State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, attends the opening of the 2021-22 legislative session last week at the state Capitol in Madison.
State Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their own plan to address COVID-19, keeping many bipartisan provisions from the Assembly and governor’s proposals, stripping out some controversial parts, but leaving in business liability protections, which Democrats oppose.
The bill, which is expected to receive a floor vote on Tuesday, received a public hearing Monday morning and was approved by the Senate Committee on Organization 3-2 along party lines. It comes after the Republican-controlled Assembly passed a version last week that Gov. Tony Evers opposes.
If the Senate passes the legislation Tuesday, Evers and Assembly Republicans would need to agree upon which version, if any, will receive support from all three.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told WISN-TV’s “Upfront” over the weekend that the Senate’s goal with its COVID-19 package is getting it signed by the governor.
“The bill that the Assembly brought forward is a good bill, but what we’re looking to do in the Senate is find a bill, and this is our goal all along, is to find a bill that we’re confident that the governor will sign so that way we can get that bill done for the state of Wisconsin,” LeMaheiu said.
Despite nixing some controversial aspects of the bill passed by the Assembly, the Senate version still includes some provisions included in the Assembly version, such as COVID-19 liability protections, which have sparked concerns among some Democrats worried it may cause businesses to cast aside COVID-19 prevention measures, such as requiring masks in stores.
The bill, like the Assembly version, also extends the state’s suspension of the one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits to March 14.
The Senate bill scraps some of the most controversial aspects of the Assembly’s bill that would bar mandatory vaccinations, prevent local health officers from issuing coronavirus restrictions for more than two business days unless extended for up to 14 days by the local governing body, temporarily relax restrictions for K-12 students seeking open enrollment at another school district and require two-thirds approval by school boards in order for schools to offer virtual instruction.
In an amendment, the Assembly later changed the bill language concerning virtual instruction, and would instead require that schools receive two-thirds approval from school boards to extend virtual instruction beyond two weeks.
It also drops a provision Evers has adamantly opposed giving the Republican-controlled Legislature authority over how future COVID-19 federal aid dollars are spent. And it no longer includes an Assembly provision that would prohibit the state Department of Health Services from closing or forbidding public gatherings in places of worship to control disease outbreaks.
The Senate bill contains some measures that are in both the governor and Assembly versions, including allowing the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee to transfer $100 million in certain appropriations for COVID-19 expenses.
Like Evers’ proposal, it also allows the coverage of vaccinations under SeniorCare, Wisconsin’s prescription drug assistance program.
Shootings and death investigations top recent notable area crime news
Female in 'critical condition' after being shot on East Side, Madison police say
A female was in critical condition after being shot Sunday evening on the East Side, Madison police said.
Officers responded to multiple reports of someone having been shot at the intersection of Eagan Road and Lien Road at about 7 p.m., Lt. Eugene Woehrle said in a statement.
Arriving officers found a female who had been shot while in her vehicle, Woehrle said. The shots came from another vehicle.
Man shot in stomach on South Side, 35 shell casings recovered on Southwest Side, Madison police say
A man was shot in the stomach on the South Side, and 35 shell casings were recovered on the Southwest Side in a pair of shootings on Friday, Madison police reported.
Shortly before 10 a.m. on New Year’s Day, police responded to a local hospital on a report of a man with a gunshot wound to the stomach, police spokesman Tyler Grigg said in a report.
Woman who had been painting outdoor scene found dead in Fox River, Green Lake County authorities say
A woman who had been painting an outdoor scene was found dead in the Fox River in the town of St. Marie on Saturday, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported.
At about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, a 911 caller reported that they could not find a 35-year-old woman who was outdoors with her two dogs near the Fox River off of Huckleberry Road, Chief Deputy Sheriff Matthew L. Vande Kolk said in a report.
The woman’s hat was located on ice at the edge of the river near where she had been painting an outdoor scene, Vande Kolk said.
Authorities identify Madison man found dead in Far East Side park
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday released the name of a man whose body was found Dec. 26 in Reindahl Park on the Far East Side of Madison, but did not specify his cause of death.
