Included in this order, in addition to fees for consolidated plan review, are amendments to the Department's rules for hospitals, nursing homes and FDDs that incorporate by reference the State Building Code and make clear that it is now the Department that reviews hospital, nursing home and FDD construction plans for compliance with the State Building Code.
Publication Date:
June 29, 1996
Effective Date:
July 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
November 28, 1996
Hearing Date:
August 30, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
Health & Social Services
(Economic Support, Chs. HSS 200-)
1. Rules were adopted revising chs. HSS 201 and 206, relating to pay for performance demonstration project under the AFDC program.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
The Legislature in s. 12 (2) and (3) of 1995 Wis. Act 12 permitted the Department to promulgate the rules required under s. 49.193 (3m) and (9m), Stats., as created by Act 12, by using emergency rulemaking procedures but without having to make a finding of emergency. They will take effect on March 1, 1996.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Social Services
Under s. 49.19, Stats., families inquiring about the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program are immediately encouraged to apply for assistance without exploring possible alternatives to welfare. Once determined eligible, many families come to consider the AFDC program a program of long-term financial support, sometimes spanning generations. Yet AFDC was originally meant to be a temporary, emergency program.
Wisconsin has obtained approval from the Food and Consumer Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and from the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a Pay for Performance (PFP) demonstration project beginning March 1, 1996. The major objective of the Pay for Performance demonstration project is to focus on freedom from public assistance by encouraging immediate attachment to the work force and helping families explore alternatives to AFDC before becoming dependent on AFDC. The demonstration project will be conducted statewide except in Dane, Dodge, Jefferson and Waukesha counties. In those counties individuals may be assigned to a control group which will be exempt from the demonstration project requirements to permit evaluation of the demonstration project. Statutory authority for the Department to operate two related demonstration projects, Self-Sufficiency First and Pay for Performance, was included in 1995 Wis. Act 12. Under the federal government's terms and conditions of approval for demonstration project, the Department is now calling the combined project Pay for Performance.
The first component of the Pay for Performance demonstration project encourages alternatives to AFDC through services of a financial planning resource specialist (FPRS) and up-front job search. This component is directed at helping applicants identify alternatives to AFDC, facilitating immediate orientation and referral to the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program and requiring job search before receiving AFDC. Cooperation is made an AFDC eligibility requirement. An individual who fails without good cause to cooperate with these requirements will be ineligible to receive AFDC benefits for himself or herself and his or her family.
For an individual who becomes an AFDC recipient after fulfilling the applicant job search requirements, there is a second component of the Pay for Performance demonstration project. This requires the JOBS case manager to design an employability plan for the recipient that focuses on employment at the earliest opportunity and requires the recipient to participate in a set number of hours of participation in JOBS program activities or work to maintain AFDC eligibility. Failure, without good cause, to maintain participation as assigned will result in sanctions in the next possible month based on the number of hours missed without good cause multiplied by the federal minimum wage. Failure to participate in at least 25% of the assigned hours will result in no AFDC benefits being paid for that month and a reduction to $10 in food stamp benefits.
These are the rules for the implementation of the Pay for Performance demonstration project.
Publication Date:
March 1, 1996
Effective Date:
March 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
July 29, 1996
Hearing Date:
April 16, 1996
Extension Through:
November 25, 1996
2. Rules adopted creating s. HSS 201.135, relating to time limits on benefits for AFDC recipients participating in the JOBS program.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
The Legislature in s. 275 (3) of 1995 Wis. Act 289 directed the Department to promulgate the rule required under s. 49.145 (2) (n), stats., as created by Wis. Act 289, by using emergency rulemaking procedures but without having to make a finding of emergency. The rule will take effect on October 1, 1996.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Workforce Development
Under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program an individual may apply and be determined eligible for AFDC benefits with no regard to whether the individual has received benefits in the past or the number of months an individual may have already received benefits. Wisconsin Works (W-2), the replacement program for AFDC, as created by 1995 Wis. Act 289, includes a provision limiting the amount of time an individual may receive AFDC benefits, W-2 employment position benefits or a combination thereof. Under s. 49.145 (2) (n), Stats., as created by 1995 Wis. Act 289, the total number of months in which an adult has actively participated in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program under s. 49.193, Stats., or has participated in a W-2 employment position or both may not exceed 60 months. The months need not be consecutive. Extensions to the 60 month time limit may be granted only in unusual circumstances in accordance with rules promulgated by the Department. Section 49.141 (2) (b), Stats., as created by 1995 Wis. Act 289, provides that if a federal waiver is granted or federal legislation is enacted, the Department may begin to implement the W-2 program no sooner than July 1, 1996. Participation in JOBS under s. 49.193, Stats., begins to count toward the 60-month limit beginning on October 1, 1996.
The federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) was signed into law by President Clinton on August 22, 1996. It creates the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which proves that a state may not use any part of the TANF grant to provide assistance to a family that includes an adult who has received assistance for 60 months, whether consecutive or not, under a state program funded by the TANF block grant. Wisconsin submitted its TANF Block Grant State Plan to the Federal Administration for Children and Families on August 22, 1996. The Department will implement time limits October 1, 1996, for AFDC recipients who are actively participating in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training Program. Implementation of the time limits is part of the continuing transition from AFDC to the W-2 program. W-2 will be implemented statewide in September 1997.
