June 3, 1997 Hill Farms State Trans. Bldg.
Tuesday 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 551
1:00 p.m. Madison, WI
June 3, 1997 Hill Farms State Trans. Bldg.
Tuesday 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 421
7:00 p.m. Madison, WI
The public record on this proposed rule making will be held open until June 10, 1997, to permit the submission of written comments from persons unable to attend the public hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. Any such comments should be submitted to Major Michael Moore, Wisconsin State Patrol Academy, 800 South 10th Avenue, Sparta, WI 54656-5164.
Parking for persons with disabilities and an accessible entrance are available on the north and south sides of the Hill Farms State Transportation Building.
Analysis Prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: ss. 85.16(1), 110.075, 227.10(1) and 347.35(3)(b)
STATUTES INTERPRETED: ss. 342.07(2), 342.30 and ch. 347
General Summary of Proposed Rule.
This rule making proposes to make minor changes in the Department's rule on motor vehicle equipment. The rule was renumbered ch. Trans 305 and recreated in 1996. The proposed changes correct oversights in the 1996 rule making and make certain sections of ch. Trans 305 more understandable and easier to enforce. Section 1 clarifies that vehicles brought to Wisconsin from other jurisdictions need to meet Wisconsin equipment requirements for vehicles of the same model year. Sections 2 and 4 delete registered weight from the definitions of heavy and light truck so that small trucks registered with farm plates are not unnecessarily subjected to heavy vehicle equipment requirements. Section 6 makes clear that homemade and reconstructed trailers and semitrailers need not be inspected prior to titling or registration. Section 9 corrects an oversight by providing that auxiliary lights must be properly aimed. This will provide the same protection as similar restrictions applicable to headlamps. Section 10 eliminates the requirement that auxiliary off-road lamps be covered when a vehicle so equipped is operated on a highway.
As it is difficult to determine if older vehicles were originally manufactured with certain types of equipment, this rule proposes to make mandatory equipment requirements apply either to all vehicles or beginning with certain specified model years for clarity and ease of enforcement. This is accomplished in Sections 11, 14-18, 29 and 30.
Section 13 provides that directional signals may not be covered or obscured which is consistent with restrictions applicable to tail and stop lamps and 1995 Wis. Act 346. Section 16 clarifies that when a camper top or similar covering makes a truck 80 or more inches wide, high mounted stop lamps are not required. Section 19 clarifies that doors, hoods and trunks must be capable of being opened and securely closed, but that no particular type of opening and closing device is mandated. The section also makes the restriction on projecting parts on hoods more enforceable by providing an objective point from which measurements should be made. Sections 22 and 23 simplify the provisions on fuel tanks by providing that the installation of fuel tanks must be in accordance with industry standards. Section 24 amends the provision relating to maintenance of airbags to be consistent with federal regulations which permit deactivation of airbags in certain circumstances. Section 28 deletes the provision which allowed cloudiness or etching beyond 2 inches from the edge of the rear window if the vehicle had two outside rearview mirrors.
Sections 32 to 39 make modifications to the equipment requirements for heavy trucks. Section 32 corrects an error in a cross reference; section 33 makes additional equipment provisions from subchapter II applicable to heavy trucks; section 35 provides a delayed effective date for new requirements concerning the location of axle control valves at the request of the Wisconsin Truck Dealers Association; section 37 makes the brake requirements of s. Trans 305.51 applicable to heavy trucks as well as trailers and semitrailers; and section 39 makes the requirements for suspension systems contained in s. Trans 305.57 applicable to heavy trucks as well as trailers and semitrailers.
Fiscal Impact
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on the liabilities or revenues of any county, city, village, town, school district, technical college district, sewerage district, or any federally-recognized tribes or bands. The Department also anticipates no fiscal impact on state funds.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This proposed rule will have no adverse impact on small businesses.
Copies of Proposed Rule
Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained upon request, without cost, by writing to Major Michael Moore, Wisconsin State Patrol Academy, 800 South 10th Avenue, Sparta, WI 54656-5164, or by calling (608) 269-2500; or contact Frieda Andreas, Division of State Patrol, by calling (608) 266-6936. Alternate formats of the proposed rule will be provided to individuals at their request.
Notice of Hearings
Workforce Development
(Economic Support, Chs. DWD 11--)
Notice is given that pursuant to ss. 49.143 to 49.157, 49.26 (1) (h) 1. as. and 1m. c., and 103.005 (1), Stats., the Department of Workforce Development proposes to hold public hearings to consider the creation of rules under chs. DWD 12 and 56, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to Wisconsin Works (W-2).
Hearing Information
The public hearings are scheduled as follows:
May 21, 1997 Room 103, Main Building
Wednesday 620 W. Clairemont Ave.
10:30 a.m. to EAU CLAIRE, WI
1:30 p.m.
May 28, 1997 Cooley Auditorium
Wednesday Main Building
9:00 a.m. to 1015 North 6th St.
12:00 p.m. (noon) MILWAUKEE, WI
(Public parking structures
are located directly across
from the Main Building in
the 1000 block of North
6th Street, and at 1025 North
8th Street.)
These hearings are held in accessible facilities. If you have special needs or circumstances which may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call (608) 266-9199 or, if you are deaf or hard of hearing (608) 267-9880, at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available on request by a person with a disability.
