Both hearing sites are fully accessible to people with disabilities. For the public hearing in Madison, parking for people with disabilities is available in the parking lot behind the building, in the Monona Terrace Convention Center Parking Ramp or in the Doty Street Parking Ramp. People with disabilities may enter the building directly from the parking lot at the west end of the building or from Wilson Street through the side entrance at the east end of the building,
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
This rulemaking order amends ch. HFS 50, the Department's rules for facilitating the adoption of children with special needs, to implement changes to the adoption assistance program statute, s. 48.975, Stats., made by 1997 Wisconsin Act 308. Those changes include permitting a written agreement for adoption assistance to be made following an adoption, but only in “extenuating circumstances;" permitting the amendment of an adoption assistance agreement for up to one year to increase the amount of adoption assistance for maintenance when there is a “substantial change in circumstances;" and requiring the Department to annually review the circumstances of the child when the original agreement has been amended because of a substantial change in circumstances, with the object of amending the agreement again to either continue the increase or to decrease the amount of adoption assistance if the substantial change in circumstances no longer exists. The monthly adoption assistance payment cannot be less than the amount in the original agreement, unless agreed to by all parties.
Section 48.975 (5), Stats., as amended by Act 308, directs the Department to promulgate rules that, among other things, define extenuating circumstances, a child with special needs and substantial change in circumstances.
Once the rule changes were developed, they were published by emergency order on November 16, 1999 to take effect on that date so that adoption assistance or the higher adoption assistance payments to which adoptive parents are entitled because of “extenuating circumstances" or a “substantial change in circumstances" under the statutory changes that were effective on January 1, 1999, could be made available to them as soon as possible rather than 7 to 9 months later which is how long the promulgation process takes for permanent rules. This is the proposed permanent order to amend ch. HFS 50 that will replace the time-limited emergency order that amended ch. HFS 50.
Contact Person
To find out more about the hearings or to request a copy of the proposed rules or the emergency rules, write, phone or E-mail:
Jill Duerst
Division of Children and Family Services
P.O. Box 8916
Madison, WI 53708-8916
(608) 266-1142 or,
if you are hearing impaired,
(608) 266-7376 (TTY)
If you are hearing or visually impaired, do not speak English, or have circumstances which might make communication at a hearing difficult and if you, therefore, require an interpreter or a non-English, large-print or taped version of the hearing document, contact the person at the address or phone number shown above. Persons requesting a non-English or sign language interpreter should contact the person at the address or phone number given above at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.
Written comments on the proposed rules or the emergency rules received at the above address no later than March 2, 2000 will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearings.
Fiscal Estimate
This order amends ch. HFS 50 to implement changes made in s. 48.975, Stats., the adoption assistance program, by 1997 Wisconsin Act 308. Those changes include permitting a written agreement for adoption assistance to be concluded after the adoption is final, but only when there are “extenuating circumstances," and permitting the amendment of an adoption assistance agreement to increase the amount when, following adoption of a special needs child there is a “substantial change in circumstances." The amended rules define “extenuating circumstances," “child at high risk" and “substantial change in circumstances."
The rule changes will not affect the expenditures or revenues of state government or local governments. They implement the statutory changes. The adoption assistance program is administered by the Department.
Any change in costs as a result of these changes in the adoption assistance program are due not to the implementing rule changes but rather to Act 308 and were taken into consideration by the Legislature in deliberations when the bill, AB 601, was passed.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
These rule changes apply mainly to the Department and the adoptive parents of special needs children but may affect also prospective adoptive parents, adopted special needs children, special needs children available for adoption and adoption agencies. A few of the adoption agencies, namely, some of the 24 private child-placing agencies licensed to accept guardianship of children and to place children under their guardianship for adoption, may be small businesses as “small business" is defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. However, in this rulemaking order adoption agencies are directly affected only by a revised requirement relating to reasonable placement efforts which does not require the agency to have new professional skills in order to comply with it.
Notice of Hearing
Commissioner of Insurance
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the authority granted under s. 601.41 (3), Stats., and the procedure set forth in s. 227.18, Stats., the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) will hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of the proposed rule-making order affecting s. Ins 3.09, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to mortgage guarantee insurance.
Hearing Information
Date & Time Location
February 25, 2000 Room 6
Friday OCI
10:00 A.M. 121 East Wilson St.
MADISON, WI
Analysis Prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Statutory authority: ss. 601.41 (3), 627.05 and 628.34 (12) and ch. 617
Statutes interpreted: ss. 600.01 and 628.34 (12) and ch. 617
This proposed rule change establishes standards for the transaction of mortgage guarantee business related to an affiliate when that affiliate is 50% owned by another party. Existing rules prohibit such transactions.
Written Comments
Written comments on the proposed rule will be accepted into the record and receive the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing if they are received at OCI within 14 days following the date of the hearing. Written comments should be addressed to:
Stephen Mueller, OCI
P.O. Box 7873
Madison, WI 53707
Fiscal Estimate
There will be no state or local government fiscal effect.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses.
Contact Information
A copy of the full text of the proposed rule changes and fiscal estimate may be obtained from the OCI internet WEB site at
http://www.state.wi.us/agencies/oci/ocirules.htm or by contacting Tammi Kuhl, Services Section, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, at (608) 266-0110 or at 121 East Wilson Street, P.O. Box 7873, Madison WI 53707-7873.
Notice of Hearing
Commissioner of Insurance
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the authority granted under s. 601.41 (3), Stats., and the procedure set forth in s. 227.18, Stats., the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) will hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of the proposed rule-making order affecting s. Ins 23.35, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to adjusting minimum benefit requirements for prearranged funeral plans.
Hearing Information
Date & Time Location
February 25, 2000 Room 6
Friday OCI
11:00 A.M. 121 East Wilson St.
MADISON, WI
Analysis Prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Statutory authority: ss. 601.41(3) and 632.41 (2) (b) 2.
Statute interpreted: s. 632.41 (2) (b) 2.
This proposed rule change sets out specific minimum benefit requirements for insurance marketed to fund prearranged funeral plans where the premium for that insurance is payable in installments over time. Under current rules governing funeral policies, the multi-premium policy marketplace is nearly non-existent. This change is intended to make it more likely that insurers will issue policies with flexible funding arrangements. Consumer safeguards are added by correlating death benefits to the amount of the prearranged funeral plan with an “interest" factor added. In addition, limits on the payment period are tied to age at issue and policies that pay a death benefit less than face value are allowed only under certain conditions. This rule also requires disclosure where the policy death benefit may be less than the policy face value and the total premium to be paid over the life of the policy.
This rule change includes a provision that requires a premium rate filing for all funeral policies.
Written Comments
Written comments on the proposed rule will be accepted into the record and receive the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing if they are received at OCI within 14 days following the date of the hearing. Written comments should be addressed to:
Stephen Mueller, OCI
P.O. Box 7873
Madison, WI 53707
Fiscal Estimate
There will be no state or local government fiscal effect.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses.
Contact Information
A copy of the full text of the proposed rule changes and fiscal estimate may be obtained from the OCI internet WEB site at
http://www.state.wi.us/agencies/oci/ocirules.htm or by contacting Tammi Kuhl, Services Section, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, at (608) 266-0110 or at 121 East Wilson Street, P.O. Box 7873, Madison WI 53707-7873.
Notice of Hearing
