196.491 (3) (g) The commission shall take final action on an application filed under par. (a) 1. within 180 days after the application is determined or considered to be complete under par. (a) 2. If the commission fails to take final action within the 180-day period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity with respect to the application, unless the commission, within the 180-day period, petitions the circuit court for Dane County for an extension of time for taking final action on the application and the court grants an extension. Upon a showing of good cause, the court may extend the 180-day chairperson of the commission extends the time period for no more than an additional 180 days for good cause. If the commission fails to take final action within the extended period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity with respect to the application.
125,26
Section
26. 196.50 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.50 (2) (i) A telecommunications utility certified under this subsection is exempt from ss. 196.02 (2) and (6), 196.05, 196.06, 196.07, 196.08, 196.09, 196.10, 196.12, 196.13, 196.16, 196.18, 196.19, 196.20, 196.21, 196.219 (3) (c), (e), (g), and (L), (4d), (4m), and (5), 196.24, 196.395 (1), 196.49, 196.52, 196.58, 196.60, 196.64, 196.72, 196.78, and 196.79 and, except with respect to wholesale telecommunications service, is exempt from s. 196.219 (4).
125,27
Section
27. 197.10 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
197.10 (4) Insofar as the use, operation, service, management, control, sale, lease, purchase, extension, improvement, rates, value or earnings of the properties of the public utility or provisions looking toward the ultimate acquisition of the same are made subject to the terms of any contract provided for in sub. (1), and so long as said contract remains in force, the following sections of the statutes shall be inapplicable to the same: ss. 196.02 (1) and (2), 196.05, 196.09, 196.10, 196.11, 196.15, 196.16, 196.19 (6), 196.20, 196.21, 196.22, 196.26, 196.28, 196.30, 196.37, 196.39, 196.40, 196.58, 196.70, 197.01 (2) to (4), 197.02, 197.03, 197.04, 197.05, 197.06, 197.08 and 197.09; provided that nothing in any contract made hereunder shall operate to prevent an appeal to the public service commission by any person, other than a party to said contract, upon any complaint alleging that any rate, fare, charge or classification, or any joint rate, or any regulation, act or practice relating to the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of gas, heat, light or power, or any service in connection therewith, is unjustly discriminatory, or that any such service is inadequate or cannot be obtained. Upon said appeal the commission shall, as provided by law, determine and by order fix a rate, fare, charge, classification, joint rate or regulation, act or practice or service to be imposed, observed or followed in the future in lieu of that found to be unjustly discriminatory or inadequate.
125,28
Section
28. 227.01 (13) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
227.01 (13) (intro.) "Rule" means a regulation, standard, statement of policy, or general order of general application which has the effect of law and which is issued by an agency to implement, interpret, or make specific legislation enforced or administered by the agency or to govern the organization or procedure of the agency. "Rule" includes a modification of a rule under s. 227.265. "Rule" does not include, and s. 227.10 does not apply to, any action or inaction of an agency, whether it would otherwise meet the definition under this subsection, which:
125,29
Section
29. 227.11 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
227.11 (2) (intro.) Rule-making authority is expressly conferred on an agency as follows:
125,30
Section
30. 227.265 of the statutes is created to read:
227.265 Repeal or modification of rules. If a bill to repeal or modify a rule is enacted, the procedures under ss. 227.114 to 227.21 and 227.26 do not apply. Instead, the legislative reference bureau shall publish the repeal or modification in the Wisconsin administrative code and register as required under s. 35.93, and the repeal or modification shall take effect as provided in s. 227.22.
125,31
Section
31. 227.27 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
227.27 (2) The code shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and proceedings as provided by s. 889.01, but this does not preclude reference to or, in case of a discrepancy, control over a rule filed with the legislative reference bureau or the secretary of state under s. 227.20 or modified under s. 227.265, and the certified copy of a rule shall also and in the same degree be prima facie evidence in all courts and proceedings.
125,32
Section
32. 941.40 (3) and (4) (b) of the statutes are amended to read:
941.40 (3) Any person who, for any purpose, intentionally makes or causes to be made a physical electrical connection with any wire, cable, conductor, ground, equipment, facility, or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power company, including a cooperative association organized under ch. 185, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(4) (b) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a person who acts with the permission of the telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power company, including a cooperative association organized under ch. 185, that is affected or that owns the wire, pole, cable, conductor, ground, equipment, facility, or other affected property or with the permission of the person who owns the property on which the wire, pole, cable, conductor, ground, equipment, facility, or other affected property is located.
125,33
Section
33. PSC ch. 171 of the administrative code is repealed.
125,34
Section
34.
Nonstatutory provisions.
(1) Cable television telecommunications service providers.
(a) In this subsection, "cable television telecommunications provider" means a person whom the public service commission has, prior to the effective date of this paragraph, certified as an alternative telecommunications utility defined in section 196.01 (1d) (a), 2011 stats.
(b) On the effective date of this paragraph, a cable television telecommunications service provider is considered certified as an alternative telecommunications utility defined in section 196.01 (1d) (f) of the statutes, notwithstanding the absence of a finding required under section 196.01 (1d) (f). The public service commission shall issue a certification as an alternative telecommunications utility defined in section 196.01 (1d) (f) to each such cable television telecommunications service provider.
125,35
Section
35.
Initial applicability.
(1) Availability of public utility schedules. The treatment of sections 196.19 (3) and (4) and 196.21 of the statutes first applies to schedules that are filed on the effective date of this subsection.
(2) Project certificates and approvals. The treatment of section 196.49 (5g) (a) (intro.) of the statutes first applies to projects that begin on the effective date of this subsection.
(3) Certificates of public convenience and necessity; deadline extension. The treatment of section 196.491 (3) (g) of the statutes first applies to applications received on the effective date of this subsection.
(4) Tampering with telecommunications or electric wires. The treatment of section 941.40 (3) and (4) (b) of the statutes first applies to an act committed on the effective date of this subsection.
125,36
Section
36.
Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:
(1) The treatment of section 35.93 (2) (b) 4. and (c) 1. and (3) (e) (intro.) and 1. of the statutes takes effect on January 1, 2015.
(2) The treatment of section 101.862 (4) (f) of the statutes takes effect on April 1, 2014.
