Vos bill on COVID is somehow worse than the nothing GOPs have been doing

So after 7+ months of doing ZERO on Wisconsin's damaging COVID-19, Republicans in the Legislature claim they now have ideas. First came the Senate GOP's plans, announced by new Republican Leader Devin LeMaheiu.

“Due to judiciousbudgeting decisions, our state’s medical assistance (MA) fund maintains a significant surplus. DHS has the ability to submit arequest totheJoint Committee on Finance totransferthis surplus to an appropriation for the control and prevention of communicable diseases. These funds would then be available for immediate distributionto address the health and safety needs of state residents.

“Many Wisconsinites are feeling the effects ofthe pandemic. Atransfer of this surplus would allowthe executive branch, working in concert with the Legislature, to mobilize existing state funds to help those impacted andmaintain critical activities in the state’s response to COVID-19during this period of emergency.

“The Senate Republicans havediscussed the various proposals related to COVID-19, someof which involve new and significant state spending increases across a number of new and existing programs. Senate members have serious concerns relating to the most effective distribution of new state funding. The transfer of surplus funds presents an opportunity to act immediately andwork together with the Governor ona unified,effective response to our shared hardship.

LeMahieu is not incorrect that there are allegedly going to be Medicaid funds available for the state to use. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated 2 months ago that there would be $289 million in state tax dollars left over at the end of the 2021 Fiscal Year. Ironically, that's not because we're spending less on Medicaid in the COVID World - we're actually projected to spend more total dollars than what was budgeted - but because the Feds are picking up more of the costs due to CARES.

The problem is that this extra Medicaid funding from CARES expires at the end of this month, and if there isn't an extension coming out of DC, the state is set to take on a lot more of these costs. And there are a lot more Wisconsinites on Medicaid than there were 6 months ago.

Add in the fact that COVID looks much worse now than it did 2 months ago, and that businesses continue to shut down due to safety needs and a lack of demand, that number of Wisconsinites needing assistance might well continue to grow in 2021. Which means we might need to have that $289 million around for those services, instead of moving it around to try to handle COVID on the cheap.

It's a lame and short-sighted aproach by LeMahieu, but at least it's something. Not to be outdone, Assembly Speaker Robbin' Vos released the GOP's plans in his house, and let me give you a taste of that piece of crap.

Specify that any state employee in the executive branch, other than an employee of the UW System, who was holding a position with duties that were required to be performed at the offices of his or her place of employment with an agency on March 1, 2020, must return to and perform his or her duties at the offices of his or her place of employment with that agency by January 31, 2021. Provide that, until the Secretary of the Department of Administration (DOA) determines that a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, the requirement to return to work in person does not apply to a state employee who provides a written exemption from a physician or physician assistant licensed in the state. A state employee who receives such an exemption must return to work in person within 60 days after the Secretary of DOA determines that a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available.....

Require school boards to ensure that all hours of direct pupil instruction are provided by a teacher who is physically located in a school building, beginning on January 31, 2021, and ending on the last day of the 2020-21 school term. Specify that this provision would not apply to virtual charter schools. Specify that hours of direct pupil instruction may be provided by a teacher who is not physically located in a school building if the teacher submits to the school board a COVID-19-related written exemption from a physician or physician assistant licensed in the state. Specify that this exception would not apply 60 days after the DOA Secretary determines that a vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available in the state.

Require each school board to certify to DPI by March 5, 2021, whether or not the board complied with the above requirement during the period beginning on January 31, 2021, and ending on February 26, 2021. Provide that if a school board does not comply with the above requirement during that time period, DPI would be required to withhold the district's March, 2021, equalizationaid payment (25% of its total 2020-21 payment).

So we're back to screwing over state employees and teachers! And threatening to cut funds to public schools if they don't feel like endangering their workers and students by having them in the classroom by the end of January. Just like a classy small-gvoernment conservative, right Robbin'?

And while there is ZERO money in the Assembly GOP's bill set aside for dealing with COVID, there are several items that are intended to stop Evers from spending additional money to deal with the pandemic. It even allows the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee to raid funds from other programs, if they choose.

Allow the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) to transfer up to $100 million from sum sufficient appropriations until the earlier of the conclusion of a national emergency declared by the U.S. President in response to the COVID pandemic, or June 30, 2021. Transferred funds could be used for expenditures related to the public health emergency

Require the Governor, no later than December 16, 2020, to require state agencies in the executive branch to lapse or transfer to the general fund from GPR and PR appropriations at least $301.5 million for 2020-21. In addition, no later than December 31, 2020, require the Governor to submit a report to the Joint Committee on Finance identifying the state agencies and the appropriations from which the lapses and transfers are to be made. Require the Committee to ensure that the lapses and transfers are reflected in any summary of appropriations for the 2020-21 fiscal year. In September of 2020, the Governor announced agency budget reduction targets of $301.5 million in 2020-21....

Specify that, upon receipt of federal funds related to COVID-19, the Governor must submit a plan or plans to the Joint Committee on Finance for expenditure of those funds. After receiving the plan(s), the Committee's Co-chairs may direct the Governor to implement the plan(s) as submitted. Or, the Co-chairs may convene a meeting of the Committee within 14 days after submittal of the plan(s) to approve or modify and approve the plan(s). The Governor shall implement the plan(s) as approved by the Committee.

If an expenditure in the approved plan(s) cannot be completed on a timely basis, or if federal funds cannot be expended as proposed in the plan(s), the Governor shall resubmit a revised plan(s) for approval under the process described above.

And are there provisions that protect employers from liability if they shove workers back into dangerous situations? OF COURSE THERE ARE! Are there pathetic cheap shots at the Department of Workforce Development demanding that they relieve the backlog of (the still-large amount of) unemployment claims, without giving any resources or lessening the red tape that DWD and applicants have to deal with? DAMN STRAIGHT!

There are a few items in there that go along with Governor Evers' proposal, but it's buried by so much of this petty, regressive garbage that Evers will have no choice but to veto it if it reaches his desk. And then GOPs will cynicially claim "see, Evers won't work with us" and figure enough rubes will go along with it.

Which is why Evers and other Wisconsin Dems need to be out in public NOW and every day, calling out WisGOP for not being serious, and exposing just how much of this pointless, hurtful crap is in the Assembly GOP bill. This is not a "both sides" situation - only Dems are realistically trying to control and battle COVID in Wisconsin. But given that WisGOPs refuse to be serious, we are now in a PR war on this issue for the coming weeks and months.

If Evers and other WisDems don't fight back and blister the GOPs for their dereliction of duty, too many casual voters will not know the difference, this state will continue to stagnate, and Evers and other Dems are in real danger of getting blamed for that stagnation in 2022. That would be a disaster for Wisconsin, and I don't want to live through that wreckage. So GET TO WORK.