Government Affairs
LEGISLATURE APPROVES COVID-19 RELIEF BILL IN HISTORIC VIRTUAL SESSION The Wisconsin Legislature made history when it convened for the first time ever in a virtual session to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The Assembly met in Extraordinary session and passed Assembly Bill 1038 (AB-1038) on a 97-2 vote. The Senate quickly convened the following day in virtual session and passed the bill unanimously on a 32-0 vote. Within hours, Governor Evers signed the bill into law as 2019 WI Act 185. These are unusual times and the virtual session was an incredibly surreal experience for many of us who have worked in and around the State Capitol. Some legislators voted through a virtual connection from their homes in their legislative districts, while other members voted either from the Assembly chambers or their capitol offices with staff to help them work their computers. Nonetheless, the virtual session ran surprisingly well in both houses considering this was the first time ever in the history of the state Legislature to conduct a virtual session. Governor Evers has already called on the Legislature to pass additional measures and both Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have since indicated they will likely need to reconvene in order to address the growing budget shortfall as a result of the state taking in drastically less revenues than projected.
and ending 30 days after the termination of the order, is presumed to be caused by the individual’s employment. The bill defines “first responder” to mean an employee of, or volunteer for, an employer that provides firefighting, law enforcement, those providing medical treatment of COVID-19, and who has regular, direct contact with, or is regularly in close proximity to, patients or other members of the public requiring emergency services, within the scope of the individual’s work for the employer. The presumption requires a diagnosis or positive test for COVID-19, the employee must have been exposed to persons with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the course of employment, and that the presumption may be rebutted by specific evidence that the injury was caused outside of employment.
Tax Conformity for Small Business Loans The bill conforms state law to federal law regarding the tax treatment of paycheck protection program loans to small businesses under the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantee program from February 15, 2020 through June 30, 2020. A portion of the loans may be forgiven on a tax-free basis under certain conditions. IIAW worked with organizations representing small employers, CPAs and lenders as part of a coalition to advocate for language in the bill to ensure small business customers were not inadvertently taxed at the state level for utilizing the federal loan program. Civil Liability Immunity
The COVID-19 Relief Bill that was signed into law includes implications for worker’s compensation insurance, tax conformity on small business loans, and civil immunity for certain health and business sectors, to name a few.
Worker’s Compensation Presumptive Liability For COVID-19 Injuries The bill provides that, for the purposes of worker’s compensation, an injury caused to a “first responder”, during any public health emergency declared by the Governor on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72
The bill also provides liability protections for health care workers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, charitable organizations, and a limited liability provision for manufacturers that provide supplies and medical equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the bill exempts manufacturer s, distributors and sellers of emergency medical supplies and equipment that donate or sell their product to be exempt from civil liability. Entities would be exempt from civil liability only if the product were sold or donated at a price that does not exceed the cost of production. The bill also creates liability protections for health care professionals acting to address COVID-19 during the public health emergency and 60 days following the end of the emergency order.
>M isha Lee IIAW Lobbyist
wisconsin wisconsin INDEPENDENT AGENT INDEPENDENT AGENT
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