•Ch. ATCP 53 is repealed.
•Ch. Tax 53 is created. Under this rule certain fees charged for plat review are increased.
Publication Date:
June 1, 1997
Effective Date:
June 1, 1997
Expiration Date:
October 30, 1997
Hearing Date:
July 11, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Department of Transportation
Rules adopted revising ch. Trans 300, relating to school buses.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Transportation finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety. The amendments are needed to assure that school bus operators can purchase school buses manufactured using the latest in construction technology and providing equal strength and safety. Currently, there are estimated to be 60 buses on order by operators. Without this emergency rule, these buses could not be used in Wisconsin when the school year begins in August 1997. Therefore, schools will start using alternative vehicles (production vans) because of the unavailability of the smaller school buses built to the safer school bus standards.
Publication Date:
July 1, 1997
Effective Date:
July 1, 1997
Expiration Date:
November 29, 1997
Hearing Date:
August 26, 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
Extension Through:
July 27, 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. DWD 270-279)
Rules were adopted revising ch. DWD 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:
In addition to raising the minimum wage to $4.75 per hour on October 1, 1996, and $5.15 per hour on September 1, 1997, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act provides for an “opportunity wage” of $4.25 per hour which may be paid by each new employer to a person under the age of 20 during the first 90 days of employment. The Department's permanent rules to raise the state minimum wage contained provisions creating an opportunity wage that are the same as those of the federal law.
On April 10, 1997, the State Senate Committee on Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions suspended the portions of
CR 96-181 relating to the opportunity wage. The Department proceeded with formal adoption of the provisions of the rule that were not suspended; the permanent rule changes will become effective on June 1, 1997. On April 17, 1997, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) unanimously approved extension of the Department's emergency rule on minimum wage, which includes the provisions on the opportunity wage. The emergency rule extension lasts until June 27, 1997.
The respective votes of the two Legislative committees have caused uncertainty as to whether the provisions relating to the opportunity wage remain in effect through June 27, 1997, or expire on June 1, 1997. The JCRAR has met several times since the standing committee's suspension but its only action on this issue was to extend the emergency rule, which includes the opportunity wage provision. The legal interpretation from the Legislative Council as to the precedence of the emergency rule provision vs. the permanent rule provision has not been definitive.
It appears that the JCRAR will vote in June on the standing committee suspension of the opportunity wage provisions of the permanent rule. If the JCRAR does not concur in the standing committee's suspension, the Department will proceed to promulgate the opportunity wage provisions on a permanent basis. However, due to timelines required for promulgation of permanent rules, this provision would not likely take effect permanently until September 1, 1997. Thus, the delays in action coupled with interpretive uncertainty could result in a regulatory gap that would cause confusion amongst the state's employees and employers over the provisions in effect after June 1, 1997. The Department believes that such uncertainty throughout the state would be undesirable.
In absence of definitive legal opinion or action on the opportunity wage issue by the JCRAR, this emergency rule alleviates uncertainty as to whether the opportunity wage provisions are effective after June 1 by explicitly maintaining their effect. The Department will make every reasonable effort to comply with the JCRAR's intent once action is taken. If the JCRAR affirms the standing committee's suspension, the Department will immediately withdraw the provisions of this emergency rule. If the JCRAR does not affirm the standing committee's suspension, this emergency rule will prevent a gap in coverage of the opportunity wage between the date of JCRAR action in June and the effective date of permanent provisions on the opportunity wage.
This emergency rule also contains a provision that prohibits the displacement of an employee that occurs solely for the purpose of hiring an opportunity employee. This language is similar to a provision of the federal law and was included by the Department because the Senate Committee on Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions asked that the state rule also contain this provision. This language was originally submitted to the Senate Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions Committee as a germane modification to CR-96-181 on March 31, 1997. It was the Department's intent to promulgate this provision as part of the permanent rule. However, this provision was inadvertently omitted from the final draft.
Publication Date:
May 31, 1997
Effective Date:
May 31, 1997
Expiration Date:
October 29, 1997
Hearing Date:
August 12, 1997
[See Notice this Register]
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:
On December 11, 1996, this Department adopted an emergency rule and began permanent rulemaking to amend the former ch. ILHR 290, Wis. Adm. Code, in accordance with 1995 Act 215, which enacted changes in the laws governing the determination of prevailing wage rates for state and local public works projects. Among the provisions of that emergency rule was a section on the classification of subjourneypersons.
The initial emergency rule will expire on May 10, 1997. The Department has developed a different provision on subjourneypersons which it is submitting for legislative committee review as a part of the permanent rule in its proposed final draft stage. In the meantime, it is necessary to have a formal policy on subjourneypersons in effect so that the Department may continue to issue wage determinations on state and local public works projects without causing the projects to be delayed. Therefore, the Department is adopting the new subjourneyperson policy, and related procedural provisions, as an emergency rule.
Publication Date:
May 10, 1997
Effective Date:
May 10, 1997
Expiration Date:
October 8, 1997
Hearing Date:
June 19, 1997
Statements of Scope of Proposed Rules
Natural Resources
Subject:
Chapter NR 25 - Commercial fishing - outlying waters.
Description of policy issues:
