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"Unlawful, Invalid and Unenforceable"
Safer At Home Struck Down
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On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of the Legislature that strikes down the extension of the “Safer at Home” order. I wanted to send a summary out on what this means.
First, the court ruled that Secretary-designee Palm broke the law by issuing Emergency Order 28 without legislative approval. This is the order that locked down the entire state. There were three main points to their ruling:
1. The Secretary-designee is required by law to follow the rule making process when issuing an order. This process requires that the legislature have review authority over any actions she takes in regards to rule making. She did not follow the law and unilaterally issued the order, which the court deemed illegal under Sec 227 of the WI statutes.
2. The DHS Secretary has authority under Sec 252 to issue emergency orders around communicable disease. She cited this as the basis for provisions of the “Safer at Home” order that limited non-essential travel, required people to stay home and closed businesses. However, the court ruled these actions exceeded the statutory authority granted to the secretary and that these orders must be limited to “those infected or suspected to be infected”, not every person in the state.
3. Order 28 also included criminal penalties on citizens for violating the order. The law clearly states that in order for an agency’s directive to constitute a crime, it must follow the rule promulgation process, which the legislature has input into. The secretary-designee did not follow this process, so criminal penalties for violating the order were also deemed unlawful.
Second, what this means is that the citizens of the state are no longer on lock down and have the freedom to live life as they see fit. There are still guidelines that have been recommended, but there are no requirements. If you feel unsafe, you may stay at home and self-isolate, but the state is no longer prohibiting the freedom of individuals to make this decision on their own.
Third, the Governor is displaying a pattern of taking action that is outside of his authority and deemed illegal by the courts. I believe every citizen should be concerned with any government official, regardless of political affiliation, that feels they are above the law.
I encourage you to reach out to the Governor’s office to express that concern.
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Senate Must Reject DHS Secretary-designee Palm
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One of the responsibilities of the Senate is that of Advice and Consent of the Governor’s appointees. This is a Constitutional responsibility that I take very seriously. The purpose is to ensure that the appointments of the Governor are reasonable and we have confidence they can effectively carry out their duties.
We now have a situation where one of those appointees, Secretary-designee Palm, has clearly exceeded the bounds of her authority. I don’t believe the Senate can ignore this egregious overstep and will be pushing for the rejection of the Secretary-designee as soon as possible, as I do not feel she is fit for service as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
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Purchase State Park Passes Online
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Park visitors can now purchase state park admission stickers online. An annual park sticker or trail pass is required to visit state parks and trails. Annual park stickers only, can now be purchased online. State trail and other passes can still be purchased over the phone by calling 1-888-305-0398 from 8 am to 4 pm, seven days per week. Annual passes are NOT available for purchase at individual properties. Visitors must have an annual admission sticker adhered to their vehicle or proof of purchase for entry.
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