2. Rules adopted revising ch. ERB 4, relating to a fee for transporting hazardous material.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The State Emergency Response Board finds that an emergency exists and that the attached 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 necessary to provide adequate protection against the risks to life and property inherent in the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce.
This emergency rule is being promulgated to allow continuation of the Wisconsin hazardous materials transportation registration program established in s. 166.20(7g), Stats. The State Emergency Response Board (SERB) promulgated a rule, ch. ERB 4, to implement the program. The original rule had a sunset date of June 30, 1995. A revised ch. ERB 4 was promulgated December 1, 1995, but was superseded by statutory changes to s. 166.20(7g), Stats., enacted in the Department of Transportation (DOT) biennial budget.
The emergency rule will enable the DOT to collect registration fees for the billing period July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996. This was agreed upon as a necessary step by several agencies including SERB, Division of Emergency Government and DOT in consultation with Legislative Council and Joint Committee For Review of Administrative Rules staff. Through this collection, DOT will meet the statutory requirement to collect an annual registration fee for the transport of hazardous materials. These fees are deposited to the State Transportation Fund to partially offset the DOT appropriations funding the level A and level B hazardous materials emergency response teams in Wisconsin. The legislature has supported the emergency response team system in Wisconsin by adopting legislation to authorize teams and fund them through a combination of fees and the State Transportation Fund.
The SERB, the Department of Military Affairs-Division of Emergency Government and the Department of Transportation are jointly developing a permanent rule to reflect the statutory fee structure enacted by the legislature in the DOT 1995-97 biennial budget. It is expected a revised permanent rule will be promulgated later this year.
Publication Date:
February 23, 1996
Effective Date:
February 23, 1996
Expiration Date:
July 22, 1996
Hearing Date:
April 2, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Department of Employment Relations
A rule was adopted creating s. ER 29.03 (8) (bm), relating to the rate of pay as a result of voluntary demotions by employes who are notified they may be subject to layoff.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Department of Employment Relations finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety of welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
Many state agencies are undergoing reorganizations, either at the directive of the Governor and State Legislature or on their own initiative. These organizational changes are occurring to promote efficient and effective administration of state agencies, improve delivery of services and improve coordination of similar programs. Numerous permanent postilions in the classified civil service are being restructured because of a reduction in force due to a lack of work or funds or owing to material changes in duties organization. Incumbents of those positions will soon face critical career decisions and alternatives that involve new duties, classification and/or physical location of their work site.
This emergency rule allows employes who have been notified that they are “at risk” of layoff to maintain their current rate of pay if they voluntarily demote under certain circumstances within an agency. “At risk” means the employe has received written notification that layoffs may occur in the agency and the employe's position may be affected by they layoffs. The employe may be allowed to retain his/her present rate of pay only if the demotion is to a position no more than three pay ranges or counterpart pay ranges lower than the pay range of the position from which the employe is demoting.
If the option of maintaining the employe's pay rate is not available to the employe and the agency, employes will be forced to choose between options that may result in a reduction in pay, transfer or demotion to a less desirable location or position, or the employe may eventually be laid off. These consequences may adversely affect employe morale, undermine the efficient use of human resources and reduce the benefits of the agency reorganization. Retention of an employe's current rate of pay can be used by the agency as an incentive for employes to move to positions they might otherwise not choose.
For these reasons and because employe layoffs may occur before the Department could promulgate permanent rule, the Department believes a finding of emergency is warranted to preserve the welfare of individual employes and the civil service system.
Publication Date:
March 18, 1996
Effective Date:
March 18, 1996
Expiration Date:
August 15, 1996
Hearing Date:
May 3, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Wisconsin Gaming Commission
A rule was adopted amending s. WGC 24.13 (1) (d), relating to simulcasting fees.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Wisconsin Gaming Commission 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:
The previous fee of $50 per performance made simulcasting cost prohibitive, and as a result, prevented the expansion of employment and residual economic benefits. The emergency rule will allow for the increased economic activity.
Publication Date:
March 1, 1996
Effective Date:
March 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
July 29, 1996
Hearing Date:
April 15, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
Health and Social Services
(Community Services, Chs. HSS 30--)
1. Rules were adopted creating ch. HSS 38, relating to treatment foster care for children.
EXEMPTION FROM FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Legislature in s. 182 (1) of 1993 Wis. Act 446 directed the Department to promulgate rules under s. 48.67 (1), Stats., as amended by Act 446, for licensing treatment foster homes, to take effect on September 1, 1994, by using the emergency rule-making procedures under s. 227.24, Stats., but without having to make a finding of emergency. They will remain in effect until replaced by permanent rules.
ANALYSIS PREPARED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
This rule-making order implements s. 48.67 (1), Stats., as amended by 1993 Wis. Act 446, which directs the Department to promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for issuing licenses to treatment foster homes, including standards for operation of those homes.
Treatment foster care is a family-based and community-based approach to substitute care and treatment for children who are medically needy or emotionally disturbed and for some developmentally disabled children, and could be an alternative to institutionalization for some children. Treatment foster care is provided in a foster home by foster parents who meet education and training requirements which exceed the requirements for regular foster care, and by social service, mental health and other professional staff.
A number of public and private agencies have recently begun providing “treatment foster care,” but since there are no standards currently for this type of care, those programs vary considerably in the type and quality of services they provide. These rules establish minimum standards that agencies, professional staff and foster parents would have to meet in order to claim that they are providing treatment foster care.
The rules require treatment foster homes to comply with ch. HSS 56 for regular foster homes except when there is a conflict between a provision of these rules and ch. HSS 56, in which case these rules take precedence.
