NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
85.16(1) and
348.07(4), Stats., interpreting s.
348.07(4), Stats., the Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing at the following location to consider the amendment of chapter Trans 276, Wisconsin Administrative Code, relating to allowing the operation of double bottoms and certain other vehicles on certain specified highways:
November 7, 2003 at 11:00 a.m.
Portage County Highway Department
800 Plover Road
Plover, Wisconsin
(Parking is available for persons with disabilities)
The public record on this proposed rule making will be held open until close of business on the date of the hearing to permit the submission of written comments from persons unable to attend the public hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. Any such written comments should be submitted to Ashwani K. Sharma, Traffic Operations Engineer, Bureau of Highway Operations, Room 501, P. O. Box 7986, Madison, Wisconsin, 53707-7986.
Analysis Prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
General Summary of Proposed Rule.
This proposed rule creates Trans 276.07(35m), Wisconsin Administrative Code, to add one segment of highway to the designated highway system established under s.
348.07(4), Stats. The actual highway segment that this proposed rule
adds to the designated highway system is:
Hwy. From To
CTH “B" USH 10 IH 39
The long trucks to which this proposed rule applies are those with 53-foot semitrailers, double bottoms and the vehicles which may legally operate on the federal National Network, but which exceed Wisconsin's regular limits on overall length. Generally, no person may operate any of the following vehicles on Wisconsin's highways without a permit: A single vehicle with an overall length in excess of 40 feet, a combination of vehicles with an overall length in excess of 65 feet, a semitrailer longer than 48 feet, an automobile haulaway longer than 66 feet plus allowed overhangs, or a double bottom. Certain exceptions are provided under s.
348.07 (2), Stats., which implements provisions of the federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act in Wisconsin.
The effect of this proposed rule will be to extend the provisions of s.
348.07 (2) (f),
(fm),
(gm) and
(gr), and s.
348.08 (1) (e), Stats., to the highway segments listed above. As a result, vehicles which may legally operate on the federal National Network in Wisconsin will also be allowed to operate on the newly-designated highways. Specifically, this means there will be no overall length limitation for a tractor-semitrailer combination, a double bottom or an automobile haulaway on the affected highway segments. There also will be no length limitation for a truck tractor or road tractor when operated in a tractor-semitrailer combination or as part of a double bottom or an automobile haulaway. Double bottoms will be allowed to operate on the affected highway segments provided neither trailer is longer than 28 feet, 6 inches. Semitrailers up to 53 feet long may also be operated on these highway segments provided the kingpin to rear axle distance does not exceed 43 feet. This distance is measured from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle or, if the semitrailer has a tandem axle, to a point midway between the first and last axles of the tandem. Otherwise, semitrailers, including semitrailers which are part of an automobile haulaway, are limited to 48 feet in length.
1 The proposed rule text often achieves these objectives by consolidating individual segments into contiguous segments with new end points. In order to determine the actual highway segment added, it is necessary to compare the combined old designations with the combined new designation.
2 45-foot buses are allowed on the National Network and Interstate system by Federal law. Section 4006(b) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
These vehicles and combinations are also allowed to operate on undesignated highways for a distance of 5 miles or less from the designated highway in order to reach fuel, food, maintenance, repair, rest, staging, terminal or vehicle assembly or points of loading or unloading.
Fiscal Impact
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on the liabilities or revenues of any county, city, village, town, school district, technical college district or sewerage district.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The provisions of this proposed rule adding highway segments to the designated system have no direct adverse effect on small businesses, and may have a favorable effect on those small businesses which are shippers or carriers using the newly-designated routes.
Copies of Rule and Contact Person
Copies of this proposed rule are available without cost upon request to the office of the State Traffic Engineer, P. O. Box 7986, Room 501, Madison, Wisconsin, 53707-7986, telephone (608) 266-1273. For questions about this rule making, please call Ashwani Sharma, Traffic Operations Engineer at (608) 266-1273. Alternate formats of the proposed rule will be provided to individuals at their request.
Notice of Hearing
Veterinary Examining Board
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to authority vested in the Veterinary Examining Board in ss.
15.08 (5) (b),
227.11 (2), and
453.03, Stats., and interpreting Ch.
453, Stats., the Veterinary Examining Board will hold a public hearing at the time and place indicated below to consider an order to create s.
VE 7.02 (5) (d) relating to the delegation of veterinary medical services to unlicensed assistants.
Hearing Date, Time and Location
Date: November 12, 2003
Time: 11:30 A.M.
