Representative Subeck Calls for Hearing on Legislation for Statewide Mask Requirements

MADISON – Today, in response to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Fabick v. Evers Tuesday ruling that overturned Governor Evers’s COVID-19 public health emergency order, Assembly Democrats sent a letter to the chair of the State Affairs Committee and members of Assembly leadership requesting a hearing on Assembly Bill 88 (AB 88), which would enact a statewide mask order to control the spread of COVID-19.

“The Supreme court’s decision to overturn the public health emergency and Wisconsin’s mask order leaves our state in a dangerous position with few options for fighting the pandemic. Republicans have put politics ahead of the health and safety of Wisconsinites and our communities.

As more of us are vaccinated, we move one step closer to returning to family, work, school, and community, but we cannot afford to let our guard down yet. Masks are an effective tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep us safe until we are all vaccinated. And a statewide mask order results in more people wearing masks, which reduces transmission, keeps our hospitals from getting full, and saves lives.

Democrats introduced AB 88 earlier this year to ensure Wisconsinites are protected by enacting statewide mask requirements that would remain in effect as long as the national public health emergency is in place. Our common sense proposal is rooted in public health and science, and is based on widespread support for mask wearing by medical experts, business leaders, and the vast majority of Wisconsin’s residents.

Republicans have chosen to make mask wearing a partisan political issue, but politics should have no place in our response to a pandemic. We can depoliticize masks and do what is right for our people and our communities by immediately holding a hearing and taking the first step toward quickly passing AB 88.”

Representative Lisa Subeck has represented the 78th Assembly District since 2015 and serves as vice-chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

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