The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Wisconsin
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Wis. Stat. ch. 252, Communicable Diseases
- Effective
- standing
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureCapacity limitGathering capFace-covering requirementWorkplace rulesStanding duty
- Addressees
- local health officers (the duty); persons generally and all businesses within the officer's territory (the orders issued under it)
- Character
- statutory duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Wisconsin DUT-WI
Operative words
(1)... The local health officer shall promptly take all measures necessary to prevent, suppress and control communicable diseases... (2) Local health officers may do what is reasonable and necessary for the prevention and suppression of disease; may forbid public gatherings when deemed necessary to control outbreaks or epidemics and shall advise the department of measures taken.
Penalty
§ 252.25 (DUT-WI-004): 30 days / $500 for willful violation or obstruction of any county, city or village ordinance or order under the chapter; local ordinance forfeitures (Dane County Ordinance § 46.40; Madison Municipal Ordinance § 7.05(6)) recited in the Forward Dane orders (Ex. MET-MKE-006 § 9) and upheld in Becker (Ex. WI-024).
What it required
Every county and city health officer in Wisconsin was under a mandatory duty ('shall promptly take all measures necessary') to control COVID-19 and held the power to forbid public gatherings and to issue the orders that bound businesses and persons in Dane County, Milwaukee and every other jurisdiction through Q3 2021.
Retrieval noteBecker v. Dane County, 2022 WI 63 ¶ 2 (Ex. WI-024): 'we hold that Wis. Stat. § 252.03 grants local health officers the authority to issue orders'; 'no state law preempts Dane County Ordinance § 46.40'; the authority 'to issue enforceable public health orders pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 252.03' is constitutional. OAG-03-20 (DUT-WI-017) reached the same reading two days after Palm. James v. Heinrich, 2021 WI 58 (Ex. WI-023) removed school closures only.