Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) issued the following statement today regarding the scheduling of Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3) for a vote next week in the Legislature. Senator Nass is the lead author of the joint resolution that would legally end the current emergency declaration issued by Governor Evers:
“Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3) invokes the legislative powers authorized by the Wisconsin Constitution and state statutes to protect our form of government that includes three separate branches with limited powers, so as to protect the governed from abusive government.
Governor Evers has repeatedly abused the powers granted to him in Chapter 323 of the Wisconsin Statutes to issue repeated emergency declarations since March 2020. The Wisconsin Legislature has never authorized, as is required by law, an extension of these emergency declarations.
Governor Evers has also repeatedly issued improper emergency orders under the emergency declarations requiring all citizens to wear face masks or be subject to a civil forfeiture of up to $200 for each offense.
As is permitted in Chapter 323 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Wisconsin Legislature, by adopting SJR 3, would be determining the Governor’s action as unlawful, thus terminating the public health emergency declared by Governor Evers in Executive Order #104 issued on January 19, 2021. The termination of the emergency declaration would also end any emergency orders issued under the declaration, including Emergency Order #1, relating to mandatory face coverings.”
