MADISON, WI (WSAU) – A new lawsuit challenges whether Governor Tony Evers can issue multiple emergency orders for the same emergency — the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jere Fabick, a private citizen from Waukesha, argues that emergency orders 82 and 90 are illegal. They are the two orders the Governor has issued since his initial order was struck down by the state Supreme Court last May.
Under state law the governor may issue an emergency order for up to 60 days, after which it must be approved by the legislature.
The Evers administration says the subsequent orders are substantially different. One made reference to the spread of COVID-19 among people 18-24 years old and on college campuses. The other order cited limited hospital capacity in parts of the state.
The state Supreme Count, on which conservatives hold a 4-3 majority, has ordered the Evers administration to file a response to the lawsuit by Thursday, October 22. The court will then decide if it will hear the case directly, or send it to a lower court for a hearing.
Earlier this week a St. Croix County judge upheld Evers’ latest mask order, ruling that it was up to the legislature to vote against the order. The judge’s ruling also said striking down a state wide mask order was too broad a remedy for a lawsuit brought by three private individuals. Fabick’s lawsuit is a separate legal challenge.
Fabick was also part of an earlier legal challenge this summer, arguing the Evers’ emergency orders infringed on rights to freely practice religion and travel freely across the state. The state Supreme Court ruled those claims were mute after the court’s ruling in May.