Time limits reinforce the idea that AFDC is a temporary support for families, rather than a long-term source of income. Wisconsin's Work Not Welfare (WNW) demonstration project which is operating in Fond du Lac and Pierce Counties, has shown that time limits create a sense of urgency for families to actively seek alternatives to AFDC. Time limits stress mutual responsibility: government provides support and services designed to promote employment and participants who are able must prepare for and enter employment.
The rule defines the term “actively participating” in the JOBS program and includes criteria county or tribal economic support agency would use to determine whether an extension of the 60 month time limit should be granted. The Department retains the right to review an economic support agency's decisions related to extensions.
Publication Date:
September 30, 1996
Effective Date:
October 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
February 28, 1997
Hearing Date:
November 19, 1996
[See Notice this Register]
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Industry, Labor & Human Relations
(Uniform Dwellings, Chs. ILHR 20-25)
Rules adopted revising chs. ILHR 20 and 21, relating to one- and two-family dwellings constructed in flood hazard zones.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of the rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of public health, safety and welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has informed some municipalities that it will no longer allow variances to a local ordinance that prohibits the construction of homes in flood fringe areas where the foundation extends below the base flood elevation. FEMA regulations allow this type of construction in some locations but require the construction to meet a suitable building code. The Uniform Dwelling Code, which regulates new home construction in Wisconsin, has never addressed this issue. FEMA's actions have halted some residential projects, causing serious financial hardship for those affected Wisconsin builders and residents.
The proposed rules add requirements to the Uniform Dwelling Code for construction in flood fringe areas in order to meet FEMA requirements. The primary source of these rules is the National Building Code published by Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Incorporated (BOCA).
Publication Date:
May 8, 1996
Effective Date:
May 8, 1996
Expiration Date:
October 5, 1996
Hearing Date:
July 17, 1996
Extension Through:
December 3, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Industry, Labor & Human Relations
(Building & Heating, etc., Chs. ILHR 50-64)
(Multi-Family Dwellings, Ch. ILHR 66)
Rule adopted delaying the effective date of a rule revision to portions of chs. ILHR 50 to 64 and 66, relating to energy efficiency.
Note: A lawsuit has been filed challenging the validity of this emergency rule action.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of public health, safety and welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
1. On August 8, 1995, the Department adopted revised rules relating to ventilation and energy conservation in public buildings and places of employment. The purpose of these rules was to improve indoor air quality in buildings and to comply with the federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 which requires all states to revise their commercial building codes to meet or exceed the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Engineering Society (ASHRAE/IES) standard 90.1-1989. The rules went into effect on April 1, 1996.
2. Information has been recently provided to the Department that indicates that two of the provisions of the rules will cause excessive costs for building owners without commensurate benefit.
3. The emergency rule is being promulgated to avoid economic hardship caused by imposing unnecessary building construction and operating costs on building owners and operators.
Emergency Rule Analysis
The emergency rule will delay the effective date of the Energy Conservation related and Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning related rules for one year to give the Department and its advisory committee time to study the effect of the rules and make any necessary changes.
Publication Date:
April 6, 1996
Effective Date:
April 6, 1996
Expiration Date:
September 3, 1996
Hearing Date:
May 28, 1996
Extension Through:
November 1, 1996
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Industry, Labor & Human Relations
[Workforce Development]
(Labor Standards, Chs. ILHR 270-279)
Rules adopted revising ch. ILHR 272, relating to the minimum wage.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Workforce Development finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The minimum wage set by federal law will be raised to $4.75 per hour effective October 1, 1996. The federal minimum wage covers many but not all of the employers and employes in the state, and it is not always easy for a particular employer to know if it is covered by state or federal law. If the state did not act quickly to adjust its minimum wage rules in response to the change in federal law, many employers and employes would be subjected to confusion and uncertainty in the calculation and payment of wages.
Publication Date:
August 28, 1996
Effective Date:
October 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
February 28, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Commissioner of Insurance
Rule adopted revising s. Ins 18.07 (5) (b), relating to a decrease in 1996-97 premium rates for the health insurance risk-sharing plan.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
Pursuant to s. 619.14 (5) (e), Stats., the commissioner is not required to make a finding of an emergency to promulgate this emergency rule.
1996-97 Premium Adjustments
The Commissioner of Insurance, based on the recommendation of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (“HIRSP”) board, is required to set the annual premiums by rule. The rates must be calculated in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and must be set at 60% of HIRSP's operating and administrative costs. This rule adjusts the premium rates for the period of October 1, 1996 through June 30, 1997, based upon a recalculation of costs and subsidy payments for the 1996-1997 fiscal year. This adjustment represents a 12% reduction in premium payments for the both the non-subsidized major medical and medicare plans for person under age 65. The rates for low-income persons entitled to a premium reduction under s. Ins 18.07 (5) (b) are not affected.
Publication Date:
September 4, 1996
Effective Date:
October 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
February 28, 1997
Hearing Date:
November 8, 1996
[See Notice this Register]
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (6)
Natural Resources
