Publication Date:
May 18, 1997
Effective Date:
May 18, 1997
Expiration Date:
October 16, 1997
Hearing Date:
July 29, 1997
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
State Fair Park Board
Rules adopted revising chs. SFP 2 and 7, relating to regulation of activities at the state fair park and revising bond schedule.
Finding of Emergency
The Wisconsin State Fair Park Board finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of rules is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare of its citizens. The facts constituting this emergency are as follows:
During the annual State Fair, which is scheduled to begin on July 31, 1997, the Wisconsin State Fair Park is host to over 100,000 people per day and millions of dollars in merchandise and property. Initially, chapters SFP 1-7 were designed primarily to protect the property of the State Fair Park.
However, crime patterns at the State Fair Park have changed dramatically since those rules werc adopted in 1967. With the increases in attendance and number of events in the intervening years, the number and severity of crimes against State Fair visitors, patrons, and property have necessarily increased. Also, a general rise in gang-related activity at Park events and during skating hours at the Pettit National Ice Center has occurred over the last several years. Consequently, there is a greater need for Park Police Department arrest authority on the Park grounds in order to ensure prosecutorial cooperation by Milwaukee County.
Due to excessive workloads, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and the Milwaukee County Circuit Court system are reluctant to process and charge offenders for relatively minor property-type acts prohibited under the current SFP rules. Area and suburban Milwaukee County Police Departments have alleviated similar problems by conforming their ordinances to the county and state codes, authorizing their Police Departments to make lawful standing arrests for acts which the county will prosecute.
The State Fair Park Board seeks the same level of cooperation from Milwaukee county by conforming its rules to the county code. Therefore, these proposed emergency rules prohibit such activities as loitering, spray painting, theft, battery, and resisting/obstructing an officer, as well as various weapons prohibitions. There is also included provisions to protect the police horses which are not only an integral part of Park enforcement but are also a major public relations tool. With these changes, the Park administration can ensure a safe and family-oriented environment at this year's State Fair and other Park events. It is necessary to use the emergency rule for processing the proposed rule change to Administrative Code, reference to the bail bond schedule, section 5, s. SFP 7.02. Section 5, s. SFP 7.02 is amended to repeal the old bond schedule and recreate the new bond schedule to align the bond code with the corresponding section in the Wisconsin Administrative Code to take effect before the 1997 Wisconsin State Fair begins on July 31, 1997.
The State Fair Park Board has begun the permanent rule process but the normal process will take between 6 and 9 months to complete. It is imperative to have these rules in place by the time of the 1997 State Fair.
These rules are therefore adopted as emergency rules to take effect upon publication in the official state newspaper and filing with the Secretary of State and the Revisor of Statutes as provided in s. 227.24 (1) (c), Stats.
Publication Date:
August 1, 1997
Effective Date:
August 1, 1997
Expiration Date:
December 30, 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
Workforce Development
(Economic Support, Chs. DWD 11-59)
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
Extension Through:
November 26, 1997
Statements of Scope of Proposed Rules
Employe Trust Funds
Subject:
ETF Code - Relating to eligibility for duty disability benefits under s. 40.65, Stats., when a protective occupation participant becomes disabled due to a work-related injury or illness.
Description of policy issues:
Objectives of the rule:
I. To clarify when the protective occupation participant becomes eligible for a duty disability benefit due to a work-related injury or illness.
II. To clarify what amount the participant is eligible to receive once it is determined the employe is approved for the duty disability benefit.
Policy analysis:
Under s. 40.65 (4), Stats., a protective occupation participant is entitled to a duty disability benefit:
♢ if the employe is injured while performing his or her duty or contracts a disease due to his or her occupation,
♢ the disability is likely to be permanent and the disability causes the employe to retire from his or her job,
♢ or the employe's pay or position is reduced or he or she is assigned to light duty,
♢ or the employe's promotional opportunities within the service are adversely affected if state or local rules, ordinances, policies or written agreement prohibits promotion because of the disability.
The rule will clarify when the duty disability benefit becomes payable to the disabled employe.
The Wisconsin Statutes, s. 40.02 (41m), defines the monthly salary to be used in determining the duty disability benefit. In addition to the gross amount of salary paid to the participant, overtime pay may be considered part of the employe's monthly salary if it is received on a regular and dependable basis. This rule will clarify the amount of earnings that may be included when determining the monthly salary as well as clarify what is considered “regular and dependable” overtime.
The duty disability program requires that the disabled participant's gross duty disability benefit is reduced by income from other sources. Under s. 40.65 (5) (b) 3, Stats., the benefit is reduced by any worker's compensation benefit payable to the participant, including payments made pursuant to a compromise settlement under s. 102.16 (1), Stats. The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently ruled that the Department was reducing the duty disability benefit incorrectly for the workers' compensation benefit. As a result of the Court's ruling, this administrative rule is being promulgated to provide clarification on what workers' compensation benefit can be used as an offset.
Policy alternatives to the proposed rule:
This rule is intended to codify and systematize the establishment of the benefit amounts as well as the application of the workers' compensation offset. The rule will introduce change in determining the benefit effective date consistent with the Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling. If the rule were not promulgated, the result would be less certainty and efficiency in the administration of the duty disability program established under chapter 40, Stats.
Statutory authority for rule-making:
s. 40.03 (2) (i), Stats.
Staff time required:
The Department estimates that state employes will spend 60 hours to develop this rule.
Insurance, Commissioner of
Subject:
S. Ins 2.30 - Relating to a new mortality table for determining reserve liabilities for annuities.
Description of policy issues:
A statement of the objective of the proposed rule:
To amend current rule s. Ins 2.30, Wis. Adm. Code, to update mortality tables used to determine reserve liabilities for annuity contracts. The current rule is based on a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Model Rule and was promulgated in 1985. This proposed amendment will update the tables to conform to recent NAIC Model Act changes.
A description of existing policies relevant to the rule and of new policies proposed to be included in the rule and an analysis of policy alternatives:
To insure that reserve liabilities reflect current mortality experience and are consistent with other states' rules. This is not a change in policy.
Statutory authority:
Sections 601.41, 623.02 and 623.06 (2a), Stats.
An estimate of the amount of time that state employes will spend to develop the rule and a description of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
40 hours
Insurance, Commissioner of
Subject:
SS. Ins 17.01 (3), 17.275, 17.28 (4) and (6), and 17.35 - Relating to annual patients compensation fund and mediation fund fees for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, confidential claims records, limiting fund fee refunds to one year and application of aggregate limits upon termination of a claims-made policy.
Description of policy issues:
