Rules adopted creating s. ILHR 2.36 and ch. ILHR 74, relating to contractor registration and certification.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations finds that an emergency exists within the state of Wisconsin which will affect the peace and welfare of its citizens. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
1. During the 1993-1994 legislative session, the legislature passed 2 acts relating to registration and certification of contractors. The acts imposed specific requirements on the Department, municipalities and contractors.
2. 1993 Wis. Act 126 requires the Department to promulgate rules for certifying the financial responsibility of contractors who must obtain a building permit to perform work on a one- or 2-family dwelling covered under the Uniform Dwelling Code. The act prohibits municipalities from issuing a building permit to a contractor who is required to be certified unless the contractor has the certificate of financial responsibility from the Department. The law applies to applications for a building permit after March 31, 1995.
3. 1993 Wis. Act 243 prohibits contractors from installing or servicing heating, ventilating or air conditioning equipment unless the contractor registers with the Department. The acts also requires the Department to promulgate rules for a voluntary program for certification of heating, ventilating and air conditioning contractors. The effective date for the registration requirement was August 1, 1994.
4. The 1995 building construction season will be starting soon. In order to ensure consistent and uniform application of the laws and rules for the entire 1995 construction season, the building construction industry has asked the Department to have the rules in effect at the start of the building season.
5. The Department initiated its rule making efforts in response to these laws in May, 1994. The year 1994 was an election year. Chapter 227, Stats., prohibits the forwarding of proposed final rules to the legislature after November 1 of an election year. This 2 month period of time was not available to the Department. The Department has held the required public hearings and will be forwarding the final rules to the standing committees shortly. However, the required timeframes will not permit adoption of the permanent rules by April 1, 1995.
ANALYSIS
The rules consist of the necessary provisions to comply with the mandates in 1993 Wis. Acts 126 and 243. The rules for the dwelling contractor certification require the submittal of basic identification information in addition to the requirements in Act 126 relating to a surety bond, general liability insurance, worker's compensation insurance and unemployment compensation contributions. The rules apply to a contractor who must obtain a local building permit in order to perform construction or erosion control work on a one- or 2-family dwelling covered under the Uniform Dwelling Code.
The rules contain requirements for mandatory registration and voluntary certification of contractors who perform hearing, ventilating, or air conditioning work. The mandatory registration consists of the submittal of basic identification information. The voluntary certification requires qualified persons to pass a Department examination.
The rules also include requirements relating to denial, suspension and revocation of the registrations and certifications. All of the registrations and certifications issued under the rules will expire annually and may be renewed. In order for the Department to cover the costs of administering the respective programs, the rules also include the establishment of program fees.
Publication Date:
March 17, 1995
Effective Date:
March 17, 1995
Expiration Date:
August 14, 1995
Hearing Date:
April 27, 1995
Extension Through:
October 12, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Insurance
Rules adopted revising ch. Ins 17, relating to the patients compensation fund.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The commissioner of insurance (commissioner) finds that an emergency exists and that promulgation of an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The commissioner was unable to promulgate a permanent rule corresponding to this emergency rule in time for the patients compensation fund (fund) to bill health care providers in a timely manner for fees applicable to the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1995. The amount of the fees established by this rule could not be determined until after the governor signed 1995 Wis. Act 10, which imposes a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice actions and therefore affects the level of funding needed for the fund.
The commissioner expects that the permanent rule will be filed with the secretary of state in time to take effect October 1, 1995. Because this rule first applies on July 1, 1993, it is necessary to promulgate the rule on an emergency basis.
Publication Date:
June 14, 1995
Effective Date:
June 14, 1995
Expiration Date:
November 11, 1995
Hearing Date:
July 21, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Natural Resources
(Fish, Game, etc., Chs. NR 1--)
Rules adopted amending ss. NR 20.02 (1) (c) and 25.06 (2) (b), relating to sport fishing for yellow perch on Lake Michigan and commercial fishing for yellow perch in zones 2 and 3 on Lake Michigan and Green Bay.
ANALYSIS
The order affects Lake Michigan sport fishing rules and Green Bay and Lake Michigan commercial fishing rules. SECTION 1 decreases the sport fishing daily bag limit for yellow perch taken from Lake Michigan from 50 to 25 fish and closes the sport fishing season for yellow perch in Lake Michigan during June (effective June 1, 1995). SECTION 2 decreased the total allowable annual commercial harvests of yellow perch from zones 2 and 3 of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. For zone 2 the commercial yellow perch harvest limit is reduced from 13,300 pounds to 4,655 pounds and for zone 3 the harvest limit is reduced from 306,700 pounds to 107,345 pounds (effective July 1, 1995).
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Department of Natural Resources finds that an emergency exists and rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The yellow perch population in Lake Michigan is rapidly declining. This decline reflects five consecutive years of extremely poor reproduction. Sport and commercial harvests of adult yellow perch must be limited immediately in order to maximize the probability of good reproduction in the near future. The harvest limitations proposed here are part of a four-state yellow perch protection plan.
