ERRATA
Items reprinted to correct printing errors such as dropped copy (or other errors) are indicated in the following listing:
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection:
Ch. ATCP 100
S. ATCP 100.93 reprinted to change title.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses
1.
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
(CR 98-154)
ATCP Code & Ch. JUS 2 - Technical and remedial rule changes pertaining to farm mediation and arbitration, sustainable agriculture, agricultural development and diversification, commercial feed, soil and water resource management, LP gas meters, freezer meat and food service plans, referral selling plans and car rental notices.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
This rule will have no effective on small business.
Summary of Comments:
On March 11, 1999, this department transmitted the above rule for legislative committee review. On March 16, the rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance. On March 18, the rule was referred to the Assembly Committee on Agriculture. The department received no comments or request for hearing from either committee.
Ch. Comm 90 - Design and installation of public swimming pools.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
One written comments was received; no public testimony was given on the proposed rule revision. Some items mentioned in the written comments were not addressed in this proposed rule revision because they were determined by staff to be petitionable items. Owners of existing pools and whirlpools may petition the department for continued use when equivalence may be provided.
Summary of Comments:
The rules were reviewed by the Assembly Committee on Tourism and Recreation and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Government Operations. No comments were received.
S. DOC 328.21 - Search and seizure of probation and parole offenders.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
The proposed rule does not require small business to perform any duties and will have no impact on small businesses as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
No comments were reported.
Ch. DOC 349 - Holding juveniles in municipal lockup facilities.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
This proposed rule is not expected to impact on small businesses as defined in s. 227.114 (1)(a), Stats.
Summary of Comments:
There were no comments reported.
5.
Financial Institutions--Banking
(CR 99-12)
Chs. DFI-Bkg 41 and RL 41 - Fees and registration for mortgage bankers, loan originators and mortgage brokers.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
This proposed rule is expected to impact on small businesses. The proposed rule is expected to increase existing state revenues due to an increase in fees. The following fees for all registrations and renewals of registration under subch. II, ch. 224, Stats., apply:
• Mortgage banker, $1,000;
• Loan originator, $250; and
• Mortgage broker, $750.
A certificate of registration may be renewed prior to expiration by making application on Department form and paying the appropriate fee. A certificate of registration may be renewed after expiration by making application on Department form, paying the appropriate fee, and paying a late fee of $100. A loan originator may transfer employment to another registered mortgage banker or mortgage broker by making application on Department form and paying a transfer fee of $20.
Summary of Comments:
There were no comments reported.
Ch. HFS 12 — Uniform procedures for checking caregiver backgrounds.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These rules apply to the following “agencies:”
-the Department;
-county social services and human services departments that license foster homes for children or carry out adoption home studies;
-private child-placing agencies that license foster homes for children or carry out adoption home studies; and
-school boards that establish or contract for a day care program.
These rules also apply to the following licensed, certified, registered or approved “entities:”
-certified community mental health programs;
-certified community alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) prevention and treatment programs;
-family day care centers for children;
-group day care centers for children;
-day camps for children;
-foster homes and treatment foster homes for children;
-group homes for children;
-shelter care facilities for children;
-child-caring institutions;
-child-placing agencies;
-ambulance service providers;
-adult family homes certified or licensed by the Department;
-residential care apartment complexes (formerly called assisted living facilities);
-community-based residential facilities (CBRFs);
-nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled;
-hospice programs;
-home health agencies;
-rural medical centers; and
-hospitals.
Many of the entities are small businesses as “small business” is defined ins. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. This includes about 1/3 of the community mental health and AODA programs; nearly all of the 2665 family day care centers; nearly 1/3 of the 2269 group day care centers; 12 of the 80 private child-placing agencies; most of the 2800 foster homes and 10% of 140 group homes; 25 of 450 ambulance service providers; 7 of 45 residential care apartment complexes; 600 of 1120 CBRFs; 96 of 472 nursing homes; most of the hospice programs; and 115 of 191 home health agencies.
The rules require entities to have prospective employes, contractors and nonclient residents, beginning October 1, 1998, complete a standard Background Information Form developed by the Department, to have current employes, contractors and nonclient residents fill out that form by October 1, 1999, and to have employes, contractors and nonclient residents fill out that form every 4 years after the first time. The rules also require an entity to undertake searches from several specified sources for background information about applicants for employment and any person who proposes to provide services under contract to the entity's clients. Finally, the rules prohibit an entity from hiring or contracting with a person or allowing a nonclient to reside at the entity, or retaining the person, if that person has a conviction or charge for a serious crime, has been found to have abused or neglected a client or child or misappropriated a client's property or does not have the proper professional credential. However, for specified crimes and other acts and offenses, which would otherwise bar a person from residence or employment, a person is permitted to ask an agency for a waiver of the bar based on evidence of rehabilitation.
The requirements found in the rules are either taken from the statutes that the rules are implementing, ss. 48.685 and 50.065, Stats., as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27 and amended by 1997 Wisconsin Act 237, or those statutes direct the Department to specify the requirements.