Location: 1400 East Washington Avenue
Room 179A
Madison, Wisconsin
Appearances at the Hearing
Interested persons are invited to present information at the hearing. Persons appearing may make an oral presentation but are urged to submit facts, opinions and argument in writing as well. Facts, opinions and argument may also be submitted in writing without a personal appearance by mail addressed to the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Office of Administrative Rules, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, Wisconsin 53708. Written comments must be received by November 30, 2003, to be included in the record of rule-making proceedings.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Statutes interpreted: Chapter
453, Stats.
Persons licensed to practice chiropractic or physical therapy are frequently providing those services to animals – often without referral or supervision by a licensed veterinarian. Additionally, veterinarians are often asked by clients to refer animals to chiropractors or physical therapists for care. Under current rules, those services may be delegated under immediate on-premises supervision of a veterinarian, which means that the veterinarian must either stand by where the animal is kept while the services are provided, or that the animals are brought to the veterinary clinic. The former alternative is expensive and wasteful. The latter alternative is difficult or impossible to accomplish in the case, for example, of an equine patient. The proposed rule would legitimize what is already occurring.
Text of Rule
SECTION 1. VE 7.02 (5) (d) is created to read:
VE 7.02 (5) (d) Medical services involving muscular or skeletal manipulation provided there is a written and signed protocol incorporating the following elements:
1. A statement that records of the intervention shall be kept in the patient's permanent file maintained by the delegating veterinarian;
2. A statement that the unlicensed provider is or is not covered by liability insurance;
3. Length and number of treatments;
4. Therapy limitations;
5. Location of the premises where the treatment is to be provided;
6. Address and telephone number of the unlicensed provider; and
7. Signatures of the veterinarian, the unlicensed provider and the client.
Fiscal Estimate
The Department of Regulation and Licensing will incur $500 in costs to print and distribute the rule change.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
These rules will have no significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses, as defined in s.
227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Notice of Hearing
Workforce Development
(Civil Rights, Chs.
DWD 210 -
225)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. Sections
111.375 (1) and
230.89 (1), Stats., as affected by
2003 Wisconsin Act 33; s.
230.45 (1e) (d), Stats., as created by
2003 Wisconsin Act 33; and ss.
103.005 (1),
106.50 (1s),
106.52 (2), and
227.11, Stats., the Department of Workforce Development proposes to hold a public hearing to consider changes affecting chs.
DWD 218,
220,
221,
224, and
225, relating to the transfer of Personnel Commission responsibilities to the Equal Rights Division and other revisions to civil rights rules.
Hearing Information
Monday, October 27, 2003 at 1:30 p.m.
GEF 1 Building, Room B103
201 East Washington Avenue
Madison
Visitors to the GEF 1 Building are requested to enter through the left East Washington Avenue door and register with the customer service desk. The entrance is wheelchair accessible via a ramp from the corner of Webster and East Washington.
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearings and will be afforded the opportunity to make an oral presentation of their positions. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their facts, views, and suggested rewording in writing. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearings, please call (608) 267-9403 at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as ASL interpreters, English translators, or materials in audiotape format will be made available on request to the fullest extent possible.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Workforce Development
Statutes interpreted: Subchapter
II of ch. 111 and subch.
III of ch. 230, Stats., as affected by
2003 Wisconsin Act 33; ss.
16.009 (5),
21.80 (7) (b) 1. or 2., 46.90 (4) (b), 50.07 (3) (b), 101.055 (8), 103.10, and 146.997, Stats., as affected by
2003 Wisconsin Act 33; s.
230.45 (1e), Stats., as created by
2003 Wisconsin Act 33; and ss.
103.10,
106.50,
106.52, and
106.54, Stats.
2003 Wisconsin Act 33 abolishes the Personnel Commission and transfers some of its duties to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) and some of its duties to the Equal Rights Division (ERD) in the Department of Workforce Development. Duties transferred to WERC include appeal of various personnel decisions affecting state employees, arbitration of state employee grievances, and appeals under the county merit system rules. Duties transferred to ERD include processing complaints based on the following:
• Employment discrimination against state employees based on a protected class.
• Violation of the family and medical leave law affecting state employees.
• Retaliation or discrimination against state employees who provide information on conditions in a long-term care facility to the Board on Aging, information on elder abuse to a county agency or state official, or information related to licensing care and service residential facilities to a state official.
• Discrimination against state employees exercising their rights relating to occupational health and safety.
• Retaliatory discipline against state employee health care workers who report a violation of law or a quality of care standard to a supervisor, officer or director of the health care facility, or professionally-recognized accrediting or standard-setting body.
• Violation of reemployment rights of state employees after national guard, state defense force, or public health emergency service.
• Retaliatory discipline against state employee whistleblowers.