Publication Date:
May 31, 1995
Effective Dates: June 1, 1995 (part) & July 1, 1995 (part)
Expiration Dates: October 29, 1995 & November 28, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
State Public Defender
1. Rules adopted revising ch. SPD 3, relating to indigency evaluation and verification.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The State Public Defender Board finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
It is essential that the Office of the State Public Defender ensure that only eligible applicants receive agency services. The proposed changes are needed to establish authority for the agency to revise its indigency evaluation procedures and to initiate verification of income. Without these changes it will be difficult to access and verify an applicant's eligibility with accuracy; and thus the public interest will not be served.
ANALYSIS
These proposed rules implement recommendations made by the Legislative Audit Bureau in its recent audit of the Office of the State Public Defender. Specifically, the rules: 1) codify the agency's verification of indigency evaluation procedures; 2) specify the anticipated cost of retaining counsel for involuntary termination of parental rights cases for purposes of the indigency calculation; 3) provides for additional verification for applicants who have equity in real estate; 4) specifies which emergency and essential costs may be calculated in the indigency formula; 5) clarifies under what circumstances an applicant's spouse income must be counted; 6) provides that persons whose sole income is SSI are eligible for the program; 7) prohibits voluntary termination of employment for purposes of qualifying for SPD representation; and 8) clarifies trial court access to agency indigency evaluations during the pendency of a case.
Publication Date:
May 12, 1995
Effective Date:
May 12, 1995
Expiration Date:
October 9, 1995
Hearing Date:
July 11, 1995
2. Rules adopted revising ch. SPD 4, relating to limiting the allowable billable hours for private bar attorneys.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The State Public Defender Board finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The Office of the State Public Defender assigns approximately 40% of its cases annually to private bar attorneys. To ensure that assignments are made within budgetary expenditures that provide efficient and effective representation of the public, the proposed rule is necessary.
ANALYSIS
This proposed rule caps private attorney billable hours at 2080 hours per year. This number is equivalent to the hours worked in a full-time job.
Under the proposed rule, any private bar attorney who foresees exceptional circumstances what will cause an excess of 2080 billable hours a year, may petition the state public defender board for advance approval for payment of those excess hours. In addition, any private attorney who is denied payment for hours worked in excess of 2080 per year may appeal the denial of payment to the state public defender board.
Publication Date:
June 14, 1995
Effective Date:
June 16, 1995
Expiration Date:
November 13, 1995
Hearing Date:
July 11, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Public Instruction
Rules adopted revising s. PI 11.07, relating to transfer pupils with exceptional educational needs (EEN).
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
Currently school districts and Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) operated facilities are not required by rule to implement an exceptional education needs (EEN) transfer pupil's Individualized Educational Program (IEP) from the sending district or facility nor are they permitted to formally adopt the M-team evaluation and IEP from the sending district. This results in an interruption of special education and related services for such transfer pupils identified as having an EEN. The interruption of services is prohibited by federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The emergency rules require school districts and facilities implement an EEN transfer pupil's IEP from the sending school or facility. The emergency rules also allow the receiving school district or facility to adopt the sending district or facility's M-team evaluation and IEP.
Therefore, the state superintendent finds that an emergency exists and that promulgation of emergency rules is necessary to preserve the public health and welfare.
Publication Date:
April 24, 1995
Effective Date:
April 24, 1995
Expiration Date:
September 21, 1995
Hearing Dates:
July 19 & 20, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
State Fair Park
Rules were adopted revising chs. SFP 1 to 7, relating to the regulation of activities at the state fair park.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY AND RULE ANALYSIS
The Wisconsin State Fair Park Board finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of rules is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare of its citizens. The facts constituting this emergency are as follows:
During the annual State Fair, which is scheduled to begin on August 3, 1995, the Wisconsin State Fair Park is host to over 100,000 people per day and millions of dollars in merchandise and property. Initially, chs. SFP 1-7 were designed primarily to protect the property of the State Fair Park.
However, crime patterns at the State Fair Park have changed dramatically since those rules adopted in 1967. With the increases in attendance and number of events in the intervening years, the number and severity of crimes against State Fair visitors, patrons, and property have necessarily increased. Also, a general rise in gang-related activity at Park events and during skating hours at the Pettit National Ice Center has occurred over the last several years. Consequently, there is a greater need for Park Police Department arrest authority on the Park grounds in order to ensure prosecutorial cooperation by Milwaukee County.
Due to excessive workloads, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and the Milwaukee County Circuit Court System are reluctant to process and charge offenders for relatively minor property-type acts prohibited under the current SFP rules. Area and suburban Milwaukee County Police Departments have alleviated similar problems by conforming their ordinances to the county and state codes, authorizing their Police Departments to make lawful standing arrests for acts which the county will prosecute.
The State Fair Park Board seeks the same level of cooperation from Milwaukee County by conforming its rules to the county code. Therefore, these proposed emergency rules prohibit such activities as loitering, spray painting, theft, battery, and resisting/obstructing an officer, as well as various weapons prohibitions. There is also included provisions to protect the police horses, which are not only an integral part of Park enforcement but are also a major public relations tool. With these changes, the Park administration can ensure a safe and family-oriented environment at this year's State Fair and other Park events.
Publication Date:
August 2, 1995
Effective Date:
August 2,1995
Expiration Date:
December 30, 1995
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Commissioner of Transportation
[Commissioner of Railroads]
