Scope statements
Employee Trust Funds
Subject
Some Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) annuity options are defined by administrative rule, as authorized by Wis. Stats. 40.24 (1) (g). ETF 20.02 (1) creates an option for a joint and survivor annuity with payments reduced by 25% upon the death of either the participant or the joint survivor named on the original annuity application. At present, this reduction affects the annuity payment for the month in which either the participant or the named survivor dies. Since the effect is currently retroactive to the first of the month, when the joint survivor dies an overpayment to the participant routinely occurs, requiring collection efforts or other adjustments. The proposed rulemaking will amend ETF 20.02 (1) to specify that a reduction in payment due to the death of the named survivor will not take effect until the end of the month in which the death occurs. No change is proposed with respect to the reduction resulting from the death of the participant; this avoids any conflict with the portion of Wis. Stats. 40.02 (5) concerning the last payment of an annuity due to an annuitant.
The proposed rulemaking will include several non-substantive, technical amendments which will conform the rules to changes in terminology used by the Department, correct cross-references to renumbered statutes and conform the language of the rules to newly defined terms. The proposed rulemaking will amend terminology in ETF 20.04 (1) and (2) conform the rules with the newly defined terms "joint and survivor annuity" and "named survivor" found in Wis. Stats. 40.02 (39r) and (41r), created by
1997 Wis. Act 110.
One type of annuity available from the WRS is intended to provide enhanced WRS benefits until the annuitant becomes eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62. It is the intent of this option that the annuitant's total anticipated income from both the WRS and Social Security will be the same each month, both before and after reaching age 62. This type of annuity was previously called a "Social Security Integrated" annuity. The Department has now adopted the term "Accelerated Payment Annuity" to describe this option, to preclude the misperception that this option involves the Department interacting with the Social Security Administration to coordinate and calculate this benefit. The proposed rulemaking will amend ETF 20.04 (3) and 20.05 (1), to replace the description "social security integrated annuity" with the terminology "accelerated payment annuity" to describe the temporary annuity authorized by Wis. Stats. 40.24 (1) (e).
The proposed rulemaking will add "alternate payee" to the list of persons in ETF 20.05 who may not choose the accelerated annuity option described in Wis. Stat. 40.24 (1) (e), if the result would be that the amount of the lifetime annuity would be less than a specified threshold. This reflects the harmonizing of the accelerated payment option under Wis. Stat. 40.24 (1) (e) with the threshold in Wis. Stat. 40.25 (1) (a) for payment of a life annuity. The dollar amount of this threshold is indexed annually by the salary index defined in Wis. Stat. 40.02 (52). The proposed rulemaking will also update the stated dollar amount of the threshold ($25 in 1982) to the present indexed amount ($129 in 2001).
In addition, the proposed rulemaking will revise the cross-references in ETF 20.04 (3), and 20.05 (1) and (2) from "s.
40.24 (4)" to "s.
40.24 (1) (e)." This reflects the renumbering of Wis. Stats. 40.24 (1) to (5) by
1989 Wis. Act 166.
Objective of the Rule. The proposed amendment would accomplish two objectives; providing a slightly enhanced benefit to participants who now experience the full annuity reduction for the entire month in which their named survivor dies and eliminating the overpayments that routinely occur when the department is notified of the joint survivor's death too late in a month to stop the full payment for that month from being issued.
The Department is also proposing amendments to ETF 20.04 (1), (2), (3) and ETF 20.05 (1) and (2) which are intended to bring the language in the rule into conformity with the statutory definitions in s. 40.02 (39r) and (41r), Stats., and to reflect statutory provisions which have been renumbered since these rules were promulgated. Additional changes to ETF 20.04 (3) and ETF 20.05 (1) under consideration are intended to harmonize the rule with the description terminology that has been adopted by the Department, but does not reflect any statutory change.
Policy Analysis
The actuary has indicated that the proposed amendment to ETF 20.04 (1) would have such a negligible effect on the liabilities of the annuity reserve that according to the actuary there would be no change to the actuarial factor used to calculate this annuity option. Consequently, the proposed amendment to ETF 20.04 (1) would have a twofold beneficial result; a higher benefit payment due to the participant for the month in which the joint survivor dies, and more efficient administration of this option because the partial month's overpayment to the participant that routinely occurs and must be recovered with this option would be eliminated.
The remainder of the proposed amendments make no other changes than to bring the language in the rules into conformity with current statutory language
Policy Alternatives to the Proposed Rule
The alternative to promulgating this rule would be that the annuity option defined in ETF 20.04 (1) would continue to require that the participant experience the full annuity reduction for the entire month in which their named survivor dies, and that the language ETF 20.04 (1), (2) and (3) and ETF 20.05 (1) and (2) will not conform to the definitions in §
40.02 (39r) and
(41r), Stats., nor reflect the renumbering of s.
40.24 (4) to s.
40.24 (1) (e), Stats.
Statutory Authority
Wis. Stats. 40.03 (1) (m), (2) (i), (7) (d), and (8) (d).
Staff Time Required
The Department estimates that state employees will spend 20 hours developing this rule.
Pharmacy Examining Board
Subject
The proposed modification of the rules pertaining to the qualifications for original licensure, s.
Phar 2.01 (1) and qualifications for persons licensed in another state, s.
Phar 2.04 (1).
Objective of the Rule. The objective of the proposed amendments of ss.
Phar 2.01 (1) and
2.04 (1) is to create consistent licensure requirements with other states that require applicants in certain instances to take and pass the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the Test of Spoken English (TSE).
Policy analysis
Currently, Wisconsin law only requires that an applicant who is a foreign graduate of a school of pharmacy to take and pass the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE), offered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC). Other states require a foreign graduate of a school of pharmacy to take and pass three examinations, the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Upon successfully taking and passing all three examinations the foreign graduate earns FPGEC Certification. Requiring foreign graduate applicants in Wisconsin to earn FPGEC Certification as a precondition for licensure will allow Wisconsin licensure requirements in this instance to be considered “substantially equivalent" with other states, thus allowing greater mobility for pharmacists with Wisconsin licensure who thereafter seek licensure in other states.
Statutory Authority
Staff Time Required
It is estimated that 100 hours will be needed to amend the rules. The proposed rules will have no affect on the budget, staff or uniform policies or procedures of the Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Transportation
Subject
Objective of the Rule. This proposal will amend ch.
Trans 276, which establishes a network of highways on which long combination vehicles may operate, by adding three highway segments to the network. The actual segments being proposed are: State Trunk Highway 27 from USH 14 S.E. of Viroqua to STH 40 in Radisson; STH 60 from USH 12 in Sauk City to IH 43 E. of Grafton; and STH 156 from STH 22 in Clintonville to STH 29 in Shawano County.
Policy analysis
Federal law requires the Department of Transportation to react within 90 days to requests for changes to the long truck route network. Wisconsin state law requires that the Department use the administrative rule process to deal with changes to the long truck route network. Chapter
Trans 276 is an existing rule set up for long truck routes. The Department has received three requests from Walters Brothers Lumber Manufacturing, Inc., in Radisson, WI, Roadway Express in Green Bay, WI, and Fuchs Trucking in Sauk City, WI, to add these highway segments.
Statutory Authority
Staff Time Required
It is estimated that state employees will spend 40 hours on the rule-making process, including research, drafting and conducting a public hearing.