The rules cover making application to a licensing agency for a treatment foster home licensee, licensee qualifications, licensee responsibilities, respite care for foster parents, responsibilities of the providing agency, the physical environment of a treatment foster home, care of the children and training for treatment foster parents.
Publication Date:
September 1, 1994
Effective Date:
September 1, 1994
Expiration Date:
1993 Wis. Act 446, s. 182
Hearing Date:
January 24, 25 & 26, 1995
2. Rules adopted revising ch. HSS 73, relating to an exception to limits on use of community long-term support funds for services used by CBRF residents.
EXEMPTION FROM FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Legislature in s. 9126 (5) (c) of 1995 Wis. Act 27 directed the Department to promulgate the rules required under ss. 46.27 (2) (h) 2 and 46.277 (5r), Stats., as created by Act 27, by using emergency rule-making procedures but without having to make a finding of emergency. These are the rules. They will take effect on January 1, 1996.
ANALYSIS PREPARED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
The 1995-97 Budget Act, 1995 Wis. Act 27, created ss. 46.27 (3) (f) and 46.277 (3) (c), Stats., to require counties, beginning January 1, 1996, to limit the amount of spending for services received by persons who reside in community-based residential facilities (CBRFs) from the annual allocations received for the provision of long-term community support services to no more than 25% of each allocation for the calendar year. Act 27 also added provisions in ss. 46.27 and 46.277, Stats., that prohibit counties from using funds from an allocation that exceed the maximum allowable to pay for services for a person who resides in a CBRF or intends to reside in a CBRF and is initially applying for services unless the Department grants an exception for the person on hardship grounds under conditions specified by rule.
Through this rule-making order the Department is establishing conditions of hardship on the basis of which it will make exceptions to the limitations on spending for services provided to CBRF residents from the annual allocations for community long-term support services.
Publication Date:
December 27, 1995
Effective Date:
January 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
May 30, 1996
Hearing Date:
February 13, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (4)
Health and Social Services
(Health, Chs. HSS 110--)
1. Rules were adopted revising ss. HSS 122.06 and 122.07, relating to review of projects concerning new nursing home designs.
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Department of Health and Social Services finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of the rules is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
A capital expenditure by or on behalf of a nursing home that exceeds $1,000,000 is subject to prior review and approval by the Department under subch. II of ch. 150, Stats. An approved project has a maximum cost per bed limit computed under s. HSS 122.07 (1) (c).
The Legislature in s. 10 of 1993 Wis. Act 290 directed the Department to study the issue of the relationship between the design and construction of nursing homes and the formula for determining approvable proposed bed costs under s. HSS 122.07 within the context of health care cost containment.
The Department on January 31, 1995 submitted its report to the Legislature on nursing home design and construction in relation to the formula for determining maximum bed costs. While the study dealt primarily with traditional nursing home designs, the Department stated in the report that its Division of Health was developing rules to permit the study of new nursing home designs which increase capital costs per bed but decrease operating costs. The rules would increase the maximum cost per bed for projects that will permit study of the impact of nursing home design and management approaches on the health of nursing home residents and the cost of care. New nursing home designs may exceed the maximum costs per bed but reduce operating costs.
The Department is publishing the necessary rules by emergency order because of the length of the permanent rulemaking process and also the length of the Department's project approval process which cannot begin until the rules are in effect. An emergency order will give the Department the opportunity to act now to improve care for nursing home residents and possibly lower the overall costs of care.
This order creates rules which will increase the cost per bed maximum for two or three pilot projects that will demonstrate new nursing home designs.
The rules establish conditions for the announcement and acceptance of applications, criteria for review of applications and a selection process when there are more applicants that meet the requirements for project approval than can be approved.
Publication Date:
November 29, 1995
Effective Date:
November 29, 1995
Expiration Date:
April 28, 1996
Hearing Date:
January 18, 1996
Extension Through:
May 31, 1996
2. Rules were adopted creating ch. HSS 182, relating to lead poisoning prevention grants.
EXEMPTION FROM FINDING OF EMERGENCY
The Legislature in s. 9126 (27x) (b) of 1995 Wis. Act 27 directed the Department to promulgate rules required under s. 254.151, Stats., as created by Act 27, using emergency rulemaking procedures, but exempted the Department from the requirement under s. 227.24 (1) and (3), Stats., to make a finding of emergency. They will take effect on publication in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
ANALYSIS
These rules implement the requirement in s. 254.151, Stats., as amended by 1995 Wis. Act 27, that the Department establish criteria by rule for the award of grants to fund educational programs, including programs for health care providers, about the dangers of lead poisoning or exposure to lead; to fund lead poisoning or lead exposure screening, care coordination and follow-up services, including lead inspections, for or on behalf of children under the age of 6, not covered by third-party payers; to fund administration and enforcement activities of local health departments that, under s. 254.152, Stats., are designated by the Department to be its agents for administration and enforcement of ss. 254.11 to 254.178, Stats.
The grant program was established in mid-1994. The requirement that the Department's criteria for awarding grants be set out in rules was added by Act 27 in mid-1995. The amount available in the appropriation for grant awards is $879,000 for each year of the 1995-97 biennium.
The rules identify who may apply or a grant, describe the application process, provide for preliminary review of applications by the Department for compliance with format and content requirements set out in the relevant request for proposals (RFP), provide for evaluation of applications by one or more review committees appointed by the Department and specify 14 criteria for use in that final review, note that the Department will award grants based on the recommendations of the review committee or committees and taking into consideration other specified factors and describe the awards process and conditions that are imposed when grants are awarded.
Publication Date:
December 5, 1995
Effective Date:
December 5, 1995
Expiration Date:
May 4, 1996
Hearing Date:
January 16, 1996
Extension Through:
July 2, 1996
