EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (3)
Transportation
1. Rules adopted revising ch. Trans 76, relating to general transportation aids.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Transportation finds that an emergency exists for the following reason: In Schoolway Transp. Co. v. Division of Motor Vehicles, 72 Wis. 2d 223 (1976), a changed interpretation of a statute was held to be a rule. The interpretation is being administered as law and the Department will rely upon it to make aids payments. This interpretation is in direct contrast to the manner in which the statute was previously administered by the Department. Therefor, the Department must promulgate the changed interpretation as a rule or it is invalid. In order to make the change in time to implement it for aids estimates and payment purposes, the Department must promulgate this interpretation as an emergency rule.
Publication Date:
October 25, 1996
Effective Date:
October 25, 1996
Expiration Date:
March 24, 1997
Hearing Date:
December 16, 1996
Extension Through:
May 22, 1997
2. Rules adopted revising ch. Trans 117, relating to occupational driver's license.
Finding of Emergency
1995 Wis. Act 269 rewrote state law regarding the issuance of occupational licenses. That Act goes into effect on November 1, 1996. Absent this emergency rule making, the Department will lack rule authority necessary to administer the new law. This emergency rule will permit the Department to issue occupational licenses until the permanent rule establishing procedures for issuing occupational licenses are in place. Therefore, the Department of Transportation finds that an emergency exists and that the rule is necessary.
Publication Date:
November 1, 1996
Effective Date:
November 1, 1996
Expiration Date:
March 31, 1997
Hearing Date:
November 26, 1996
Extension Through:
May 29, 1997
3. Rules were adopted amending an emergency rule revising ch. Trans 76, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to uniform cost reporting procedure during calendar year 1996 for general transportation aids to be paid in calendar year 1997.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Transportation finds that an emergency exists for the following reason: In Schoolway Transp. Co. v. Division of Motor Vehicles, 72 Wis. 2d 223 (1976), a changed interpretation of a statute was held to be a rule. The interpretation is being administered as law and the Department will rely upon it to make aids payments. This interpretation is in direct contrast to the manner in which the statute was previously administered by the Department. Therefore, the Department must promulgate the changed interpretation as a rule or it is invalid. In order to make the change in time to implement it for aids estimates and payment purposes, and to limit its application to late filing events in 1996 only, the Department must promulgate this as an emergency rule.
Publication Date:
March 25, 1997
Effective Date:
March 25, 1997
Expiration Date:
May 22, 1997
Hearing Date:
May 8, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Veterans Affairs
Rule adopted creating s. VA 2.01 (2)(b)18., relating to the health care aid grant program.
Finding of Emergency
The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 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 department provides payment to dental providers for dentures under the health care aid grant program for needy veterans and their dependents. Under s. VA 2.01 (2)(b)2., Wis. Adm. Code, the Department is restricted to a $50,000 cap per fiscal year for the payment of claims for dentures. As the result of a significant increase in the use of the health care aid grant program for dentures, the Department has received requests for approval of treatment plans involving dentures which would result in expenditures in excess of the fiscal year cap.
The treatment plans typically encompass the removal of teeth with a resulting need for dentures. Failure to promptly provide denture could have a negative impact upon an individual's health. It is therefore necessary to assure that the Department has sufficient authority to pay for the dentures included in treatment plans already received during this fiscal year. The emergency rule cap will accomplish this goal.
Publication Date:
April 7, 1997
Effective Date:
April 7, 1997
Expiration Date:
September 5, 1997
Hearing Date:
April 18, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
Workforce Development
(Economic Support, Chs. DWD 11-59)
1. Rules adopted renumbering subch. VII of ch. HSS 55 and creating s. DWD 56.08, relating to the administration of child care funds and required parent copayments.
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 Governor has directed the Child Care Working Group to analyze the impact that the federal legislation will have on child care in Wisconsin and on the Wisconsin Works program, and to analyze and identify effective methods and funding sources to increase child care options and expand the availability of affordable child care. The Governor has approved a new schedule for child care copayments and this rule places the new schedule into operation. The use of an emergency rule allows the implementation of the new schedule immediately.
Publication Date:
December 30, 1996
Effective Date:
December 30, 1996
Expiration Date:
May 29, 1997
2. Rules were adopted creating ch. DWD 12, relating to Wisconsin Works program.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
The Legislature in s.275(3) of 1995 Wis. Act 289 permitted the Department to promulgate the rules required under ss. 49.143 to 49.157, Stats., as created by Act 289, by using emergency rulemaking procedures but without having to make a finding of emergency.
Analysis Prepared by the Department 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.
These rules provide the administrative framework under which the Department will implement a W-2 pilot program in two counties, Fond du Lac and Pierce, effective March 1, 1997. As the pilot counties for the Work Not Welfare program which began January 1, 1995, these two counties have had experience in implementing major welfare reform efforts. 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 rules for implementation of the Wisconsin Works 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.
Publication Date:
March 1, 1997
Effective Date:
March 1, 1997
Expiration Date:
July 29, 1997
Hearing Dates:
May 21 & 28, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
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
Hearing Date:
December 17, 1996
Extension Through:
June 27, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Workforce Development
(Wage Rates, Chs. ILHR 290-294)
Rules adopted revising ch. ILHR 290, relating to the determination of prevailing wage rates for workers employed on state or local public works projects.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Workforce Development finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
1995 Wis. Act 213 made a number of major changes to the laws which require the department to determine prevailing wage rates for state and local public works projects. In place of a case-by-case investigations, the Department of Workforce Development is required to conduct an annual survey of employers and issue prevailing wage rate determinations for all trades or occupations in all areas of the state throughout the year based on the survey data. The statutes also provide that members of the public, employers, local governmental units and state agencies may ask the DWD to review prevailing wage rate determinations under a number of specified circumstances.
This emergency rule establishes deadline and appeal criteria for the process that will be used to compile the 1996 survey results and consider requests for review. The use of an emergency rule for this purpose will benefit the public, employers local governments units and state agencies by giving them clear information as to the procedures to be followed, and it will also help the DWD to meet the statutory requirement that prevailing wage rates be compiled and issued promptly.
Publication Date:
December 11, 1996
Effective Date:
December 11, 1996
Expiration Date:
May 10, 1997
Hearing Date:
March 31, 1997
Statements of Scope of Proposed Rules
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
