MADISON – The Wisconsin State Senate approved Senate Substitute Amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 1 on Tuesday, which included COVID-19 liability protections for businesses and other organizations. Following the passage of the bill, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) Executive Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley released the below statement:
“WMC commends the State Senate for passing a strong protection against frivolous COVID-19 lawsuits for businesses, churches, schools, colleges, universities, and local governments. Other states have enacted similar reforms on a bipartisan basis, and we are encouraged by the vote in the Senate today.
“As we have previously testified publicly, WMC also strongly supports the liability protections originally included in AB 1, and we appreciate the important work done by the State Assembly to elevate the importance of protecting Wisconsinites from predatory and frivolous lawsuits at a time when they can least afford it. We are confident that the amended language, although slightly different than the original language of the bill, will also achieve an incredibly high level of protection from costly and opportunistic lawsuits.
“Despite differences between the Senate and Assembly version of AB 1, we know that members in both houses support enactment of meaningful liability protections, and understand the importance of getting them done as soon as possible. We also appreciate that there are other reforms related to COVID-19 that are deserving of legislative debate and enactment. We look forward to working with legislators in both houses to advance additional policies related to COVID-19 in the very near future.”
