"The order means the governor will be barred from extending the state's current COVID-19 emergency order and mask mandate, which was set to expire on April 5, unless the Republican-controlled Legislature votes to extend it. Otherwise, it will continue to be up to local governments, such as cities and counties, to impose their own virus restrictions. Dane County's mask mandate remains in place. The court's 4-3 ruling on Wednesday, with conservative swing Justice Brian Hagedorn joining the conservative majority, follows a pattern of skepticism the state's highest court has exhibited toward the governor's mitigation efforts since the pandemic began. Hagedorn delivered the majority opinion where he wrote that Wisconsin law gives Evers extraordinary powers for only a short duration, 60 days, following the declaration of a public health emergency. 'The plain language of the statute explains that the governor may, for 60 days, act with expanded powers to address a particular emergency,' Hagedorn wrote. 'Beyond 60 days, however, the legislature reserves for itself the power to determine the policies that govern the state's response to an ongoing problem. Similarly, when the legislature revokes a state of emergency, a governor may not simply reissue another one on the same basis.'"
The Wisconsin State Journal reports.
Okay, then. The governor exceeded his powers under the statute.
"Dane County's mask mandate remains in place" — that's the answer for me.
Response from the Democrats. The court is just doing right-wing politics:
The @WisDems statement on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that just came down, in which far-right judges put partisanship above public health: pic.twitter.com/3V4L60IG8i
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) March 31, 2021