Based on the Department's experience in its administration of the revised rules and comments received from staff, CBRF operators and their representatives and resident advocates, the Department will be reviewing ch. HFS 83 with the object of revising it to do the following:
1. Eliminate unnecessary duplication.
2. Group together related rule parts. For example, all requirements relating to admissions are not now shown together.
3. Reduce prescriptiveness. For example, some provisions relating to employe personnel records could be replaced by outcome-oriented provisions.
4. Limit the applicability of some provisions. For example, since correctional CBRF's and CBRF's certified to provide alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) treatment are regulated also under other standards, perhaps they could be exempt from at least some of the program requirements in ch. HFS 83.
5. Update procedures and other requirements, as necessary. For example, the recommended procedures of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect staff and residents against blood-borne pathogens have been revised, and so the revised procedures should be substituted in the rules for the former recommended procedures.
6. Improve overall readability.
While proposed changes to the rules may not result in major policy changes or add to the department or licensee costs, current and prospective operators are expected to benefit greatly from the changes because the Department intends to make the rules much easier to understand and follow.
Statutory authority:
Section 50.02 (2), Stats.
Estimates of staff time and other resources needed to develop the rules:
It should take about a year and 200 hours of staff time to develop the proposed revised rules. Department staff who will be involved will be mainly Bureau of Quality Assurance certification and licensing staff, their supervisors and attorneys from the Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The one year timeframe will permit the CBRF Forum to participate in this development work as an advisory body by reviewing and commenting on the current rules. The CBRF Forum meets every 2 months, bringing together industry association representatives, individual CBRF operators, technical college representatives, resident advocates, county agency representatives and Department staff.
Public Instruction
Subject:
S. PI 11.24 (9) (c) - Relating to deleting the requirement for a medical referral from a licensed physician when a child receives occupational therapy to benefit from special education.
Description of policy issues:
Rationale for proposed rule development:
Section PI 11.24 (9) (c) requires school occupational therapists to obtain a medical referral from a licensed physician before evaluating a child. This rule is based on ch. Med 19, which regulates the practice of occupational therapy in the state. A recent interpretation of ch. Med 19 by the Medical Examining Board to the Occupational Therapy Examining Council concluded that s. Med 19.08 does not apply to school occupational therapists. The proposed rule development is to bring s. PI 11.24 (9) (c) into conformity with ch. Med 19.
Description of the objective(s) of the proposed rule:
The objective of the proposed rule is to delete the requirement for a medical referral from a licensed physician when a child receives occupational therapy to benefit from special education.
Describe any existing relevant policies to be included in the administrative rule:
None.
Describe any new policies to be included in the proposed rule:
Local education agencies and school occupational therapists may discontinue the practice of obtaining a medical referral from a licensed physician for school occupational therapy.
Describe policy alternatives:
Maintain current rule language.
Statutory authority:
Section 227.11 (2) (a), Stats.
Estimate the amount of time/staff resources necessary to develop rule:
The amount of time needed for rule development by Department staff and the amount of other resources necessary is indeterminable. The time needed in creating the rule language, itself, will be minimal; however, the time involved with guiding the rule through the required rule promulgation process is fairly significant. The rule process takes more than 6 months to complete.
Revenue
Subject:
SS. Tax 14.01, 14.02, 14.03, 14.04, 14.05 and 14.06 - Relating to: homestead credit administrative provisions; qualification for credit; household income and income; property taxes accrued; gross rent and rent constituting property taxes accrued; and marriage, separation or divorce during a claim year.
Description of policy issues:
Description of the objective of the rule:
The objectives of the proposed rule are to:
• Conform style, format, language and punctuation to Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse standards.
• Update language, terminology.
• Update procedures relating to filing claims, adjusting claims, charging interest, preparing rent certificates and verifying rent when a rent certificate cannot be obtained.
• Reflect proper filing deadlines.
• Remove obsolete procedures, language and notes.
• Move nonsubstantive material from the text of a rule to a note and move substantive material in an example to the text of a rule.
