Congratulations Lt. Colonel Bobinski!

 

Today I had the honor of presenting Retired Lt. Colonel Timothy Bobinski of Oak Creek with flags flown over the State Capitol and a legislative citation. Lt. Colonel Bobinski retired from the United States Air Force after 21 years. I thank him for his service to our country and wish him a long, healthy retirement.


Improving Vaccination Efforts

 

This week was a busy week in Madison! Yesterday the Assembly was on the floor to approve two pieces of legislation that will streamline vaccination efforts in our state.

 

Assembly Bill 4 (AB 4) authorizes pharmacy technicians and pharmacy students to administer vaccines. In order to qualify, a pharmacy technician must complete two hours of training and be supervised by a pharmacist. Pharmacy students may be authorized to administer vaccines if they have completed at least two years of pharmacy school and are supervised by a pharmacist while administering the vaccine.

 

An important piece of our SARS-CoV-2 vaccination effort in Wisconsin is having individuals who are able to administer the vaccine to those who want to receive it. AB 4 increases the amount of vaccinators in our state, while putting the necessary measures in place to ensure the vaccine is still administered safely.

 

Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) directs the Department of Health Services (DHS) to develop a plan for vaccinating the general public by no later than March 15, 2021. Among the requirements included in this direction, AB 5 requires DHS to prioritize vaccinating individuals 60 and older. The legislation also requires DHS to develop a web platform that allows Wisconsinites to check their eligibility for receiving the vaccine and easily make an appointment.

 

Many other states around the country have already developed robust online platforms such as the one we are suggesting. I hope to see both of these bill passed by the Senate and signed into law!


Senate Joint Resolution 3

After receiving hundreds of contacts from you over the past week, I would like to clarify what happened this week regarding Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3). The resolution does not simply rescind the 'mask mandate,' but repeals Governor Evers' state of emergency, which would include all emergency orders (such as the statewide mask mandate).

 

The state Senate passed SJR 3 earlier this week and the state Assembly was ready to bring it to the floor for debate yesterday (Thursday). However, prior to taking it up, the Assembly learned that passing SJR 3, without the right remedy in place, would put into jeopardy nearly $50 million per month in extended FoodShare benefits from the federal government, affecting more than 240,000 families. Under federal law, these extra benefits – meant to help those who lost their income due to COVID-19 – were earmarked only to states under a public state of emergency.

 

Currently, the Assembly is in the process of ensuring that if we were to pass SJR 3, there would be no other unintended consequences. That being said, I believe that SJR 3 will be taken up in the near future, possibly with changes.