Both the statutes being implemented and the implementing rules are directed at helping protect vulnerable persons being cared for by others in specified state-regulated facilities and programs or by specified state-regulated agencies from being harmed.
No new professional skills are necessary for entities to comply with ch. HFS 12.
In response to comments received during public review of the proposed permanent rules, the Department, within the scope of the authority given it by statute to add crimes to the statutory list of crimes which permanently or temporarily bar persons with convictions from receiving regulatory approval or being hired or contracted with to provide care to clients or to reside at an entity with access to clients, moved a number of the listed crimes off of the Crimes List, moved several others from “permanent bar status” to “bar with rehabilitation” status and, for other crimes, placed time limits on need for a person with a conviction to demonstrate rehabilitation. This modification of the Crimes List and addition of or change in certain definitions, also in response to public hearing comments, should reduce the burden on some employers, including small business employers, in implementing the new uniform background check legislation.
Summary of Comments of Legislative Standing Committees:
The Assembly Committee on Health held a public hearing on the proposed rules on April 13, 1999, and the Senate Committee on Health, Utilities and Veterans and Military Affairs held a public hearing on the proposed rules on April 28, 1999. Both committees, following their hearings, requested the Department to make modifications in
CR 98-191.
The Department on May 12, 1999, informed the committee chairpersons that it was making 9 germane modifications in
CR 98-191. These included correcting the definition of “caregiver” to make it more limited as was done earlier in proposed ch. HFS 13; to permit rather than require an agency or entity to take into consideration all 18 criteria set out in the rules in determining if a crime is “substantially related” to the care of a client; to modify the applicability of the rules to emergency medical technicians (EMTs); and to require agencies and entities to “retain” rather than “keep on file” background information forms and other required information, so long as the documents can be promptly retrieved for inspection.
Chs. HFS 13 & HSS 129 - Reporting and investigation of allegations of caregiver misconduct and the operation of the caregiver misconduct registry.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These rules apply to the following licensed, certified, registered or approved “entities:”
-certified community mental health programs;
-certified community alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) prevention and treatment programs;
-ambulance service providers;
-adult family homes certified or licensed by the Department;
-residential care apartment complexes (formerly called assisted living facilities);
-community-based residential facilities (CBRFs);
-nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled;
-hospice programs;
-home health agencies;
-rural medical centers; and
-hospitals.
Many of the entities are small businesses as “small business” is defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. This includes about 1/3 of the community mental health and AODA programs; 25 of 450 ambulance service providers; 7 of 45 residential care apartment complexes; 600 of 1120 CBRFs; 96 of 472 nursing homes; most of the hospice programs; and 115 of 191 home health agencies.
The rules require an entity to report to the Department allegations of caregiver misconduct toward residents or patients. Misconduct is abuse or neglect of a client or misappropriation of the client's property. The Department has current rules in ch. HFS 129 that require this reporting by nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled, hospitals, home health agencies and hospice programs. Section 146.40 (4g) and (4r), Stats., was amended by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27 to expand the reporting responsibility to the other types of care and treatment providers listed above. This order consolidates under ch. HFS 13 the required reporting of misconduct, follow-up investigation by the Department and maintenance by the Department of a registry of caregivers for whom allegations of misconduct have been substantiated.
Chapter HFS 13 will not itself have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses. Expansion of the scope of the caregiver misconduct reporting requirement from 5 service provider types to 11 service provider types is a statutory requirement.
Comments of Legislative Standing Committees
The Assembly Committee on Health held a public hearing on the proposed rules on April 13, 1999, and the Senate Committee on Health, Utilities and Veterans and Military Affairs held a public hearing on the proposed rules on April 28, 1999. Both committees, following their hearings, requested the Department to make modifications in
CR 98-188.
The Department on May 12, 1999, informed the committee chairpersons that it was making one germane modification in
CR 98-188. That was to have separate definitions for “abuse” and “neglect,” rather than include “neglect” in the definition for “abuse,” with the abuse definition amended so that it is focused on actions taken purposely with intent to harm and the neglect definition focused on actions done purposely without intent to harm.
No further comments were received from the standing committees.
S. Ins 2.80 - Valuation of life insurance policies model regulation.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has determined that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses and therefore a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
Summary of Comments of Legislative Standing Committees:
The legislative standing committee had no comments on this rule.
Ch. NR 10 - Deer management units 73C (Iowa and Grant counties) and 75 (Iowa and Lafayette counties).
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
The proposed rules are applicable to individual hunters and landowners; therefore, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees:
The proposed rules were reviewed by the Assembly committee on natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance Reform. On February 17, 1999, the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources extended the review period for 30 days. No public hearing was scheduled during that time.
Chs. Psy 1 through 5 - Requirements for examination and licensure of psychologists, renewal and conduct.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:
These proposed rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1)(a), Stats.