Copies of the Rules
A copy of the rules to be considered may be obtained from:
Division of Economic Support
Telephone (608) 266-9199
State Department of Workforce Development
1 West Wilson
P.O. Box 7935
Madison, WI 53707-7935
or at the appointed times and places the hearings are held.
Written Comments
Interested people are invited to appear at the hearings and will be afforded the opportunity of making oral presentations of their positions. People making oral presentations are requested to submit their facts, views and suggested rewording in writing. Written comments from people unable to attend the public hearing, or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearings may be submitted no later than Wednesday, June 4, 1997, for inclusion in the summary of public comments submitted to the Legislature. Any such comments should be submitted to Nancy Ritter at the address noted above. Written comments will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearings. People submitting comments will not receive individual responses.
Analysis Prepared by the Dept. of Workforce Development
Wisconsin Works (W-2), the replacement program for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, is based squarely on work. Rather than offering welfare checks to those who do not work, as AFDC does currently, W-2 offers participants the opportunity to move into the work world and become self-sufficient through employment. The W-2 program includes work opportunities, job access loans, education and training activities to enhance employability, intensive case management, child care and child support enforcement and other employment supports such as transportation assistance and access to health care services under the Medical Assistance program.
Wisconsin Works (W-2) was authorized through enactment of 1995 Wis. Act 289 which Governor Thompson signed into law on April 25, 1996. Under s. 49.141 (2) (b), Stats., if a federal waiver is granted or federal legislation is enacted, the Department of Workforce Development could begin to implement W-2 no sooner than July 1, 1996 and must fully implement the W-2 program statewide in September 1997. The federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) was signed into law on August 22, 1996. It creates the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which ends the entitlement program under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act and creates a block grant program under which states receive monies to provide cash and other benefits to help needy families support their children while at the same time requiring families to participate in work program activities which will help them become self-sufficient. In general, a state may not use any part of the TANF grant to provide assistance to a family for more than 60 months.
States must ensure, under section 114 of P.L. 104-193, that families who meet the AFDC eligibility requirements in effect on July 16, 1996, have access to Medical Assistance. Wisconsin has not yet obtained the necessary waivers or federal legislation that would allow the implementation of the W-2 health plan. Therefore, W-2 participants who meet the July 16, 1996, AFDC eligibility requirements or are eligible under s. 49.46 or 49.47, Stats., and the implementing administrative rules, chs. HFS 101-108, administered by the Department of Health and Family Services, may apply and be determined eligible for Medical Assistance.
Under W-2, there will be a place for everyone who is willing to work to their ability. The program is available to parents with minor children, low assets and low income who need assistance in becoming self-sufficient through employment. The W-2 program provides cash benefits only for those individuals who participate in W-2 employment and training activities. W-2 agencies have the option, for participants in a community service job or a transitional placement, to aggregate education and training hours for approved programs to allow an individual to participate in education and training activities for more than 10 or 12 hours per week within the first few months of participation. Each eligible W-2 applicant will meet with a Financial and Employment Planner (FEP) who will help the individual develop a self-sufficiency plan and determine their place on the W-2 employment ladder. The ladder consists of four levels of employment options, in order of preference:
☞ Unsubsidized employment;
☞ Subsidized employment through a trial job for those participants who need minimal assistance but where unsubsidized employment is not available;
☞ A community service job for those participants who need to practice work habits and skills necessary to move into unsubsidized employment; and
☞ Transitional placement for those unable to perform independent, self-sustaining work.
Individuals placed in a trial job will receive wages from an employer. Individuals placed in a community service job will receive a monthly benefit of $555 and individuals placed in a transitional placement will receive a monthly benefit of $518. W-2 participants are limited to 24 months in a single subsidized employment position category. Extensions may be granted on a limited basis when local labor market conditions preclude opportunities or when the participant has significant barriers which prevent him or her from obtaining unsubsidized employment. Child care is available for those individuals who have children under the age of 13 and need child care in order to work or participate in a W-2 employment position. The W-2 program will be administered by contracted agencies which may include counties, tribal agencies and private agencies in geographic areas determined by the Department.
These are the proposed permanent rules for implementation of the W-2 program. The rules include eligibility requirements for those individuals applying for a W-2 employment position or child care, time-limited benefits for participants in W-2 employment positions, good cause for failure or refusal to participate in W-2 employment positions or other required employment and training activities, how sanctions are applied for failure to meet the W-2 employment position participation requirements, and school attendance requirements under the Learnfare program for the children of W-2 employment position participants.
Similar emergency rules have been in effect since March 1, 1997.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules: None.
2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules: --
3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules: --
Fiscal Estimate
This is the rule to implement Wisconsin Works (W-2), under s. 49.141 through 49.161, Stats., as created by 1995 Wis. Act 289.
All costs to the Department and local governments for operation of Wisconsin Works (W-2) were included in the fiscal notes to 1995 Wis. Act 289. There are no additional costs for state government or local governments from promulgation of the administrative rule to implement Wisconsin Works (W-2).
Notice of Submission of Proposed Rules to the Presiding Officer of each House of the Legislature, Under S. 227.19, Stats.
Please check the Bulletin of Proceedings for further information on a particular rule.
Ch. Comm 113 - Relating to the annual allocation of volume cap on tax-exempt bonds for calendar year 1998.
