Author: Sam Buisman
Governor Tony Evers signed a second major coronavirus relief bill into law but says Wisconsin must still do more.
After the Wisconsin State Senate passed Assembly Bill 1038 in a vote of 32-0 Wednesday afternoon, Governor Evers signed the bill into law, ensuring that Wisconsin will receive $2 billion federal dollars to fight the coronavirus, waiving the one-week waiting period on unemployment benefits and prohibiting health care companies from discriminating against COVID-19 patients among many other provisions.
While Evers praised what changes the bill does make, he wrote to state Republican leaders that he was disappointed over what the bill wouldn't include.
“I appreciate this legislation received bipartisan support, and this bill is a step in the right direction,” Governor Evers wrote in the letter, “but I must reiterate that even in passing this legislation, there remains more work to be done.”
In the same letter, Evers criticized the bill for requiring that insurance providers only cover testing and not treatment for COVID-19, not including significant financial support for farmers, small businesses and local communities, and not providing hazard pay or workers compensation for critical employees working amidst the public health crisis.
Many Democratic Senators shared the Governor's sentiments that the bill is a good starting point but is missing crucial provisions for relief.
“Wisconsin deserves bold action to meet the moment,” Democratic Senator Chris Larson of Milwaulkee said in a press release, “not political games and weak tea.”
Certain state Republicans are indicating that they also want to do more, with State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald writing on Twitter “We have to get businesses and the economy moving again, and I'm hopeful that this bill marks the first step in that direction.”
Earlier this month, Governor Evers proposed legislation that would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to bandage the economic damage of the coronavirus. This bill has not gained any traction in the legislature since its proposal.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there are currently 3,721 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, 351 of which are in Dane County.
