Republican lawmakers seek to curb local control over COVID-19 health orders
By Tessa Weinberg
Local control.
On Wednesday, a Missouri Senate committee debated a slew of bills filed by Republican lawmakers that aim to strip local authority from city and county officials and health boards during states of emergency.
Some bills would limit how often local public health orders and regulations can be implemented, including no more than a cumulative 30 days every 60 days or 14 days in a two-year period, unless approved by the legislature. Others would impose a 30-day comment period on such orders and require they be approved by local officials. Some would limit restrictions on the free exercise of religion.
Email I became a lightning rod : Wisconsin health officers have been vilified and threatened during COVID-19, and some have quit
Madeline Heim and Mary Spicuzza, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Published
6:27 pm UTC Dec. 15, 2020
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A protester outside the Sheboygan County Courthouse in September shares a common criticism of public health officers: that by trying to regulate people s behavior to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they re overstepping their charge.
Gary Klein/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
As the coronavirus pandemic was first hitting Wisconsin in early spring, Tim Lawther issued a press release he hoped would help his community understand the risk of contracting the disease.