The ERD's duties have previously included processing complaints by nonstate employees for all of the issues listed in the above bullet points except whistleblower protection, which only applies to state employees. Before
2003 Wisconsin Act 33, there was a dual system whereby the Personnel Commission processed complaints on these issues by state employees and the ERD processed complaints by nonstate employees.
2003 Wisconsin Act 33 puts sole responsibility for processing complaints by state employees and nonstate employees in the ERD. The ERD has existing procedures for processing the complaints on the issues that have been within its authority:
• Chapter
DWD 218 applies to employment discrimination based on a protected class.
• Chapter
DWD 225 applies to violations of the family and medical leave law.
• Pursuant to the statutory authorizations for the complaint process on the other issues, they are handled in the same manner as employment discrimination based on a protected class, and the procedures in Chapter
DWD 218 are followed.
2003 Wisconsin Act 33, section
9139, transfers to ERD existing Personnel Commission (PC) rules on duties transferred to ERD and transfers to WERC existing PC rules on duties transferred to WERC. There are 7 PC rules. PC 3, relating to filing appeals, and PC 6, relating to the arbitration option for classification appeals, apply to duties transferred to WERC. PC 2, relating to filing and processing complaints, applies to duties transferred to ERD. PC 1, relating to authorization and general provisions; PC 4, relating to prehearing practice and discovery; PC 5, relating to hearings, decisions, and review; and PC 7, relating to Personnel Commission meetings and records, contain information that applies to duties transferred to both WERC and ERD. This seems to mean that PC 1, 4, 5, and 7 are to be transferred to both WERC and ERD, although these rules also contain information that is relevant only to one agency and not the other.
The department does not believe that adopting the PC rules for duties transferred from the PC is the best way to handle these new responsibilities. The department has well-established procedures for processing complaints against nonstate employers on these same issues (except for whistleblower protection). The department's existing rules can be amended with minor modifications to include complaints filed against state respondents. Adopting the PC rules would result in different procedures for state and nonstate respondents for no logical reason. This dual system would be more difficult to administer and would be confusing to complainants, many of whom are pro se. Adopting the PC rules would also require significant revising to remove irrelevant language on duties that have been transferred to WERC and obsolete language that relates only to the Personnel Commission. The department's existing rules can be modified to include state respondents much more simply. The department does not believe that repealing the PC rules will harm complainants who have a pending complaint against a state respondent. The differences between the ERD and PC rules do not affect substantive rights; they are all procedural. Confusion resulting in failure to comply with proper procedures would be more likely to affect substantive rights.
The department is repealing the PC rules affecting duties within ERD, amending the existing fair employment rules and family and medical leave rules to include state respondents, and creating new whistleblower protection rules. The fair employment and family and medical leave rules are amended to add a definition of agency; add agencies to the definition of respondent; and provide that state employee parties and witnesses who are interviewed or who appear at pre-hearing conferences, conciliation sessions, or hearings receive their full pay and travel expenses in accordance with the state reimbursement schedule. Witnesses summoned by a subpoena who are not state employees receive witness and mileage fees set forth in s.
814.67 (1) (a) and
(c), Stats., paid by the person issuing the subpoena. A new rule chapter is created to govern complaints filed under the whistleblower law. The new chapter is similar to the procedures used for fair employment, except department orders under the whistleblower law are not appealable to the Labor and Industry Review Commission. Department findings and orders under the whistleblower law are subject to judicial review under chapter 227, Stats.
The major differences between the old PC procedure and the existing and new ERD procedures include the following:
• Answer. Under the ERD rules, respondents respond in writing to the complaint within a time period set by the department or the department issues an initial determination based solely on information supplied by the complainant. A formal answer is required within 21 days after the notice of hearing on the merits following an initial determination of probable cause. Under the PC rules, a formal answer was required within 20 days after service of the complaint.
• Investigation. Under the ERD rules, the department has the power to subpoena persons or documents and seeks cooperation on obtaining other information while investigating. The PC had full discovery authority under chapter 804, Stats., and a party had 30 days to respond.
• State employee investigation waiver. Under s.
230.45 (1m), Stats., a state employee complainant could waive the PC investigation and proceed to hearing.
2003 Wisconsin Act 33 does not affect this provision. The “commission" language in s.
230.45 (1m), Stats., now refers to WERC. Even though s.
230.45 (1m), Stats., now applies to WERC, it still specifically mentions s.
103.10 (12) (b), Stats., relating to the family and medical leave law, which is under the jurisdiction of ERD. The ERD rules allow a state employee to waive the investigation for complaints filed under the family and medical leave law but not any of the other duties transferred from the PC.
