March 30, 2020
Late Saturday, March 28, Governor Evers leaked a 65-page bill that he presented to Republicans. The bill would grant new powers & provide new spending, supposedly needed to fight COVID-19. Evers’ bill would, during a public health emergency:
1) Suspend voter ID requirements
2) Allow voting by mail & waive witness requirement
3) Allow electronic voter registration until April 2 (without photo ID)
4) Make it easier for the Department of Health Services to declare an emergency, give DHS unlimited spending authority during a public health emergency, & give “all powers necessary to respond”
5) Allow public health emergencies to go on indefinitely (versus the current 60-day limit)
6) Allow the DHS to seek federal waivers without any oversight
7) Increase staffing at DHS by 64 positions
8) Give $17 million to local health agencies
9) Give $100 million to hospitals & health care providers
10) Give the Department of Administration new unchecked $200 million of spending authority during a public health emergency (if DOA goes over $200 mil, the spending would be reviewed by the Joint Finance Committee)
11) Give $20 million to local government emergency assistance
12) Give $7.5 million to county & municipal governments
13) Give Military Affairs new unchecked $300 million in spending authority
14) Allocate $100 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to expand welfare, & allocate $25 million GPR in grants to child care providers
15) During a public health emergency, eligibility for W2 welfare would go from 115% of federal poverty level to 200% & if your employer closes or if you miss work because of child care, the bill would grant payment of $653 to an individual
16) W2 job access loan eligibility would go from 115% of the federal poverty level to 200%. The bill would give out $1,600 in loans for an individual and suspend requirements that loan be repaid
17) Emergency assistance to families program would be expanded to 200% of the federal poverty level for a payment of $1,200 per individual & those between 18-24 yrs old, WITHOUT CHILDREN, would become eligible
18) Create a new grant program to pay employers to provide child care for the essential workforce
19) Create a new grant program for child care providers so they can be paid hazard pay during a public health emergency
20) Increase the WI Economic Development Corp’s funding by $25 million
21) Suspend the school accountability report cards & allow the DPI to waive any requirements of schools
22) Require all school employees be paid at regular rate & cannot be laid off
23) Suspend apartment evictions during a public emergency and 45 days after
24) Delete the one week waiting period for unemployment insurance benefits
25) Require insurance to cover telemedicine services
26) Prevent insurance companies from cancelling a policy during public health emergency and 90 days after, or would prevent companies from changing a policy because of COVID-19
27) Require insurance companies to cover testing & treatment of COVID-19 & prohibit co-pays and deductibles for COVID-19
28) Prohibit any prior authorization requirement for any prescription drug refill
29) Allow a pharmacist, under certain circumstances, to extend prescriptions up to 30 days, & longer if medicine is packaged that way
30) Allow former health care workers to obtain new temporary credentials to practice medicine
31) AND, allow temporary credentials for health care workers from other states & suspends health care credential renewals during a public health emergency.
MacIver will continue to update as we follow this developing story.