This procedure provides small businesses (farms) with a means to receive adequate drainage for their land which may be crucial to maximum crop production.
Assessing Benefits to Landowners in Drainage Districts
The rule revisions regarding the assessment of benefits will be beneficial to small business (farmers) for the following three reasons:
First, farmland that is in district corridors and not being cropped will not be assessed.
Second, the farmer may be assessed at a lower rate if the county drainage board decides to base their assessment on current use instead of potential use.
Third, the assessment of benefits will be more equitable for all landowners since the county drainage board must also consider the depth of the water table for future assessments.
Recordkeeping
The rule revision will not impose any new recordkeeping requirements on small businesses.
Professional Skills Required to Comply
Small businesses will not need to acquire or retain additional professional skills or services to comply with the rule revisions.
Summary of Comments from Legislative Committees:
On March 30, 1999, this department transmitted the above rule revisions for legislative committee review. On March 31, 1999, the rule revisions were assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources, and Campaign Finance Reform, and on April 9, 1999, the rule revisions were assigned to the Assembly Committee on Agriculture. The Assembly Committee on Agriculture did not take any action on the rule revisions during its review period. However, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources, and Campaign Finance Reform held a hearing on the rule revisions on May 12, 1999. No changes were made as a result of the hearing. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources, and Campaign Finance Reform approved the rule revisions during an executive session on May 19, 1999.
2.
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
(CR 98-159)
Ch. ATCP 139 - Safety standards for children's bicycle helmets and drawstrings in children's clothing.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
Consumer Product Safety
ATCP 139.05, Wis. Adm. Code, currently prohibits from sale in Wisconsin certain types of toys and other articles intended for use by children which present a mechanical hazard and an unreasonable risk of personal injury or illness. The rule lists products such as toys with small components which may be ingested or sharp protrusions which may cause lacerations and finds that the public health and safety can be protected only by keeping these products out of the channels of commerce. The proposed rule will add two items to this list of products, children's bicycle helmets which do not meet the federal safety standards and certain kinds of children's clothing, sizes 0 to 16, with drawstrings.
It is foreseen that the impact of these amendments will have little or no effect on small businesses in regard to the sale of bicycle helmets and children's clothing without drawstrings.
Children's Bicycle Helmets
Under the Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act of 1994, the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a safety standard that requires all bicycle helmets to meet impact-attenuation and other safety requirements. The standard includes requirements specifically applicable to children's helmets and requirements to prevent children's helmets from coming off during an accident.
The federal rule was effective March 10, 1999, and applies to bicycle helmets manufactured after that date. Interim mandatory standards went into effect in 1995, and applied to bicycle helmets manufactured from 1995 until March 10, 1999, inclusive. Firms have the option of marketing and selling helmets meeting the new standard before its effective date.
The federal rule was announced in 1998 to give small businesses adequate time to adjust their inventories and prepare to purchase new products. Since the new standard allows for the continued sale of inventory manufactured prior to March 1999, which meets the 1995 safety standards, there will be no impact on small businesses as they deplete existing inventory. Adopting this federal standard into law in the Wisconsin Administrative Code will incorporate all applicable dates for sale of new and old inventory and harmonize state and federal law.
Drawstrings on Children's Clothing
In 1996, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued guidelines to help prevent children from being strangled by or getting entangled in drawstrings. These guidelines recommend that manufacturers and retailers provide clothing with alternative closures, such as snaps, buttons, velcro and elastic, rather than drawstrings. CPSC also recommended that consumers purchase children's clothing with these alternative closures and remove all drawstrings from children's clothing already in their possession.
The proposed amendment will ban the sale of children's clothing, sized 0 to 16, manufactured after January 1, 2000, that has drawstrings on the neck area and children's outerwear with drawstrings, unless the garment meets the CPSC standards for drawstrings on children's outerwear. Because the majority of manufacturers and retailers have been following the CPSC guidelines voluntarily, these proposed rules should have no significant impact on small business in Wisconsin.
Since 1985, there have been 20 deaths and 43 injuries to children involving drawstrings. Because drawstrings on children's clothing are a hidden hazard that can lead to deaths and injuries, the interest of public safety far outweighs any potential cost to small businesses as a result of the proposed rule.
Based on the information above, the proposed rules are not expected to have a significant adverse impact on small businesses.
Summary of Comments from Legislative Committees:
On May 3, 1999, this department transmitted the above rule for legislative committee review. On May 5, 1999, this rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Consumer Affairs. On May 11, 1999, the rule was assigned to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Affairs. The committee review period expired on June 11, 1999. No action was taken during the review period by the committees.
Ch. Comm 10 - Flammable and combustible liquids.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
The rule provision contains no required reporting requirements. Rather, the rule sets a process by which the agency takes enforcement actions. The rule simplifies and streamlines the enforcement process by eliminating a number of steps and re-inspections that would otherwise be required. Less stringent enforcement actions are not provided in the rule because it is an implementation of federal EPA requirements, which the agency does not have the authority to modify.
The rule provision was not the subject of extensive comment by the regulated community. The trade and industry associations support the overall enforcement process. To the extent that issues exist, it has been on the overall code element that is being enforced which does impact businesses. The overarching code requirement, however, is set by the EPA and simply incorporated as required into state rules.
Summary of Comments from Legislative Standing Committees:
The rules were reviewed by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance Reform. No comments were received.
Ch. Comm 113 - Allocation of volume cap on tax-exempt private activity bonds.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
Section Comm 113.06 requires applications to be submitted with a fee for economic development bonds. The fees are based on a sliding scale and recognize smaller economic bonds from larger ones. No issues were raised by small business at hearings, nor were any comments received during the open comment period.
Summary of Comments of Legislative Standing Committees
The rules were reviewed by the Assembly Committee on Small Business and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Labor. No comments were received.
S. ElBd 6.05 - Filing campaign finance reports in electronic format.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
The proposed rule order does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
6.
Financial Institutions-Banking
(CR 99-58)
Ch. DFI-Bkg 4 - Investments in time deposits and certificates of deposits.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These proposed rules will not have an adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
7.
Financial Institutions-Banking
(CR 99-59)
DFI-Bkg 6 - Aggregate investments in bonds and certain other securities.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These proposed rules will not have an adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
8.
Financial Institutions-Banking
(CR 99-60)
Ch. DFI-Bkg 7 - Real estate mortgage loans.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These proposed rules will not have an adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
9.
Financial Institutions - Securities
(CR 99-61)
S. DFI-Sec 2.01 (1) (c)6 & (d)6. - Designating an alternative accounting guideline for the preparation of financial statements for Wisconsin and other state and local governmental issuers of securities utilizing the securities registration exemption in s. 551.22 (1)(a), Stats.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
No final regulatory flexibility analysis is included because the rules relate solely to municipal/governmental securities issuers and do not impact small businesses.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
10. Health & Family Service
(CR 99-4)
SS. HFS 119.07 (6)(b) (intro.) and Medicare Plan tables and 119.15 - Operation of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP)
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These rules will not affect small businesses as “small business” is defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. Although the program statutes and rules provide for assessment of insurers to help finance HIRSP, no assessed insurer is a small business as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. Moreover, s. 149.143, Stats., prescribes how the amount of total insurer assessments to help finance HIRSP is determined.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
S. NR 10.40(5) — Turkey hunting by the disabled.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
This rule relates to turkey hunting opportunities for the disabled. The rule does not regulate businesses. Therefore, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
The proposed rules were reviewed by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance Reform. There were no comments.
S. PD 1.04 - Certification criteria.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These proposed rules will not have an adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
