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The idea of a so-called vaccine passport to attend professional basketballgames orbook a cruise vacation is being embraced in some areas of the country and abroad.(Photo: Getty)

MADISON Two Republican lawmakers want to bar private businesses and the Evers administration from requiring Wisconsinites to show they are vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state searches for a post-pandemic life.

The idea of a so-called vaccine passport to attend professional basketballgames orbook a cruise vacation without fear of creating a COVID-19 outbreakis being embraced in some areas of the country and abroad.

Rep. Gae Magnafici of Dresser and Sen. Rob Stafsholt of New Richmond are proposing legislationthat aims to prevent such a program to be implemented in Wisconsin by barring government officials and business owners from discriminating based on whether they havereceived a vaccine against COVID-19, or areable to show proof of being vaccinated.

"This legislation is not about whether people should get the vaccine. Anyone that wants to get vaccinatedshould get vaccinated," Stafsholt wrote in a memo to colleagues on Thursday seeking support for the legislation. "This legislation is about preventing government overreach."

"When the panic over COVID-19 fades away, people are going to begin to return to normal life. As a way to make their patrons feel 'safe,'some businesses will begin to discriminate against those who have not or cannot be vaccinated by requiring proof of vaccination," Magnafici said in a separate memo.

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Gae Magnafici (R - Dresser)(Photo: Wisconsineye Live Stream)

New Yorkers began using a first-in-the-nation taxpayer-fundedapp this week called the Excelsior Pass that will be accepted at large-scale venues like Madison Square Garden and other entertainment venues.The app is free to businesses and anyone with vaccination records or test results in New York.

Wisconsin-based Epic Systems, Mayo Clinic, Microsoft and other private and public organizations created a coalition called the Vaccine Credential Initiative, which would help create a digital record of vaccination status and produce a set of guidelines that a company or nonprofit could use to create a digital vaccine passport.

"Individuals can then use those verifiable credentials for medical purposes and to demonstrate their health status to safely return to work, school, travel and life," the coalition said on its website.

State Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, is shown during the state Senate session Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at the Capitol in Madison, Wis.(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Aides to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who control which legislation moves forward, did not immediately say whether they supported the ideas. A spokeswoman for Evers also did not immediately say whether Evers would sign the bills if they made it to his desk.

Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, said a debate over vaccine passports is premature because Israel is the only country seriously looking at a widespread program.

Sheehy said the idea raises many questions that deal with privacy, medical records and efficacy.

"The current (paper) cards have only a signature but nothing else to verify. So I dont think a 'vaccine passport'is on the front burner for businesses and their employees or customers," Sheehy said.

Amy Fairchild, a historian and ethicist at Ohio State University, said the biggest challenges with the idea of a digital vaccine passport will be cultural, not technological.

She said just as many Americans have resisted wearing masks during the pandemic, some will reject the idea of showing proof of vaccinationsto get into a ballgame orsee a concert.

Wisconsin lawmakers have been divided along party lines for a year over whether health officials and business owners should require face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, previewing what kind of fight could emerge if the same kind of requirements appeared forvaccinations.

Karen Weintraub and Elizabeth Weise ofUSA TODAY contributed to this report.

You can find out who your legislators are and how to contact them here.

Contact Molly Beckat molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.

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