Local mask mandates possible in Portage County, Stevens Point as state court throws out Evers order

STEVENS POINT – County and city officials might soon enact their own orders to require people to wear face masks after the state Supreme Court struck down Wisconsin's mask mandate. 

"If the current face covering mandate were to go away, we are ready to respond at the county-level," Portage County Executive Chris Holman wrote in an email in February.

Holman made the comments after a February County Board meeting and during a time when Republicans in the state Legislature were seeking to overturn the order and limit the powers of local health officials.

On Wednesday, conservative justices on the state Supreme Court ended the current mask mandate set to expire on Monday. The court also blocked Evers from issuing additional public health emergency orders to require masks without the state Legislature's approval. The 4-3 decision by the court ruled Evers overstepped his authority by issuing consecutive emergency declarations as the Legislature declined to require them.

Without a state order, deciding whether any mask orders continue in the state will depend on local governments. 

Holman said in an email after the ruling Wednesday that he and Portage County Health and Human Services Director Ray Przybelski would soon provide more information on whether the county will follow through with its own mandate.

RELATED:Wisconsin Supreme Court overturns statewide mask mandate, blocks Evers from declaring multiple emergency orders

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In February, Holman said the county declined to issue its own preemptive mask order because of the uncertainty of possible legislation or court rulings that could affect the powers of local governments and health officers in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Some think that the county should put something into place now, but we are happy to operate under the Governor’s order rather than have a duplicative effort," Holman wrote in February. "Depending on what actions they take, we would want to shape our response accordingly rather than put something out that may need to change due to the implications of a court decision or legislative action."

If the county doesn't issue its own mask requirement, City Council Meleesa Johnson said Stevens Point would move forward with an ordinance for the city.

"Should the state or county fail to act, the city must. In preparations for that occasion, I have drafted a mask ordinance," Johnson told the Stevens Point Journal in its election questionnaire for the upcoming April election.

Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza, however, expressed reservations about a citywide mandate.

"I wouldn't be opposed to looking at something, but we're late enough in the game that I think the whole thing will be moot in a couple of weeks," Wiza said in a phone call Wednesday.

Masks are still required in city buildings, he said in a news release. 

"The Court ruling does not speak to any private business’s policies, nor does it override any local emergency order," he said.

Much of the compliance with the state's mandate has been voluntary, he said. If people continue to do so as everyone 16 years old or older becomes eligible for COVID-19 vaccines next week, then there may not be a point in enacting an ordinance as Johnson suggested, he said. 

Wiza said the timing of such an order is also a question. He said the City Council isn't scheduled to meet until mid-April. 

Wiza said he's also concerned about whether the city could enforce such an order or if an ordinance would survive legal challenges.

"It is difficult for a city without a health department to put in a mask mandate and enforce it," Wiza said. 

The lawsuit that ended the governor's ability to issue further mask mandates came forward last October from prominent GOP donor and policy adviser Jeré Fabick, who is from the conservative Heartland Institute and lives in Waukesha County. Fabrick argued Evers could not issue consecutive emergency declarations because the pandemic was the same threat the state faced during the governor's first 60-day order. Fabrick also filed the original lawsuit that ended the governor's initial emergency order last spring.

Contact reporter Alan Hovorka at 715-345-2252 or ahovorka@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ajhovorka.