The Department's proposed method of fee calculation will create an equitable and stable funding source to support the Department's regulatory activities. Given that, and the fact that the Department considered the small business nature of many home health agencies in proposing its fee calculation methodology, the Department does not create exemptions or alternatives for small businesses to its calculation of license fees.
In promulgating this rule, small businesses raised issues with the proposed rules regarding patient discharge procedures. In response, the Department modified its draft to:
• Allow appeal of a discharge, unless the discharge was ordered by the attending physician; and
• Allow the home health agency to distribute its patient discharge summary only if it receives a request to do so.
3. Two of the revisions will require small businesses to expend additional resources: a requirement that home health agencies provide written notification to patients before or at the time of discharge and a requirement that home health agencies create a discharge summary report at the time a patient is discharged. Written notification of discharge will require additional resources to generate and mail discharge notices to all patients. Creation of a discharge summary will require appropriately qualified staff to create the discharge summary. The estimated cost of these requirements is difficult to quantify as some home health agencies already create the discharge summary. The cost for both requirements will depend on the number of patients served by the home health agency.
4. The proposed rules will not require any further costs for requirements since many of the provisions incorporate existing practices established in statewide variance.
5. The Department does not anticipate any additional costs to administer the proposed rules.
6. There will be no impact on the public's health, safety and welfare as the Department is not proposing to create less stringent requirements or exemptions from requirements of this rule for small businesses.
No comments were received.
An order to create s. Phar 7.015, relating to delegation of duties by a pharmacist.
Effective 5-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
These rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
An order to amend s. Phar 7.01 (3), relating to supervising pharmacy interns.
Effective 5-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
These rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
No comments were received.
An order making several minor modifications to align s. PI 14.03, minimum standards for audit and standard school district audit contracts.
Effective 5-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
The rule changes will not affect “small business" as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
No comments were received.
A rule relating to outdoor advertising sign annual fees.
Effective 5-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
The Department expects that the fee schedule established in this rule revision will have a negligible adverse impact on small businesses that use outdoor advertising as a method of advertising. Small business that own signs will now be required to pay $35 or $50 each year for each sign they erect or maintain. Because the majority of small businesses typically own only two to six outdoor advertising signs, the annual impact is expected to be minimal. For those small businesses that are more reliant on outdoor advertising signs, the costs aspects of choosing this advertising medium will not be significantly impacted by the fees, which are relatively modest in relation to the cost or erecting an maintaining a sign or leasing sign space.
The annual sign fees that would be paid under this proposed rule by both small independent sign companies that own approximately 20-75 billboards and large sign companies that own hundreds of signs, are expected to be passed on to the advertisers. This new fee should not significantly affect the monthly lease rental rates charged by these companies for outdoor advertising and is not expected to have an effect on “small businesses" under s. 227.114, Stats.
These fees may have some impact on sign companies that fall within the definition of “small business" under s. 227.114, Stats., to the extent that these companies have entered into long term leases for sign space and are unable to pass through the cost to their customers until the lease is renewed. Industry testimony on this aspect of the rule, however, did not suggest that any sign companies would suffer economic hardship as a result of these fees.
Because the Department does not compile or maintain records reflecting the number of employees or annual income of sign companies, establishing less stringent requirements for sign companies that qualify as small businesses under s. 227.114(1)(a), Stats., is not feasible.
This rule making proposes to exempt signs under 8 square feet in area from an annual fee requirement. Also exempted are public utility, public service, political, real estate, official notice, farm and agricultural test plot signs.
Applicants for sign permits will be generally be required to pay the one-time $175 sign permit application fee. Exempted from this requirement are public utility, public service, real estate, farm, agricultural test plot, political, service club and religious notice and official signs. The Department has not collected sign permit application fees from these entities historically. The Department does not anticipate that the one-time $175 application fee structure will adversely affect small businesses.
Because the rule application process and annual fee billing and payment processes are relatively straightforward and simple, because many exemptions from fee requirements exist, and because DOT district sign permit coordinators are available to assist small businesses in completing permit applications and determining whether a proposed sign site is acceptable under s. 84.30, Stats., the Department concluded further simplifying the permit process or creating different deadline dates for small businesses is unwarranted.
Rules relating to the state directory of new hires.
Effective 5-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
The proposed rules have no significant impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats, since the requirement of employers to file new hire reports is already mandated by federal and state statutes. Six of the items required to be reported are mandated by federal law. Additional items required by rule are “date of birth," “date of hire," and “state in which the employee will work, if other than Wisconsin." The department will waive the “date of birth" requirement if it determines that the employer is unable to obtain it. “Date of hire" and “state in which the employee will work, if other than Wisconsin" are requested only to further the goals of the statutes and are not required if the employer fulfills the new hire filing requirement by submitting a completed W-4 form. These W-4 forms are already required for all businesses with employees under the Internal Revenue Code and therefore do not impose additional paperwork.
There were no comments.
Sections affected by rule revisions and corrections
The following administrative rule revisions and corrections have taken place in April 2001, and will be effective as indicated in the history note for each particular section. For additional information, contact the Revisor of Statutes Bureau at (608) 266-7275.
Revisions
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection:
Ch. ATCP 11
S. ATCP 11.01 (80p)
S. ATCP 11.02 (4) (a)
S. ATCP 11.11 (1) (a) and (5)
S. ATCP 11.51 (entire section)
S. ATCP 11.55 (5)
S. ATCP 11.56 (5)
Financial Institutions--Banking:
Ch. DFI-Bkg 8
S. DFI-Bkg 8.04 (entire section)
Health and Family Services:
(Community Services, Chs. HFS 30--)
Ch. HFS 79 (entire chapter)
Ch. HFS 97 (entire chapter)
(Health, Chs. HFS 110--)
Ch. HFS 133
S. HFS 133.02 (5m), (6g), (6m), (8m) and (12m)
S. HFS 133.03 (3) (h), (4) (b), (c) and (d), (8) and (9)
S. HFS 133.04 (4)
S. HFS 133.06 (4) (d)
S. HFS 133.09 (3)
S. HFS 133.10 (1)
S. HFS 133.14 (6)
S. HFS 133.20 (4)
Pharmacy Examining Board:
Ch. Phar 7
S. Phar 7.01 (3)
S. Phar 7.015 (entire section)
Public Instruction:
