Emergency rules now in effect
Under s. 227.24, Stats., state agencies may promulgate rules without complying with the usual rule-making procedures. Using this special procedure to issue emergency rules, an agency must find that either the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates its action in bypassing normal rule-making procedures.
Emergency rules are published in the official state newspaper, which is currently the Wisconsin State Journal. Emergency rules are in effect for 150 days and can be extended up to an additional 120 days with no single extension to exceed 60 days.
Occasionally the Legislature grants emergency rule authority to an agency with a longer effective period than 150 days or allows an agency to adopt an emergency rule without requiring a finding of emergency.
Extension of the effective period of an emergency rule is granted at the discretion of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules under s. 227.24 (2), Stats.
Notice of all emergency rules which are in effect must be printed in the Wisconsin Administrative Register. This notice will contain a brief description of the emergency rule, the agency finding of emergency or a statement of exemption from a finding of emergency, date of publication, the effective and expiration dates, any extension of the effective period of the emergency rule and information regarding public hearings on the emergency rule.
Copies of emergency rule orders can be obtained from the promulgating agency. The text of current emergency rules can be viewed at www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code.
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (2)
1.
Rules adopted creating
ss. ATCP 99.13, 99.25, 100.13 and 101.25, relating to the partial refund of certain agricultural producer security assessments required of grain dealers, grain warehouse keepers, milk contractors and vegetable contractors.
Finding of emergency
(1) The Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection currently administers an agricultural producer security program under ch.
126, Stats. (“producer security law"). This program is designed to protect agricultural producers from catastrophic financial defaults by contractors who procure agricultural commodities from producers.
(2) Under the producer security law, contractors pay annual assessments to an agricultural producer security fund (“the fund"). If a contractor defaults in payments to producers, the department may compensate producers from the fund. A contractor's annual fund assessment is based, in large part, on the contractor's annual financial statement. The producer security law spells out a formula for calculating assessments. However, the department may modify assessments by rule.
(3) The fund assessment formula is designed to require higher assessments of contractors who have weak financial statements (and may thus present greater default risks). But the statutory formula may generate unexpectedly high assessments in some cases, where a contractor's strong financial condition is temporarily affected by financial transactions related to a merger or acquisition. This may cause unfair hardship, and may unfairly penalize some mergers or acquisitions that actually strengthen security for agricultural producers. This may have an unnecessarily adverse impact on contractors, producers and Wisconsin economic development.
(4) The department may adjust assessments by rule, in order to ameliorate unintended results. But the normal rulemaking process will require at least a year to complete. The temporary emergency rule is needed to address this matter in the short term, and to provide relief for contractors already affected.
Publication Date:
January 29, 2004
Effective Date:
January 29, 2004
Expiration Date:
June 27, 2004
Hearing Dates:
April 26 and 27, 2004
2.
Rules adopted creating
ss. ATCP 99.135, 99.255, 100.135 and 101.255, relating to the reduction of certain annual agricultural producer security assessments required of grain dealers, grain warehouse keepers, milk contractors and vegetable contractors.
Finding of emergency
(1) The Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection ("DATCP") currently administers an agricultural producer security program under ch.
126, Stats. ("producer security law"). This program is designed to protect agricultural producers from catastrophic financial defaults by contractors who procure agricultural commodities from producers.
(2) Under the producer security law, contractors pay annual assessments to an agricultural producer security fund ("the fund"). If a contractor defaults in payments to producers, DATCP may compensate producers from the fund. Fund assessments are calculated according to a statutory formula, but DATCP may modify fund assessments by rule.
(3) The law directs DATCP to obtain bonds or other backup security for the fund. The backup security is intended to protect producers against large contractor defaults that may exceed the capacity of the fund. But changes in the insurance and bonding industry have prevented DATCP from obtaining any backup security (DATCP has received no acceptable bids).
(4) Before the fund was created in 2002, contractors who failed to meet minimum financial standards were required to file individual security (typically a bond or letter of credit) with DATCP. The amount of security was based on the size of the contractor's producer payroll (potential default exposure). DATCP returned much of this security after the fund was created. But because DATCP was unable to obtain backup security for the fund, DATCP retained security from some of the largest contractors. DATCP did this in order to protect agricultural producers against large contractor defaults that might exceed the capacity of the fund.
(5) DATCP's action protected agricultural producers against catastrophic defaults, but imposed additional costs on some large contractors. The affected contractors (approximately 6 contractors) must now pay security costs and fund assessments. This emergency rule reduces fund assessments for these contractors, to compensate for the added security costs that the contractors must incur.
(6) This temporary emergency rule will provide needed financial relief (assessment reductions) to the affected contractors in the current license year, pending the adoption of permanent rules to provide longer term relief. This emergency rule will provide cost savings and fairer treatment to the affected contractors, consistent with the original intent of the producer security law, pending the adoption of permanent rules. This emergency rule will promote the public welfare by helping to maintain the security, stability and competitiveness of Wisconsin's agricultural economy and processing industry.