• Clarify various provisions relating to deceased persons, items includable in or excludable from income, ownership of a homestead by a spouse, allowable property taxes for a co-owned homestead, property tax payment for a homestead the claimant does not own, joint occupancy of a rental unit, medical assistance recipients, separate payments to a landlord and indirect rent payments.
• Pursuant to law changes, update provisions relating to gain from the sale of a personal residence, scholarship income, county relief, Wisconsin works payments and the 1/12th reduction of property taxes or rent when public assistance is received.
• Add additional items of includable income and exclusions from income, to reflect current Department policy.
• Replace quoted statutory language with references to the statutes or explanatory language.
• Include additional statutory references relating to rent paid for tax-exempt housing and food or services provided by a landlord.
Policy analysis:
Existing policies are as set forth in the rules. No new policies are being proposed, other than to reflect law changes. If the rules are not changed, they will be incorrect in that they will not reflect current law or current Department policy or procedures, they will be incomplete, and they will not conform to Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse standards.
Statutory authority:
Section 71.80 (1) (c), Stats.
Estimate of staff time required:
The Department estimates it will take approximately 200 hours to develop this rule order.
Transportation
Subject:
Ch. Trans 276 - Relating to establishing a network of highways on which long combination vehicles may operate, by adding three highway segments to the network.
Description of policy issues:
Description of the objective of the rule:
This proposal will amend ch. Trans 276, which establishes a network of highways on which long combination vehicles may operate, by adding three highway segments to the network. The actual segments being proposed are State Trunk Highway 89 from STH 26 in Fort Atkinson to IH-94 in Lake Mills, USH 18 from USH 12 in Cambridge to STH 89 west of Jefferson and STH 59 from STH 26 in Milton to USH 12 in Whitewater.
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:
Federal law requires the Department of Transportation to react within 90 days to requests for changes to the long truck route network. Wisconsin state law requires that the Department use the administrative rule process to deal with changes to the long truck route network. Chapter Trans 276 is an existing rule set up for long truck routes. The Department has received a request from Mike Kowalski Trucking, Inc., of Whitewater to add three highway segments.
Statutory authority for the rule:
Section 348.07 (4), Stats.
Estimates of the amount of time that state employes will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
It is estimated that state employes will spend 40 hours on the rule-making process, including research, drafting and conducting a public hearing.
Veterans Affairs
Subject:
Ch. VA 4 - Relating to the veteran's housing loan program.
Description of policy issues:
Description of the objective of the rule:
The Department of Veterans Affairs has the statutory authority to exercise powers as may be necessary for the efficient administration of the veteran's housing loan program under subchapter II of Chapter 45 of the statutes. The proposed rules will enable the Department to operate the program more efficiently, minimize the differences between the program and conventional loan programs, and increase the number of creditworthy veterans to whom loans can be made.
Policy analysis:
It is essential that the Department modernize the veteran's housing loan program. This can be done by modifying underwriting criteria to conform to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae processes, thereby enabling the veteran and Department to utilize electronic underwriting programs. Additionally, current requirements which have minimal impact upon the creditworthiness of an applicant, such as requiring redundant documentation of income, should be eliminated. In general, the Department will attempt to eliminate or minimize those requirements that have no impact upon creditworthiness but serve as impediments in the processing of loan applications.
Statutory authority for the rule:
Sections 45.35 (3) and 45.73 (1), Stats.
Estimates of the amount of time and other resources necessary to develop the rule:
Approximately 40 staff hours.
Workforce Development
Subject:
S. DWD 140.16 - Relating to admissibility of evidence; administrative notice.
Description of policy issues:
Description of the objective of the rule:
In order to comply with labor standard conditions as required by the federal government to determine an unemployment insurance claimant's eligibility for unemployment benefits, it is necessary to determine if the claimant is available for work and able to work, and it is necessary to compare conditions of similar work. The objective of the rule is to allow in the hearing record the admittance of a computer-generated report on labor market conditions provided by Wisconsin's Condition of Employment Database to meet this requirement, in the place of the testimony of a labor market analyst or a certified expert report completed by a labor market analyst. Currently, there is no statutory basis to allow the admittance of the report into the record.
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:
