1999 Wis. Act 11 provides that the years of creditable military service for which a participant is eligible based on the creditable service performed before January 1, 2000 shall be considered to be performed before that date. The proposed rule would further clarify that the years of military service that are considered to be performed before January 1, 2000 are the years for which the participant would be eligible if the participant would not accrue any additional service after January 1, 2000, except that if after January 1, 2000 the participant purchases creditable service that is considered to be performed before January 1, 2000, those years of “pre-2000" service are treated as “pre-2000" years of service and may increase the years of creditable military service that are considered to be performed before January 1, 2000. The proposed rule would also clarify that assumed creditable service used to calculate a Wisconsin Retirement System disability benefit that is calculated through December 31, 1999 is considered to be performed before January 1, 2000.
The rule would also clarify that the percentage of the participant's account awarded to an alternate payee in a qualified domestic relations order shall apply equally to the participant's years of creditable service that is considered to be performed before January 1, 2000 and the years of service considered to be performed on or after January 1, 2000 that date that is credited or creditable to the participant's account as of the decree date. The creditable military service credited to the alternate payee's account is that is considered to be performed either before January 1, 2000 or performed on or after that date is based on the creditable military service for which the participant would be eligible based solely on the participant's years of service that are credited or creditable to the participant's account as of the decree date.
Finally, the rule specifies the treatment of creditable service for the purpose of determining the applicable percentage rate used to calculate Wisconsin Retirement System benefits after a participant's account is reestablished after a disability or retirement annuity is terminated.
Fiscal Estimate
The rule has no fiscal impact on county, city, village, town, school district, technical college district and sewerage district fiscal liabilities and revenues. This rule itself has no anticipated state fiscal effect during the current biennium and no future effect on state funds, which do not include the Public Employe Trust Funds. The costs of implementing an April 1, 2000 distribution to annuitants of funds transferred into the annuity reserve by the special TAA transfer mandated in this legislation was incorporated into the fiscal effect prepared for 1999 Assembly Bill 495. However, if the payment of the special dividend resulting from the extraordinary transfer from the TAA was to be delayed after April 1, 2000 – for example because of an injunction or court action, then previously unanticipated costs in distributing these funds will arise. If the distribution survives review by the courts, then additional payments would be owed to annuitants, some of whom may have died in the interim. DETF anticipates at least some administrative costs in locating, notifying and processing claims by estates or heirs of deceased annuitants, similar to the costs incurred in making the distribution required by the Supreme Court in WRTA v. Employe Trust Funds Board, 207 Wis. 2d 1, 558 N.W.2d 83 (1997). The exact amount of these costs will depend, in large part, on how long the litigation over this legislation remains before the courts and the mortality experience among the affected annuitants during the period.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The Department anticipates that the provisions of this proposed rule will have no direct adverse effect on small businesses.
Copies of Rule and Contact Persons
Copies of this rule are available without cost by making a request to the Department of Employe Trust Funds, Office of the Secretary, P.O. Box 7931, Madison, Wisconsin 53707, telephone (608) 266-1071. For questions about this rule making, please call Linda Owen, Policy Analyst for the Division of Retirement Services, at (608) 266-8164.
Notice of Hearing
Employe Trust Funds
The Wisconsin Department of Employe Trust Funds will hold a public hearing to review the proposed rule, which renumbers s. ETF 10.35 and repeals and recreates s. ETF 10.31, Wis. Adm. Code, relating participation in the variable trust fund in accordance with the provisions of s. 227.16 (1), Stats. The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 29, 2000 at 9:00 a.m. at the Department of Employe Trust Funds, Room 2B, 801 West Badger Road, Madison, Wisconsin.
The public record on the emergency rule will be held open until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 2000 to permit the submission of written comments from persons unable to attend the public hearing in person, or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. Any such written comments should be addressed to Shelly Schueller, Department of Employe Trust Funds, 801 West Badger Road, P.O. Box 7931, Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7931.
Analysis Prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Employe Trust Funds
Authority for Rule: s. 40.03 (2) (i)
Section 40.04 (7) (a), Stats., closed the Variable Trust Fund to new enrollments effective April 29, 1980. Participants who elected to join the Variable Trust prior to that date remain in the program unless they elect to cancel their participation. Once a participant has cancelled participation in the Variable Trust Fund, until 1999 WA 11 is enacted there is no opportunity to re-elect variable participation.
Section 14 of 1999 Wis. Act 11 amended s. 40.04 (7) (a), Stats., to permit all participating employes on or after 1/1/2001 to elect to have 50% of their future and additional contributions deposited in the Variable Trust Fund. 1999 WA 11 also permits former Variable Trust Fund participants who have cancelled their original variable participation to re-enroll. The new election would apply only to future employe, employer and additional contributions; participants would not be eligible to transfer contributions balances into the Variable Trust Fund.
Conditional upon 1999 WA 11 withstanding review by the courts, s. ETF 10.31 must be revised to clarify when and how a participant may elect to participate in the Variable Trust and to cancel variable participation, the effective date of such an election, and the irrevocability of an election once received by the Department. Under the proposed rule revision, an election to participate in the Variable Trust Fund would be effective on January 1 of the year after the year in which the Department receives such an election, and would first apply to contributions for the year in which the election is effective. Any participating employe who participates in the Variable Trust Fund (including participants who are already Variable Trust Fund participants based on an election prior to April 29, 1980) would have one opportunity to cancel their Variable Trust Fund participation, and once they elect to cancel their participation, there would be no opportunity to re-enroll unless the participant closes his or her WRS account by withdrawing his or her account balance and is no longer a participant, then returns to work for a WRS participating employer and again becomes a participating employe.
Initial Fiscal Estimate
The rule has no fiscal impact on county, city, village, town, school district, technical college district and sewerage district fiscal liabilities and revenues. This rule itself has no anticipated state fiscal effect during the current biennium and no future effect on state funds, which do not include the Public Employe Trust Funds.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The Department anticipates that the provisions of this rule will have no direct adverse effect on small businesses.
Copies of Rule and Contact Persons
Copies of this rule are available without cost by making a request to the Department of Employe Trust Funds, Office of the Secretary, P.O. Box 7931, Madison, Wisconsin 53707, telephone (608) 266-1071. For questions about this rule making, please call Shelly Schueller, Policy Analyst for the Division of Retirement Services, at (608) 266-6611.
Notice of Hearings
Public Instruction
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to ss. 115.366 (2) and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., and interpreting s. 115.366, Stats., the department of public instruction will hold public hearings as follows to consider emergency and proposed permanent rules, relating to alternative education grants. Emergency rules were promulgated by the department effective January 28, 2000. The hearings will be held as follows:
Hearing Information
March 9, 2000 Fennimore
Thursday CESA 3
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. 1300 Industrial Drive
Conference Room
March 14, 2000 Gillett
Tuesday CESA 8
5:30 – 7:00 p.m. 223 West Park Street
Birch Room
March 15, 2000 Chippewa Falls
Wednesday CESA 10
5:30 – 7:00 p.m. 725 West Park Avenue
Room 1
The hearing sites are fully accessible to people with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation to access any meeting, please call Larry Allen, Director, Education Options, at (608) 267-2402, or leave a message with the Teletypewriter (TTY) at (608) 267-2427 at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Reasonable accommodation includes materials prepared in an alternative format, as provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Copies of Rule and Contact Person
A copy of the proposed rule and the fiscal estimate may be obtained by sending an email request to
lori.slauson@dpi.state.wi.us or by writing to:
Lori Slauson
Administrative Rules &
Federal Grants Coordinator
Department of Public Instruction
125 South Webster Street
P.O. Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707
Written comments on the proposed rules received by Ms. Slauson at the above address no later than March 20, 2000, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing. Comments submitted via email will not be accepted as formal testimony.
Analysis by the Department of Public Instruction
1999 Wis. Act 9 created an alternative education grant program under s. 115.366, Stats.. The Act also requires the department to promulgate rules to administer the program and to define alternative education programs to be funded.
In compliance with the Act, the proposed rules establish criteria and procedures for awarding alternative education program grants. The definition of an alternative education program reflects the statutory definition of alternative education programs under s. 115.28 (7) (e), Stats.
The Act appropriated $5,000,000 for the 2000-2001 school year. The department will annually submit to school districts application materials specifying funding limits and eligibility criteria. For the upcoming school year, the department will send grant application materials to school districts in January. Grant applications must be returned to the department in the spring of 2000 and grants will be awarded prior to July 1, 2000.
Grants will be awarded for a 5 year period (100% for the first 3 years, 60% for the 4th year, 40% for the 5
th year). Grant recipients: 1) may not use these funds to supplant alternative education program funding received from other local, state or federal sources, and 2) shall agree to participate in any state level evaluations of the program as required by the state superintendent.
Fiscal Estimate
Under s. 20.255 (2) (cf), Stats., 1999 Wisconsin Act 9 appropriated $5,000,000 for the department to award grants to school districts and consortia of schools districts for alternative education programs, as defined by the department by rule. As required by the Act, the rule defines alternative education program and establishes criteria and procedures for awarding alternative education program grants. The rules will have no fiscal effect on local governments or small businesses.
Since the Act did not allocate staff resources to administer the program, the department is reallocating limited state and federal funds for this purpose.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The proposed rules are not anticipated to have a fiscal effect on small businesses as defined under s. 227.114(1)(a), Stats.
Notice of Hearing
Public Instruction
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to ss. 43.24 (1) (b) and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., and interpreting s. 43.24 (1), Stats., the department of public instruction will hold a public hearing as follows to consider emergency and proposed permanent rules, relating to public library system aid payment adjustments. Emergency rules will be promulgated by the department in March 2000. The hearing will be held as follows:
Hearing Information
April 4, 2000 Madison
Tuesday GEF 3 Building
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. 125 South Webster St.
Room 041
The hearing site is fully accessible to people with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation to access any meeting, please call Larry Nix, Director, Public Library Development, at (608) 266-7270 or leave a message with the Teletypewriter (TTY) at (608) 267-2427 at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Reasonable accommodation includes materials prepared in an alternative format, as provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Copies of Rule and Contact Person
A copy of the proposed rule and the fiscal estimate may be obtained by sending an email request to
lori.slauson@dpi.state.wi.us or by writing to:
Lori Slauson
Administrative Rules &
Federal Grants Coordinator
Department of Public Instruction
125 South Webster Street
