News of the Day

Governor Evers, Republicans Discuss Regional Reopening of Wisconsin

Posted on May 5, 2020 by

Republican legislative leaders talked with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Monday about opening some parts of Wisconsin less affected by the coronavirus pandemic sooner than others.

Evers met with Republican and Democratic legislative leaders for the first time to talk about the virus response. The meeting came the day before the Wisconsin Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case brought by Republican legislative leaders seeking to block Evers’ “safer at home” order that is slated to run until May 26.

“The basic question to be answered is, what is their plan?” Evers said ahead of the meeting. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the court case or getting in front of the court case.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the lawmakers talked with Evers about the possibility of a regional approach to reopening the state. Vos didn’t say if Republicans offered a specific plan.

“It’s a safe and reasonable approach that I hope we can begin working on developing,” Vos said in a statement. “What’s needed for Wisconsin right now is a bipartisan reopening strategy that is safe, gradual and regional. We shouldn’t have a Republican plan or a governor’s plan, we need a Wisconsin plan that the entire state can get behind.”

Evers has loosened numerous restrictions in recent days. Republicans, along with the state chamber of commerce, have been pushing for a more rapid reopening, including easing restrictions more rapidly in areas not as affected by the virus.

Wisconsin Supreme Court will take up “Safer at Home” lawsuit

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear oral arguments early next week in a lawsuit seeking to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.

Evers issued the order in March. It was supposed to expire on April 24, but state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm extended it until May 26 at Evers’ direction.

The order closed schools, shuttered nonessential businesses, limited the size of social gatherings and prohibited nonessential travel.

The governor and the state’s public health leaders have said the order is designed to slow the virus’ spread. But Republicans have grown impatient with the prohibitions, saying they are crushing the economy.

Republican legislators filed a lawsuit directly with the conservative-controlled Supreme Court last month challenging the extension. They have argued that the order is really an administrative rule, and Palm should have submitted it to the Legislature for approval before issuing it. Evers has countered that the executive branch has broad authority to combat communicable diseases.

The ruling said the court will consider whether the order was really an administrative rule and whether Palm was within her rights to issue it unilaterally. Even if the order doesn’t qualify as a rule, the court said it will still weigh whether Palm exceeded her authority by “closing all ‘nonessential’ businesses, ordering all Wisconsin persons to stay home, and forbidding all ‘nonessential’ travel.”

Wisconsin Businesses Urge Legislators to OK Reopening Plan

Posted on May 1, 2020 by

Wisconsin’s powerful chamber of commerce urged legislators Thursday to adopt its business reopening plan, telling an Assembly committee that Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order is crushing the economy and that the state has the coronavirus under control.

The plan creates an algorithm that takes into account the local infection rate, health care capacity, population density and other factors to determine what limitations should be placed on a business. All businesses could open, but their operations would be limited based on local factors calculated under the model.

Companies would be given a risk factor of minimal, moderate or substantial. The higher the risk, the more precautions businesses would have to take.

Representatives of the restaurant, tavern and other industries told the committee they can’t survive another month under the stay-at-home order. They said they’re afraid Evers will extend his order through July or later.

“We are at an extinction level event for small businesses and restaurants,” Kristine Hillmer, president of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, told the committee in person.

Committee Democrats complained that Republicans stacked the meeting with business representatives and didn’t invite any laborers or health care officials to speak. They warned that reopening businesses too soon would lead to a spike in infections.

“What happens when businesses open too early and workers don’t feel comfortable?” Rep. Christine Sinicki of Milwaukee said.

Republicans countered that Evers’ standards for re-opening are so high the state will never meet them and the WMC plan is scientific and provides a way to mitigate risks. Rep. Michael Schraa asked Mike Nikolai, president of Waupaca Foundry, and Troy Berg, CEO of Dane Manufacturing, which produces metal products, whether their workers have complained about staying open.

Berg said his managers keep employees up-to-date about best practices to prevent infections between every shift and no one has quit. Nikolai said his workers are so scared about losing their jobs that attendance has actually improved.

“If you want zero risk, then you’ll have zero economic activity,” Nikolai said.

Evers Administration Orders Immediate 5% Reduction in State Spending Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

In a letter to all state employees, Evers’ administration secretary, Joel Brennan, said all of the state’s executive agencies will need to make the reduction in taxpayer-funded operating expenses by June 30.

In a media call with reporters Wednesday, Evers described the cut as a first step to begin addressing anticipated shortfalls in state revenue brought on by an economic recession and the administration’s efforts to reduce transmission of COVID-19 by closing nonessential businesses.

“These things are important,” Evers said. “We think it’s one of our ways to get to a better place financially. Cutting the operations budgets by 5% is approximately $70 million in savings, which is important for us as a government going forward.”

The reduction is in addition to restrictions on state-sponsored out-of-state travel, a hiring freeze with exceptions for COVID-19-related positions and those essential for business functions, and a suspension of discretionary merit compensation.

 

Companies Seek to Limit Legal Liability for Virus Infections

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

As companies start planning their reopenings, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus.

They appear to have the White House’s ear.

President Donald Trump has floated shielding businesses from lawsuits. His top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNBC last week that businesses shouldn’t be held liable to trial lawyers “putting on false lawsuits that will probably be thrown out of court.” He said the issue could require legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the issue would be a priority when lawmakers return.

