PR-REV $150,000
PR $150,000
Governor: Provide $75,000 annually and create an appropriation for consumer protection information and education. Revenue would come from a new 15% surcharge on all fines and forfeitures for violations relating to consumer protection that occur beginning on the effective date of the bill. Fines and forfeitures related to weights and measures violations and marketing and trade practices would include the assessment. Examples of weights and measures fines and forfeitures assessed would be on one who obstructs an inspector, uses an incorrect weight or measure in sales, falsely advertises a quantity or price of any good or service, falsely tests milk for butterfat content or generally violates any provision under the weights and measures statutes (Chapter 98) or corresponding administrative rules. Examples of marketing and trade practice fines include false advertising, business to business violations, dairy industry violations, unfair trading methods, contracting infractions and plastic container labeling infractions, as well as any provision under the marketing and trade practice statutes (Chapter 100) or corresponding administrative rules. The 15% assessment would also apply to local ordinances enacted under the marketing and trade practice and weights and measures statutes and corresponding administrative rules. The 15% would be based on the total amount of fines and forfeitures imposed in any court, and if collected by a local court, it would be forwarded to the county treasurer and paid to the state in the same method as similar forfeitures.
Joint Finance/Legislature: Require that any revenue received from assessments that exceeds $85,000 in any fiscal year be deposited to the general fund.
[Act 9 Sections: 177, 1576, 1577, 1609 thru 1616, 1960, 3066 thru 3072, 3074, 3075, 3076 thru 3078, 3079, 3080, 3082, 3084, 3085, 3095, 3098, 3203 thru 3205 and 9304(2)]
27. TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION POSITIONS
Funding Positions
PR $34,200 0.20
SEG - 34,200 - 0.20
Total $0 0.00
Governor/Legislature: Transfer 0.2 position and $17,100 annually from recycling SEG to PR and make other adjustments to realign trade and consumer protection staff. The positions and funding affected would be as follows:
Appropriation Positions Annual Funding
Grain inspection and certification 0.35 $34,200
Warehouse keeper and grain dealer regulation 0.19 6,500
Vegetable procurement and dairy trade regulation -0.39 -23,700
Weights and measures inspection 0.35 25,800
Ozone-depleting refrigerants and products regulation -0.3 -25,700
Recycling products regulation (SEG) -0.2 -17,100
TOTAL 0.00 $0
28. TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
Senate/Conference Committee: Require DATCP to prepare and submit to the appropriate standing committee in each house of the Legislature beginning September 1, 2000, an annual report regarding telecommunications complaints. Require that the report contain all of the following telecommunications-specific information: (a) the number and types of complaints by category received by DATCP; (b) the number of referrals made by DATCP to the Department of Justice for prosecution and the results of those prosecutions; (c) the level of coordination initiated by DATCP to work with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and DOJ to respond to and address consumer complaints; and (d) a description of the differences in services provided between the PSC, DATCP and DOJ in responding to complaints. Require that no later than the first day of the 13th month after the effective date of the bill, DATCP, DOJ and PSC enter into a memorandum of understanding outlining their coordinated plans to address consumer complaints in the area of telecommunications.
Veto by Governor [B-7]: Delete provision.
[Act 9 Vetoed Sections: 1930r, 9104(1m), 9130(2m), 9141(5m) and 9404(2m)]
29. GINSENG FEES
Governor/Legislature: Specify that ginseng dealer and grower annual registration fees and fees collected by DATCP to cover costs related to providing mandatory shipment certificates and report forms be deposited into an existing agricultural resource management appropriation used to publish informational materials. Although current law does not specify where the revenue is to be deposited, it has been deposited to this appropriation.
[Act 9 Sections: 185, 1935 and 1936]
30. WEB PAGE MAINTENANCE [LFB Paper 219]
Governor: Provide 1.0 position and $29,900 in 1999-00 and $39,900 in 2000-01 for DATCP website maintenance. A site was developed by a limited-term employe and the new position would maintain and update the site regularly. Program revenues are derived from chargebacks to agency programs.
Joint Finance/Legislature: Delete $15,500 annually to reallocate LTE-related funding to support the permanent position.
31. INFORMATION SALES POSITION
Positions
PR 0.50
Governor/Legislature: Convert a limited-term employe position to a one-half time permanent position. Funding would be transferred from LTE salary and supplies. The staff maintains and provides computer lists to internal and external customers.
32. HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICER
Positions
PR 0.60
Governor/Legislature: Reallocate $22,700 in 1999-00 and $30,300 in 2000-01 from DATCP supplies (related to insurance premium savings) for a 0.6 position to coordinate health and safety initiatives and training for DATCP employes. DATCP plans to share the safety officer with the Department of Military Affairs (which would fund the other 40% of a full-time position).
33. DEBT SERVICE REESTIMATE [LFB Paper 245]
Governor: Reestimate debt service on soil and water resource management general obligation bonds by -$84,900 in 1999-00 and $41,700 in 2000-01.
Joint Finance/Legislature: Reestimate debt service on soil and water resource management general obligation bonds by deleting $41,600 in 1999-00 and $36,100 in 2000-01.
34. MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Governor/Legislature: Transfer $25,400 GPR and 0.5 program and planning analyst position annually from the Food Safety Division to the Management Services Division to assist the Secretary's office.
PR $2,378,800
SEG 241,400
Total $2,620,200
35. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Governor/Legislature: Combine information technology funds into one appropriation. Currently, funds are transferred from various revenue accounts to cover appropriations. Those transfers do not appear as expenditures, but instead as revenue reductions. Spending authority would replace transfer authority, thus showing up as expenditures for record-keeping purposes. Revenue transfer authority of $85,400 PR and $120,700 SEG annually would be replaced with reciprocal spending authority. Also, increase spending authority for the one remaining IT appropriation by $1,359,000 PR in 1999-00 and $849,000 PR in 2000-01 to reflect chargebacks to various agency appropriations for IT expenditures.
[Act 9 Sections: 193 and 1933]
36. ELECTRONIC PROCESSING [LFB Paper 220]
Governor: Allow the Department to electronically process applications and payments for goods and services as well as DATCP-issued licenses, permits, registrations and certificates. The Department could also charge additional fees for electronic processing to cover the processing costs. Fees would be deposited into a new, continuing PR appropriation to be used for electronic processing.
Joint Finance: Require DATCP to set fees by administrative rule for the actual cost of electronic processing, if the Department chooses to collect such fees.
Senate: Delete the Joint Finance provision to require DATCP to set fees for the actual cost of electronic processing, if the Department chooses to collect such fees. Rather, allow DATCP to electronically process applications and payments for goods and services as well as DATCP-issued licenses, permits, registrations and certificates, as recommended by the Governor, but do not allow DATCP to charge additional fees for electronic processing.
Conference Committee/Legislature: Delete Senate provision.
[Act 9 Sections: 192 and 1927]
37. MILK STANDARDS PROGRAM
Governor/Legislature: Remove obsolete language directing the PR appropriation for the milk standards program to reimburse the general fund for startup costs. The reimbursement was made.
[Act 9 Section: 191]
38. AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION
Joint Finance/Legislature: Allow an agricultural engineering practitioner who previously has been certified to review plans for, or conduct inspections of, a type of agricultural engineering practice at one job class level to certify for funding purposes that design specifications and constructed or installed practices for any agricultural engineering practice under that job class level comply with DATCP standards, without requiring the agricultural engineering practitioner to receive recertification.
[Act 9 Section: 1926yr]
GPR $640,800
39. COUNTY FAIR AIDS [LFB Paper 221]
Joint Finance/Legislature: Provide $320,400 annually to reestimate base funding for county and district fair aids at $585,000 annually. Due to a Constitutional amendment requiring all state pari-mutuel revenues be directed toward property tax relief, county and district fair aids can no longer be funded from pari-mutuel supplemental aid and instead will be funded entirely from GPR. The $585,000 provided annually was the maximum GPR available under prior law.
40. AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
Joint Finance: Provide $100,000 SEG annually from the agrichemical management fund for grants to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation for use in the USDA Agriculture in the Classroom program. Require DATCP to release $3 for every $2 the Farm Bureau provides in matching funds.
Senate/Legislature: Delete provision.
41. COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL PLANNING GRANT ASSESSMENTS
Joint Finance: Authorize the Secretary of DOA to annually assess the Department $250,000 to be paid from the agency's GPR general operations appropriations to fund a local planning grant program administered by the Department of Administration that is created under the bill. The assessments would be for grants to counties, cities, villages, towns or regional planning commissions to finance the local cost of planning activities and the cost of program delivery.
Conference Committee/Legislature: Delete provision.
42. MEAT PROCESSING
Governor: Require state licensed animal, poultry and carcass slaughter and processing facilities to comply with the standards that federally licensed facilities must meet, unless specified otherwise by DATCP rule. These standards generally deal with facilities for inspection, sanitation, ante-mortem inspection, post-mortem inspection, disposal of diseased or otherwise adulterated carcasses and parts, humane slaughtering, handling and disposal of condemned or other inedible products, rendering or other disposal of carcasses and parts passed for cooking, labeling, marking devices and containers, entry into official establishments, definitions and standards of identity or composition, sanitation, hazard analysis and critical control point systems and parts of poultry products inspection regulations. Under current law, the Department is required to issue various administrative rules for animal, poultry and carcass slaughter and processing facilities. The bill would allow, rather than require DATCP to issue any of those rules. These changes would take effect on January 1, 2000.
Allow DATCP to promulgate a retail food regulation or DHFS to promulgate a restaurant rule based on the model food code of the federal Food and Drug Administration under that format rather than according to the current statutory format.
Expand the definition of "potentially hazardous food" under food regulations of retail food establishments to clarify that it includes any food that requires temperature control because it is capable of supporting growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum (a bacteria commonly found in soil which causes the paralytic illness, botulism) or the growth of Salmonella enteritidis in raw shell eggs. DATCP currently considers these items to be potentially hazardous foods. Retail food establishment license fees depend on whether or not the establishment sells potentially hazardous food. The change would take effect on January 1, 2001.
Joint Finance: Delete provision as non-fiscal policy.