Chase Strunk, 30, of Madison, was found dead in the 1800 block of Portage Road just before 8:40 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said. He was found at the bottom of a small hill near the bike path.
It’s still unclear how Strunk died. The medical examiner’s office usually releases a tentative cause of death with preliminary autopsy results, but none was released Monday.
Names of dead in town of Sun Prairie murder-suicide released
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the name of a woman and the man who shot her to death on Dec. 28 before turning the gun on himself.
Jessica L. Ewers, 44, and James T. Budworth, 45, were found dead after police were called to the home they shared in the 4600 block of Pierceville Road, just north of Cottage Grove, about 3:20 p.m. Budworth had been charged two months before with beating Ewers and had been free on a signature bond, meaning he didn’t have to post cash to be released.
22-year-old charged with sex assault after allegedly luring 12-year-old girl to park
A 22-year-old Oregon man was charged Tuesday with enticement and first-degree sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl he met in a county park early Monday.
A Dane County sheriff’s deputy found Jacan L. Flores alone in his parked car as the deputy was driving through Fish Camp County Park in the town of Dunn about 1 a.m. Monday. The park had closed to the public at 10 p.m., according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court.
Flores said he was there because he had had an argument with his girlfriend and had driven there “to blow off some steam,” the complaint states.
Authorities identify woman who died in double collision on Highway 51 in town of Dunn
The Dane County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday released the identity of the woman who died in a double collision in the town of Dunn on Monday.
Jill A. Miller, 64, of Stoughton, died after being taken to a hospital after her car was hit by two different vehicles on Highway 51 at Rutland-Dunn Town Line Road at around 3:25 p.m. Monday, the Medical Examiner's Office said.
2 more inmates die from COVID-19 in Wisconsin prison system; 25 total dead
Two more inmates have died from COVID-19 in Wisconsin’s prison system, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related inmate deaths to 25, the state Department of Corrections reported Thursday.
The new deaths come as more than half of DOC’s roughly 20,000 prisoners have now been infected.
DOC reports inmate deaths as COVID-19-related after a medical examiner or coroner confirms that the virus was an underlying cause of death or a significant condition that contributed to death — a determination that can take weeks or months.
1 man charged with stealing police rifle, other with taking the head of Hans Christian Heg, during protests
Two men were charged Friday for their alleged roles in separate incidents on different nights of protest in Downtown Madison last summer — one for allegedly stealing the still-missing head of the Col. Hans Christian Heg statue, the other for the theft of a police rifle.
A criminal complaint charged Rodney A. Clendening, 34, of Beloit, with felony theft after police said they identified him as the driver of a car into which the head of the abolitionist statue was placed on June 23, after a group of people, using another vehicle to assist them, pulled down the statue of Heg during a destructive night Downtown.
Green County Sheriff's Office, Albany police asking for help finding missing newborn
The Green County Sheriff's Office and the Albany Police Department are asking for the public's help finding a missing newborn.
The baby girl born on Tuesday at a residence in the village of Albany was taken from the residence by a man later identified as being the father of the child, Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud and Albany Police Chief Robert Ritter said in a joint statement Saturday. The father told officers he then gave the newborn girl to an "unidentified third party," and she has not been seen since.
The individual who reportedly took the newborn is said to be an acquaintance of the girl's father and driving a gray Chevrolet Equinox.
Update: Missing Albany infant found dead, authorities say
An infant reported missing in Albany was found dead in southern Wisconsin Sunday.
The baby girl, born on Tuesday at a residence in the village of Albany, was reported missing Saturday. She was taken from the residence by a man later identified as being the father of the child, Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud and Albany Police Chief Robert Ritter said in a joint statement Saturday.
The father told officers he then gave the newborn girl to an "unidentified third party," and she had not been seen since.
Riley Vetterkind | Wisconsin State Journal
Capitol reporter
Riley Vetterkind covers politics and state government for the Wisconsin State Journal. He can be reached at (608) 252-6135 or rvetterkind@madison.com.
