Finding of Emergency
The Department of Public Instruction finds an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare.
Proposed permanent rules were submitted to the Wisconsin Legislative Council on May 27, 1997. Most of the modifications made under the proposed permanent and emergency rules clarify, eliminate redundancy, and streamline current requirements to make the provisions under ch. PI 3 and 4 easier to read, understand, and implement. The rules also provide for consistency with other state agency licensure activity.
In order for teachers to apply for or renew specified licenses (license are issued July 1 through June 30) and for universities to have program requirements in place in time for the upcoming school year, rules must be in place as soon as possible.
Publication Date:
July 1, 1997
Effective Date:
July 1, 1997
Expiration Date:
November 29, 1997
Hearing Dates:
July 7 & 8, 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
Veterans Affairs
Rules were adopted revising ch. VA 12, relating to the personal loan program.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
1997 Wis. Act 27, s. 9154 authorizes the department to promulgate rules for the administration of the personal loan program using the emergency rule procedures without providing evidence of the necessity of preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare.
Analysis
By repealing and recreating ch. VA 12, Wis. Adm. Code, the department establishes the underwriting and other criteria necessary for the administration of the personal loan program. The personal loan program was authorized by the legislature and governor through the amendment of s 45.356, Stats., upon enactment of 1997 Wis. Act 27.
Publication Date:
October 17, 1997
Effective Date:
October 17, 1997
Expiration Date:
March 17, 1998
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
Extension Through:
November 30, 1997
Statements of Scope of Proposed Rules
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Subject:
Chs. ATCP 10 and 11 - Relating to fish farming.
Description of policy issues:
Preliminary objectives:
Comply with s. 95.60, Stats., by doing all of the following:
❍ Establish criteria for importing live fish or fish eggs into Wisconsin.
❍ Establish a procedure and fee for annual registration of fish farms.
❍ Establish recordkeeping requirements for persons who operate a fish farm.
❍ Identify standards for fish farming facilities.
❍ Specify labeling requirements for farm raised fish sold in commerce.
❍ Establish fish health standards, and procedures for certifying that the standards are met.
❍ Specify the qualifications required for a person who is not a veterinarian to issue fish health certificates.
❍ Specify diseases which affect salmon and establish procedures to assure that salmon and salmon eggs are free of those diseases.
Preliminary policy analysis:
Under s. 95.60, Stats., created by 1997 Wis. Act 27, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection must promulgate rules related to each of the preliminary objectives identified above. The Department must promulgate those rules in order to comply with the statute.
Policy alternatives:
There is no alternative. The statute requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to address each of the identified objectives by rule.
Statutory authority:
The Department proposes to develop these rules under authority of ss. 93.07 (1) and 95.60, Stats. The rules would interpret s. 95.60, Stats.
Staff time required:
The Department estimates that it will use approximately 1.25 FTE staff time to develop this rule. This includes research, drafting, preparing related documents, holding public hearings, coordinating advisory council discussions, and communicating with affected persons and groups. The Department will assign existing staff to develop this rule.
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Subject:
Ch. ATCP 30 - Relating to atrazine pesticides; use restrictions.
Description of policy issues:
