Register

The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule relating to fees required of agent cities and counties that license and inspect retail food establishments. The hearing will be held at the time and place shown below. The public is invited to attend the hearing and make comments on the proposed rule. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until January 26, 2001, for additional written comments.

A copy of this rule may be obtained free of charge, from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, or by calling [phone]. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.

An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by Monday, January 13, 2001, either in writing to Debbie Mazanec, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, [phone], or by contacting the message relay system (TTY) at [phone] to forward your call to the department at [phone]. Handicap access is available at the hearing.

One hearing is scheduled:

Wednesday, January 17, 2001, 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Prairie Oak State Office Building, Room 472

2811 Agriculture Drive

Madison WI 53718

Handicapped accessible

Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Statutory authority: ss. 93.07 (1), 97.41 (2) and 97.41 (5)

Statute interpreted: s. 97.41 (5)

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (“DATCP") licenses and inspects retail food establishments under s. 97.30, Stats. Under s. 97.41, Stats., DATCP may enter into an agreement with a city or county, under which the city or county licenses and inspects retail food establishments as DATCP's local agent. DATCP monitors, trains and assists the local agent. From the license fees it collects, the local agent must pay DATCP an annual fee to cover DATCP's costs. DATCP sets the fee by rule.

Under current rules, a local agent must pay DATCP an annual fee for each locally licensed retail food establishment that is equal to 20% of the license fee DATCP would charge if DATCP licensed the establishment directly. Effective February 1, 1998, DATCP increased license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses. The fee increase resulted, in part, from a legislative budget change that required DATCP to recover 60% (rather than 50%) of its food safety program costs from license fees. The fee change approximately doubled DATCP's license fees, increasing the maximum retail food license fee from $210 to $450 and the minimum fee from $42 to $90.

As an indirect consequence of DATCP's 1998 license fee increase, local agents were also required to pay increased fees to DATCP beginning with the license year ending June 30, 2000. Because local agents were required to pay 20% of the increased license fee amounts, their fee obligations to DATCP effectively doubled. This projected fee increase exceeded DATCP's needs and burdened local agents.

DATCP adopted an emergency rule to ease this fee burden for the license year ending June 30, 2000. The emergency rule temporarily reduced the local agents' percentage fee payment from 20% to 10%. This rule “permanently reduces the local agents' percentage fee payment from 20% to 10%.

Fiscal Estimate

DATCP licenses and inspects retail food establishments under s. 97.30, Stats. Under s. 97.41, Stats., DATCP may enter into an agreement with a city or county, under which the city or county licenses and inspects retail food establishments for DATCP. DATCP monitors and assists the agent city or county. From the license fees that it collects, an agent city or county must pay DATCP an annual fee to cover DATCP's cost. Under current rules, an agent city or county must pay DATCP an annual fee for each retail food establishment that is equal to 20% of the license fee that DATCP would charge if DATCP licensed the establishment directly. This percentage rate has been in effect since the agent program was established.

DATCP, by rule, establishes state license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses directly. An agent city or county may charge a license fee that differs from the state license fee established by DATCP.

Effective February 1, 1998, DATCP by rule increased license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses. The fee increase was caused, in part, by a legislative budget change that required DATCP to recover 60% (rather than 50%) of its program costs from license fees. The fee change approximately doubled DATCP license fees, increasing the maximum retail food license fee from $210 to $450 and the minimum fee from $42 to $90.

DATCP's 1998 license fee increase incidentally increases the annual fees that agent cities are required to pay to DATCP, beginning with the license year ending June 30, 2000. As a result of DATCP's license fee increase, agent cities and counties are required to pay DATCP 20% of the increased license fee amounts. This effectively doubles city and county fee payments to DATCP and may impose a serious financial burden on city and county governments. The increased fee payments also would exceed the amounts needed to cover DATCP costs under agent city and agent county agreements.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

The modifications to s. ATCP 74.08(1), Wis. Adm. Code (Retail Food Establishment; Local Government Regulation) will help small businesses. There are 23 agents and approximately 3,600 retail food establishments that are part of the department's agent retail food establishment licensing and inspection program. Chapter ATCP 74, Wis. Adm. Code, gives the city and county governments jurisdiction to license and inspect these establishments. The cities and counties also have the right to charge their own fees based on the costs of their programs.

Section ATCP 74.08 (1), Wis. Adm. Code requires the local governments to pay the department a 20% reimbursement based on the fees charged in s. ATCP 75.015 (2m) Wis. Adm. Code. When the department increases its fees, this causes the local governments to increase their fees. Those actions increase the fees charged to the retail food establishments.

The proposed change to s. ATCP 74.08 (1) Wis. Adm. Code, will lower the required reimbursement rate for the retail agent program from 20% to 10% of the fees charged in s. ATCP 75.015 (2m). This will eliminate the increase in reimbursement costs for the local governments, which resulted from the department's last increase in license fees. This will, in turn, reduce the need for county and local governments to increase license fees for retail food establishments.

Notice of Hearing

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(reprinted from 12/31/00 Wis. Adm. Register)

The state of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule (proposed ch. ATCP 161, subch. III, Wis. Adm. Code) relating to annual grants to ethanol producers. The hearing will be held:

Wednesday, January 24, 2001, 1:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Board Room (SR-106)

2811 Agriculture Drive

Madison, WI 53718-6777

The public is invited to attend the hearing and make comments on the proposed rule. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until January 31, 2001, for additional written comments.

A copy of this rule may be obtained free of charge, from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708 or by calling [phone]. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.

An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this public hearing. Please make reservations for the hearing interpreter by January 3, 2001 either by writing to Kevin LeRoy, Division of Trade and Consumer Protection, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708, (608/224-4928), or TDD at (608/224-5058). Handicap access is available at the hearing.

Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Statutory authority: ss. 93.07(1) and 93.75(3)

Statutes interpreted: s. 93.75

The legislature, in 1999 Wisconsin Act 55, created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Stats. The legislature authorized the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection (DATCP) to make grants to ethanol producers in this state. The legislature has not yet provided any funding for the grant program. This rule implements the grant program, subject to legislative funding. The ethanol grant program is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2006.

Statutory Requirements

To be eligible for a grant under s. 93.75, Stats., an ethanol producer must produce at least 10 million gallons of ethanol in a 12-month period unless DATCP specifies a different amount by rule. The ethanol producer must also purchase commodity inputs from “local sources" as defined by DATCP rule.

Under s. 93.75, Stats., an ethanol producer is eligible for grant payments during the first 60 months of ethanol production. Subject to available funding, the legislature directed DATCP to pay 20 cents per gallon for up to 15 million gallons of eligible ethanol production per 12-month period. DATCP must adopt rules to prorate grant payments if there are not enough funds to pay all ethanol producers at the authorized statutory rate.

Rule Contents

Annual Grants to Ethanol Producers

Under this rule, an ethanol producer may apply by April 1 of each year to receive an ethanol production grant for any consecutive 12-month period ending within a year prior to that April 1. (The applicant chooses the consecutive 12-month period.) Subject to available funding, DATCP will award to each eligible applicant a grant of 20 cents per gallon for up to 15 million gallons of “eligible ethanol" produced during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.

Eligible Producer

An ethanol producer is eligible for an annual grant if all the following apply:

•   The producer produced at least 10 million gallons of “eligible ethanol" during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.

•   DATCP has not previously awarded a grant to the ethanol producer for ethanol produced during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.

•   The ethanol producer first began producing ethanol in this state not more than 60 months prior to the end of consecutive 12-month period identified in the grant application.

Eligible Ethanol

Under this rule, DATCP will make grant payments only for “eligible ethanol" production. “Eligible ethanol" means ethanol that the ethanol producer produces in this state from commodities purchased from local sources. A “commodity" includes grain and other starch or sugar crops. A “commodity purchased from a local source" means any of the following:

•   A commodity that the ethanol producer purchases from a person who grew that commodity in this state.

•   Grain that the ethanol producer purchases from a grain dealer and receives directly from a grain facility located in this state.

Grant Application

An ethanol producer must submit a grant application in writing, on a form provided by DATCP. The application must specify all the following:

•   The consecutive 12-month period for which the applicant seeks a grant.

•   The total gallons of “eligible ethanol" that the applicant produced during that consecutive 12-month period.

•   The name and address of each supplier from whom the applicant purchased a commodity used to produce the “eligible ethanol." The applicant must identify the type and amount of each commodity purchased from each supplier. If the applicant purchased grain from a grain dealer, the applicant must give the address of the grain facility from which the grain dealer shipped that grain to the applicant.

•   The applicant's federal tax identification number.

•   The date on which the applicant first produced ethanol in this state.

•   Any other information required by DATCP.

DATCP Action on Grant Applications

DATCP must award grants by June 1 of each year, and must make grant payments by June 30 (the end of the state fiscal year). If DATCP denies a grant application, or awards a smaller prorated amount (see below), DATCP must explain its action in writing.

DATCP may require an applicant to provide additional information, and may deny a grant application if the applicant fails to honor DATCP's reasonable request for relevant information. DATCP may exercise its authority under ch. 93, Stats., to verify a grant application, or to verify the applicant's eligibility for a grant.

DATCP may deny a grant application, or recover grant payments made to an applicant, if DATCP finds that the applicant has materially misrepresented any information related to a grant application.

Prorating payments

Under this rule, if grant awards in any state fiscal year exceed the grant funds appropriated for that fiscal year, DATCP must prorate grant awards based on each applicant's eligible ethanol production during the consecutive 12-month period identified in the applicant's grant application. An ethanol producer who receives a pro-rated grant may not apply for the balance of that grant in the next fiscal year.

Fiscal Estimate

This proposed rule was initiated when the legislature passed 1999 Wis. Act 55. This act created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Wis. Stats. Under this program, the department is authorized to make grants to certain ethanol producers. The legislation requires the department to adopt rules for the program.

Administrative costs associated with this program should be minimal and easily absorbed into the agency's general duties.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

1999 Wis. Act 55 created an ethanol grant program under s. 93.75, Wis. Stats. Under this program, the department is authorized to make grants to certain ethanol producers. The legislation requires the department to adopt rules for the grant program.

To be eligible for a payment, the ethanol producer must produce at least ten million gallons of ethanol per year. The legislation requires the department to pay ethanol producers who meet the statutory and proposed rule criteria 20¢ per gallon for not more than 15 million gallons.

Ethanol producers may only apply for a grant payment if they have been in business for sixty months or less. The entire program is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2006.

There is little chance that any ethanol producer who can produce the minimum ten million gallons per year would also meet the state's definition of a “small business" contained in s. 227.114 (1) (a). Stats. In that statutory section, “small business" means a business entity, including its affiliates, which is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field, and which employs fewer than twenty-five full time employees or which has gross annual sales of less than $2,500,000. Consequently, the department expects this program to have minimal impact on small business in the ethanol production industry.

The grant program should have a major impact on the prices for agricultural crops used in the production of ethanol. By providing another market for these agricultural crops, the prices for those crops should increase. The increase in prices will benefit Wisconsin farmers. Since the grant program is designed to promote the purchase of crops grown in Wisconsin, there will be a benefit to Wisconsin small businesses derived from this program and rule.

Notice of Hearing

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
[CR 00-183]
(reprinted from 12/31/00 Wis. Adm. Register)

The state of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule related to Public Warehouse Keepers; License Fees. This rule amends ch. ATCP 97. The hearing will be held:

Thursday, January 18, 2001, 10:00 a.m.

WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Conference Room 472

2811 Agriculture Drive

Madison, WI 53718-6777

The public is invited to attend the hearing and comment on the proposed rule. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until January 28, 2001 for additional written comments.

A copy of the proposed rule may be obtained, free of charge, from the Wisconsin of Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Trade & Consumer Protection, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911, or by calling [phone]. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.