asks the justices to weigh in on three questions: whether the challengers have a legal right to sue at all; whether the mandate is now unconstitutional; and whether, if the mandate is unconstitutional, it can be separated from the rest of the ACA. The justices also granted a cross-petition filed by Texas, which asks the court to decide whether the district court was correct in deeming the entire ACA invalid.

The justices will hear oral argument in the case next fall, with a decision likely to follow sometime in 2021.

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission today proposed targeted changes to its White Space device rules to pave the way for improved broadband coverage for rural Americans.  White Space devices operate in portions of the broadcast television bands that are not used by television stations and can be used to provide broadband and other wireless services.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes updates to the Commission’s rules that would allow for more robust service and efficient use of White Space devices particularly in rural areas, without increasing the risk of harmful interference to protected services in the TV bands.  These updates would also provide flexibility for these devices to more fully participate in the Internet of Things.

Specifically, the Notice proposes to permit higher transmit power and antenna height above average terrain for fixed White Space devices in less congested geographic areas.  If adopted, these changes would allow White Space devices to reach users at greater distances, resulting in better broadband coverage.  It would also permit higher power mobile operation within defined geographical areas and revise the rules to provide flexibility for these devices to more fully participate in the Internet of Things.

Additionally, the Commission is seeking comment on methods that could be used to allow higher power operation by White Space devices when adjacent TV channels are occupied.

The action proposed today could provide additional opportunities for unlicensed White Space devices operating in the TV bands and spur continued growth of the White Space device ecosystem, which could provide affordable broadband service to more rural and underserved communities and help close the digital divide.