At issue is how to balance protecting businesses from lawsuits that could distract them and even lead to financial ruin, while also enabling justice for customers and workers who in a time of rapidly rising unemployment may not have the option of leaving their jobs for something safer.

“If there is no liability on the part of employers without a set of rules by which employers have to abide by, then that means you can have a wild wild west,” said Kent Swig, president of Swig Equities, LLC, a privately owned real estate investment and development company.

“You have to have a balance,” he added, “and you have to have rules and regulations.”

Swig says he’s planning measures like one-way lanes in public corridors in the lobbies and plexiglass dividers in offices at his properties. But he’s seeking national guidelines as well.

Linda Kelly, general counsel at the National Association of Manufacturers, said her trade group is “not trying to protect bad actors, and we are also not saying that liability should be completely eliminated.”

Rather, she said, the group believes “there should be a higher standard in place in order to impose legal liability and that employers who are doing the best that they can with the knowledge they have should not be subject to legal liability.”

Governor Evers Announces Expanded Opportunities for Certain Nonessential Businesses

Posted on April 28, 2020 by

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers today announced the another turn of the dial in expanding allowed operations for nonessential businesses, providing even more opportunities for businesses to get back to work in a safe and responsible way.

The Emergency Order, signed on Monday by Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, allows nonessential businesses to do curbside drop-off of goods and animals.

This will allow businesses like dog groomers, small engine repair shops, upholstery businesses, and others to safely open. This order also allows outdoor recreational rentals, such as boats, golf carts, kayaks, ATVs, and other similar recreational vehicles. Additionally, automatic or self-service car washes would be able to operate.

All of these businesses must operate free of contact with customers by providing payment options online or over the phone, enact proper disinfecting practices, and operations must be able to be performed by one staff member.

 

 

Paycheck Protection Resumes Today – April 27, 2020

Posted on April 27, 2020 by

The SBA will resume accepting Paycheck Protection Program applications from participating lenders on Monday, April 27, 2020 at 10:30am EDT.

The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.

SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

You can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make these loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program. You should consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating in the program.

Former Governor Tommy Thompson calls Wisconsin Lawmakers to Work Together to Solve Pandemic

Posted on April 24, 2020 by

On Thursday, Thompson called on leaders of both parties and Gov. Evers to come together amid the Covid-19 crisis.

“It’s time to come together – it’s time to get together – it’s time to come up with a plan. A plan to get Wisconsin moving. And it’s not a Republican plan, it’s not a Democrat plan, it’s a Wisconsin plan. And that’s what we have to do right now. We’re in an emergency, we’re in a pandemic,” Thompson said.

While he was on board with Gov. Tony Evers’ first ‘Safer at Home’ order, the former governor, who is a Republican, said he hasn’t seen enough of a plan in place for re-opening businesses in Democratic Gov. Evers’ second extension of ‘Safer at Home.’

Thompson said the governor and lawmakers need to work together to bring in tourism, hospitality and tavern industry, and Wisconsin manufacturers and commerce to share ideas about how to open up businesses, saying a “staggered way, that’s going to provide for healthy conditions, and safety for customers.”

He thinks they can find ways to safely re-open some bars, restaurants and attractions, again in a staggered fashion.

 

U.S. House Set to Act Today on Phase 3.5 Bill to Keep Small Business Loan Programs Funded

Posted on April 23, 2020 by

On April 21, the Senate passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. The bill—a $484 billion package dubbed “Phase 3.5″—will replenish the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) loan and grant programs; provide support to hospitals and medical facilities; and expand federal, state, and local coronavirus testing efforts. The House is scheduled to vote on the legislation today after which President Trump is expected to sign it into law.

Specifically, in an effort to provide some relief to the nation’s small businesses, the deal reached by Congressional leaders and President Trump includes:

  • An additional $310 billion for the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, with $60 billion specifically allocated for loans made by small lenders and community-based institutions;
  • An extra $50 billion for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program;
  • An extra $10 billion for the SBA’s Emergency Economic Injury Grant program;
  • A clarification that agricultural enterprises with 500 or fewer employees are eligible to receive EIDLs and emergency grants; and
  • An additional $2.1 billion for the SBA’s administrative expenses.

 

Wisconsin State Legislature Seeks High Court Review of New Safer-at-Home Order

Posted on April 22, 2020 by

The Wisconsin Legislature filed a lawsuit directly with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm’s authority to keep Wisconsin’s economy closed and its residents locked down indefinitely – when even Gov. Tony Evers does not have that power.

The lawsuit accuses the Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-Designee of violating state law by extending the governor’s emergency rules, exceeded her authority by closing businesses and locking down individuals, acting “arbitrarily and capriciously” in her order, and usurping the legislature’s oversight powers. The lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction.

“The governor has denied the people a voice through this unprecedented administrative overreach. Unfortunately, that leaves the legislature no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to rein in this obvious abuse of power,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald wrote in a joint statement. “Wisconsinites deserve certainty, transparency, and a plan to end the constant stream of executive orders that are eroding both the economy and their liberty even as the state is clearly seeing a decline in COVID infections.”

Evers’ issued a shelter-in-place order that went into effect on March 25, he calls “Safer at Home.” It shutdown businesses and organizations he deemed “non-essential,” and banned all gatherings of any number outside of a single family unit. That order was originally scheduled to end on April 24, but Evers has the ability to extend it up to May 10. That’s the day his emergency powers expire and he needs legislative approval to continue his original state of emergency.