'We don't have weeks': Evers hoped Legislature would have acted by now on coronavirus relief

MADISON - Republican lawmakers plan to take up legislation to respond to health and unemployment needs of Wisconsin residents during the coronavirus outbreak in a couple of weeks, but Gov. Tony Evers says that could be too long to wait and he may move forward on his own on some measures.

Evers gave the Republican legislative leaders a bill on March 21 that would spend at least $706 million to help state agencies respond to the outbreak and is drafting a second bill related to economic recovery and less-urgent health care needs.

So far the lawmakers have not told Evers' team which measures they support or provided an alternative proposal, according to the governor's office.

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Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Monday he hopes to take up legislation — which will likely look different from what Evers has proposed — within the next few weeks.

"I’m still having discussions with Speaker (Robin) Vos, caucus members, the governor’s staff, and the leadership of the minority party," he said in a statement. "We’re hopeful we can hit the floor with a bill that can address policy concerns in the next couple weeks through a virtual session of the Senate."

Evers told reporters Monday "waiting weeks and weeks" is too long to meet the needs he is seeking to address, especially for measures meant to give more latitude to the state's health officials.

Evers' spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said the governor had hoped the Legislature would have acted on the first bill by now, which is why the office drafted two.

Republican leaders have said from the beginning of the outbreak they wanted to see what was in a federal stimulus bill that was signed by President Donald Trump on Friday before acting on state legislation.

Baldauff said the governor's desire is to work with the Republican-controlled Legislature on a state relief package but said there isn't much time to wait on some needs.

"We need to see some action and at least definitively when they’re going to be in," Baldauff said. "We don’t have weeks. We have days to take on some of these things — the needs get more dire every single day. We don’t have time to wait."

The state saw its second case of the coronavirus on March 9. In the 21 days since, the number of cases has grown by more than 1,200.

On March 12, Evers issued a public health emergency — closing bars and restaurants — and on March 24 ordered all businesses not considered essential to close, leading to nearly 200,000 unemployment claims since then.

Workers at the state Department of Workforce Development, which oversees unemployment claims, received 160 calls per second at one point Thursday, and 400,000 calls within a four-hour time frame that day, according to the governor's office.

Baldauff said the agency has expanded staffing from 57 to 92 people working with unemployment issues and needs another 80 positions immediately to process unemployment claims and answer questions.

"Our preference is to work with the Legislature to get things done," she said, but that "we’re continuing to look at all of our options to keep people safe and support people through this crisis."

The first of at least two pieces of legislation the governor is putting forward in response to the coronavirus outbreak includes $706 million worth of proposals and provides the governor with more authority to create new positions without legislative approval.

Evers' bill would give the administration the ability to move jobs from one agency to another during the emergency. That would allow Evers, for instance, to hire a slew of new public health workers by not filling jobs in other state agencies.

That would be funded largely using $2 billion in federal money the state is expected to get under coronavirus legislation approved last week.

Vos, R-Rochester, said lawmakers are waiting for a final analysis of the $2 trillion federal stimulus bill that delivers the funds to Wisconsin.

"We know legislative action will need to be taken, including a request for an emergency waiver from (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services agency) to allow for flexibilities to health care providers," Vos said in a statement. "Our Democratic colleagues know that Assembly leaders have already committed to holding a floor session soon."

He said the Assembly is exploring ways to convene a floor session "without adversely impacting the most at-risk populations within our membership and support staff."

Bill includes voting measures

Evers' bill, which the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported on after obtaining through a public records request, also includes measures GOP lawmakers object to, like suspending the state requirement to show photo identification while voting and expanding public benefits programs.

Evers has broad authority to spend the federal money and create new positions, provided the new workers he hires are paid entirely with federal funds, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

But other parts of his plan would likely require lawmakers to act. For instance, Evers wants to expand a number of assistance programs to help cover people’s child care costs and provide cash to those who face financial crises.

But the terms of programs such as Wisconsin Shares and Wisconsin Works are set in state law and Evers would likely need to get lawmakers to make changes to modify those programs, according to the fiscal bureau.

Wisconsin also will qualify for an extra $150 million per quarter for its BadgerCare Plus health care program — but not unless lawmakers act. It’s possible the state will automatically get the first $150 million, but to claim any funds after that the Legislature must pass a new law, according to the fiscal bureau.

Other issues fall into a gray area. Evers initially wanted lawmakers to approve a provision that would ban evictions during the health emergency. They haven’t taken that up, so Evers issued an executive order putting that prohibition in place.

That action — and others like it — could face legal challenges.

In a recent interview, Vos said he's certain lawmakers will support many of Evers' measures but questions enacting some of them through executive order.

"The idea giving more flexibility for retired nurses or things like that — I'm sure those are things we will support," Vos said Saturday. "I still question how many executive orders Gov. Evers is putting out are, frankly, constitutional."

Evers' bill would provide $500 million to state agencies to buy equipment, and hire more staff to process an unprecedented number of unemployment claims and trace the contacts made by infected patients, the administration said.

Evers' plan also would provide additional cash for people who lose their jobs, raise pay for workers at child care centers and suspend the state's system to rate schools amid mass closures, among other measures.

The bill also would prevent public schools and private schools that receive public vouchers from laying off employees or not paying full salaries during the public health emergency.

Insurance rules also would be overhauled under Evers' plan to help make sure people are covered. He wants to bar insurers from discriminating against people who contract coronavirus and block them from canceling anyone’s insurance policy during the health emergency, including for people who fail to pay their premiums.

He also wants to require insurers to cover testing and treatment for coronavirus and he wants to prohibit insurers from making people share in those costs. He is seeking to block surprise bills that can arise in instances when people are sent to out-of-network providers.

Evers wants to make sure telehealth services are covered the same as in-person appointments. That will help limit how often people go to doctor’s offices and thus help limit people’s exposure to the illness, the administration maintains.

Evers’ legislation would end a one-week waiting period before those who are laid off can receive unemployment benefits. Vos has said he’s open to that idea but only if the change is temporary — not permanent, as Evers wants.

The plan also includes changes to voting requirements, like allowing clerks to accept absentee ballots that arrive after an election as long as they’re postmarked by election day. Now, absentee ballots are counted only if they arrive by the time polls close.

Evers also wants to suspend the requirement that witnesses sign a certificate for those who vote absentee. The changes are necessary to ease voting when many will have a difficult time getting out of their homes, according to administration.

There is an election for state Supreme Court next week, a special election for Congress in northern Wisconsin in May, partisan primaries in August and the presidential election in November.

The voting rules would be blocked for any of those elections if the coronavirus pandemic persists.

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Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.