Evers signs COVID-19 response bill

Photo Credit: Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal

Gov. Tony Evers signed a bipartisan bill

Wednesday that responds to the COVID-19 pandemic by qualifying the state for at least $300 million in federal Medicaid money and temporarily lifting a one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits.

Evers said the overall legislation “falls short of what is needed to address the magnitude and gravity of what our state is facing.”

“This bill is finally a step in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done,” he said in a statement.

He noted the measure doesn’t provide hazard pay or workers’ compensation for all front-line and essential workers like first responders, child care providers and healthcare workers. And he said the bill lacks meaningful support for small businesses and farmers struggling with the crisis.

The Senate passed the measure Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said the bill gives state agencies tools to help with the health crisis, gives relief to those out of work and provides $75 million to the Joint Finance Committee to react to “unforeseen challenges” that may not be addressed by federal aid.

The bill also loosens restrictions on healthcare workers to ensure an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to the crisis, he said. And he said the plan protects the state’s budget and ensures it remains solvent so that education, infrastructure and essential operations are funded in the face of a decline in tax revenue.

“This bill isn’t perfect,” Fitzgerald said. “And it might be the first bill of a number that we are going to have to pass in the Legislature. But it is timely. And I think it’s been well thought out, and I think it will help.”

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