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UW also has a right to weigh in on efforts to limit that authority.” UW has the authority and duty to protect its students, faculty, staff and the broader community. Legislation that has the potential to harm our entire state needs public input. “Legislators should deliberate and the public should be heard in important matters. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison), said in a statement. “This is another example of the GOP’s abuse of the administrative review process and their retreat from open government,” the Democrats, Sen. They also complained that the Republicans rushed to a remote vote without a public hearing on the issue. The four Democrats on the committee said the move was another example of Republicans being hostile to efforts to protect people from the deadly virus. “Today’s action feels like a political statement our focus is to ensure we are doing what needs to be done now to safely open for in-person teaching this fall,” UW System spokesman Mark Pitsch told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email. Yet, officials have spoken out against forcing policies into the rulemaking process so as to make sure campuses have every option available to them in the event of an outbreak once students return to campus in September. University officials have repeatedly insisted they do not intend to require students and faculty to get vaccinated - even though several private universities in Wisconsin and public university systems across the country and the Midwest have done so. The Republican move to force university COVID policies under the control of the committee’s rulemaking process also comes as the highly contagious delta variant of the virus spreads quickly through the state. Last year, campuses were able to keep down outbreaks of the virus through mask requirements and regular testing.
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The path forward in addressing Covid-19 is not through excessive government mandates, but in the restoration of Americans being able to make voluntary informed decisions based on their individual health circumstances.” “Government issued Covid-19 mandates and lockdowns have failed miserably in dealing with this virus.
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“Today, the legislature through JCRAR has told the UW System they can no longer ignore state law with regards to Covid-19 mandates impacting students and campus visitors,” Nass, who has been one of the Republican legislators most critical of both higher education and pandemic restrictions in the state, said in a statement. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), the UW System would have to seek approval from the committee, with 30 days advance notice, to institute COVID-related policies. Under the measure, which was introduced last week by Sen. The measure, which passed in a 6-4 vote that was held remotely, is meant to stop university administrators from requiring students or staff to wear a mask indoors, get vaccinated against the virus or take regular COVID-19 tests. Madison joins UW-Milwaukee, which announced last week that it would require masks indoors and weekly tests for the unvaccinated beginning Wednesday. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home public health order to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Republican-led Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) voted along party lines Tuesday to prevent officials at the University of Wisconsin System and its campuses from instituting measures to contain the COVID-19 virus.ĭemocrats and university officials denounced the move and legal experts say it may not even be effective.Īfter the vote on Tuesday, UW-Madison announced it would institute an indoor mask requirement starting Thursday. Echoing Republicans’ fight last year to overturn Gov.