Scope statements
Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board
Subject
Changes to the language of s.
MPSW 11.02 titled “Examination Required."
Policy analysis
Objective of the rule. To permit applicants for licensure as professional counselors to take and pass examinations that would demonstrate their professional competency. Currently, either the National Counselor Examination or the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Examination is required for licensure. This proposal would give applicants an additional option of being able to take the National Counselor Mental Health Certification Examination. It would also permit the section to approve another examination that it deems to be equivalent to the other three. As a result, the proposed change would permit applicants who take and successfully pass one of three examinations or an equivalent one approved by the section to become eligible for licensure as a professional counselor.
Existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed and analysis of policy alternatives
This amendment will provide greater flexibility to applicants while maintaining protection of the public. Presently, those individuals who take and pass the National Counselor Mental Health Certification Examination must also take and pass the National Counselor Examination in order to be eligible for licensure as a Wisconsin professional counselor, thereby resulting in an unnecessary barrier to licensure.
Statutory authority
Comparison with federal regulations
There is no applicable existing federal legislation.
All Entities Affected by the Rule
Credential holders and new graduates of Professional Counseling Programs (or their equivalent) who have passed an examination required for licensure other than those specified under s.
MPSW 11.02.
Staff time required
200 hours.
Natural Resources
Subject
Objective of the rule. The Department is receiving requests from the public to clarify if the sound level standards for motorboats contained in s.
30.62 (2) (b), Wis. Stats., apply to the noise created by the fan blades or propellers of hovercraft, airboats, jet boats or similar craft. The Department proposes to create a rule that clarifies that the noise created by the fans or propellers of hovercraft, airboats, jet boats or similar craft are included in the sound level standards and exempting those craft from the sound level standards on specific waterways. The waterways specified would be limited to those areas where these craft have traditionally operated.
Policy analysis
Section
30.62 (2) (b), Wis. Stats., is unclear if the sound level standards it sets apply only to the sound created by the engines or to the total sound created by the motorboat. The public has asked the Department to clarify this issue as it applies to hovercraft and airboats. Wisconsin has a number of waterways that have a long history of airboat use.
Statutory authority
Section
30.62 (2) (h), Wis. Stats., authorizes the Department to promulgate rules to exempt certain activities for certain types of motorboats for specific uses and for specific areas of operation from the sound level standards.
Staff time required
The Department estimates that it will take approximately 8 hours of staff time to develop this rule.
Comparison with federal regulations
There are no Federal regulations comparable to the rule changes being proposed.
All Entities Affected by the Rule
The proposed rule will affect all owners and operators of airboats and hovercraft.
Natural Resources
Subject
Objective of the rule. Chapter
NR 720 was promulgated in April, 1995. The rule established generic numerical soil cleanup standards for a limited number of substances and a methodology for determining site specific standards for any substance. Since promulgation of the rule, a number of issues have been identified that require resolution and subsequent code revisions in order to ensure consistent implementation.
Policy analysis
The 4 major policy issues that need to be addressed are: 1) should the rule continue to include tables of numerical soil standards, 2) should soil cleanup standards for the protection of groundwater be calculated based on the Preventive Action Limits (PALs) or the Enforcement Standards, 3) should the direct contact soil cleanup standards for lead and arsenic be consistent with guidelines being used by EPA, the Wisconsin Department of Health, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and 4) whether more than 2 land use scenarios (currently industrial/non-industrial) should be allowed when determining the appropriate soil cleanup standards. In addition, there are several other rule changes that are necessary for clarification or consistency purposes.
The Remediation and Redevelopment Program evaluated these issues and had several meetings with our NR 700 external Technical Focus Group as well as the Brownfield's Study Group in order to get some initial feedback on whether these were the appropriate issues and whether our initial recommendations for how to proceed were sound. In general, both Groups felt we were headed in the right direction and encouraged us to initiate the rule revision process.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
The Department estimates that it will take approximately 500 hours of staff time to develop this rule.
Comparison with federal regulations
There are no Federal regulations comparable to the rule changes being proposed.
All Entities Affected by the Rule
The existing rules currently affect those parties responsible for conducting a cleanup under the state hazardous substance spills law including individuals, large and small businesses, and state and local government. The rules also affect environmental consulting firms conducting investigation and remediation of contamination as well as companies that are interested in redeveloping these types of properties.
Public Instruction
Subject
The 2005-07 biennial budget,
2005 Wisconsin Act 25, appropriated $3,500,000 in 2006-07 for a new grant program to provide funds to a school board, board of control of a cooperative educational service agency, county children with disabilities education board, or operator of a charter school established under s.
118.40 (2r), Stats., if the applicant incurred, in the previous school year, more than $30,000 of nonadministrative costs for providing special education and related services to a child and those costs were not eligible for reimbursement under s.
115.88,
115.93, or
118.255,
20 USC 1400 et seq., or federal medicaid.
For each child whose costs exceeded $30,000, the department must pay an eligible applicant in the current school year an amount equal to .90 multiplied by that portion of the cost that exceeded $30,000. If funds are insufficient, the department may prorate.
A new rule chapter will be created to specify the grant application requirements and determine aidable costs for the program.
Policy analysis
The rules will create application requirements and define terms and aidable costs under the grant programs. The rules may require certain information be reported before funds can be awarded under the program.
Policy alternatives
The grant program could be implemented based on statutory language alone. However, rules would allow applicants to know what grant criteria are being used in the awarding of grants under this program.
Staff time required
The amount of time needed for rule development by department staff and the amount of other resources necessary are indeterminable. The time needed to create the rule language itself will be minimal. However, the time involved with guiding the rule through the required rule promulgation process is fairly significant. The rule process takes more than six months to complete.
Comparison with federal regulations
Not applicable.