Publication Date:
April 29, 2004
Effective Date:
April 29, 2004
Expiration Date:
September 26, 2004
Gaming
Rules adopting repealing
s. Game 23.02 (2) of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, relating to the computation of purses.
Finding of emergency
The Wisconsin Department of Administration finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary in order to repeal an existing rule for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
Section
Game 23.02 (2) was created in the Department's rulemaking order (03-070). The Department is repealing this section due to the unforeseen hardship that it has created on the Wisconsin racetracks. This financial hardship presents itself in multiple ways. The racetracks rely on an outside vendor to compute the purses earned by all individuals. The vendor produces a similar system for most greyhound racetracks in the country. The purses are generated by the amount of money wagered on all races over a period of time. The current system does not provide for bonus purses to be paid out based upon the residency of certain owners. The current system would have to be reprogrammed at a significant cost to the racetracks. Although the bonus purses could be calculated and paid without a computer, it would create excessive clerical work that would also be costly to the racetracks.
Additionally, Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track committed to paying a minimum payout of purses to the greyhound and kennel owners that race in Delavan. Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track will supplement out of their own money any purse amount that does not exceed the minimum payout. As a result of paying the bonus purse to Wisconsin owned greyhounds, the variance between the actual purse and the minimum purse is increased and the financial liability to the racetrack is increased. Since this supplement is voluntary, the racetrack has indicated that it will probably have to cease the supplemental purses to the participants. This would result in reduced payments to the vast majority of the kennel owners and greyhound owners participating at the racetrack.
In creating this rule, the Department did not intend to create the disadvantages caused by this rule.
Publication Date:
January 8, 2004
Effective Date:
January 8, 2004
Expiration Date:
June 6, 2004
Hearing Date:
March 16, 2004
Extension Through:
August 4, 2004
Natural Resources (2)
(Fish, Game, etc., Chs. NR 1-)
1. Rules adopted creating
ss. NR 1.016, 1.05, 1.06 and 1.07 relating to Natural Resources Board policies on protection and management of public waters.
Finding of emergency.
The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s.
227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The Wisconsin Legislature recently enacted
2003 Wisconsin Act 118, to streamline the regulatory process for activities in public trust waters. The state has an affirmative duty to administer the new law in a manner consistent with the public trust responsibilities of the State of Wisconsin under Article IX, Section I of the Wisconsin Constitution.
2003 Act 118 identifies certain activities that may be undertaken in public trust waters exempt from a permit, or under a general permit. Certain activities may not be undertaken in waters that are defined as “areas of special natural resource interest" or at other locations where the activity would cause detrimental impacts on public rights and interests in navigable waters. Without emergency rules to aid in administering the new law, the following severe problems will occur:
• Until general permits are created by rule, any activity which is not exempt requires an individual permit with an automatic 30-day public notice. The required 30-day comment period will unnecessarily delay hundreds of construction projects that otherwise could go ahead with specified conditions for protecting lakes and streams (for example, all new riprap and culvert applications currently require public notices).
• Unclear wording of exemptions currently puts property owners, contractors and consultants at risk of violation. Without clear procedures and standards established by emergency rule, many more people may request exemption determinations, slowing the decisions on individual permit applications.
• Wording of exemptions and temporary grading jurisdiction puts lakes and streams at risk. Without standards as intended and described in the new law, exempted activities and grading along shorelines will cause inadvertent but permanent destruction of fish and wildlife habitat, loss of natural scenic beauty and reduced water quality. Rights of neighboring property owners may also be harmed. Cumulatively over one or two construction seasons, these impacts will have immediate and permanent effects on Wisconsin's water-based recreation and tourism industry.
Publication Date:
April 19, 2004
Effective Date:
April 19, 2004
Expiration Date:
September 16, 2004
Hearing Date:
May 19, 2004
2.
Rules adopted revising
chs. NR 10 and 19, relating to the regulation of baiting and feeding to control and manage chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis.
Finding of emergency
The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s.
227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The state legislature has delegated to the department rule - making authority in
2001 Wisconsin Act 108 to control the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin. CWD, bovine tuberculosis and other forms of transmissible diseases pose a risk to the health of the state's deer herd and citizens and is a threat to the economic infrastructure of the department, the state, it's citizens and businesses. The state legislature has also delegated to the department rule - making authority in
2003 Wisconsin Act 240 to regulate feeding of wild animals for non-hunting purposes including recreational and supplemental feeding. These restrictions on deer baiting and feeding need to be implemented through the emergency rule procedure to help control and prevent the spread of CWD, bovine tuberculosis and other forms of transmissible diseases in Wisconsin's deer herd.
Publication Date:
June 10, 2004
