EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Crime Victims Rights Board
Rules adopted creating ch. CVRB 1, relating to the rights of crime victims.
Finding of Emergency
The Crime Victims Rights Board finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The Crime Victims Rights Board was created by 1997 Wis. Act 181, effective December 1, 1998, to enforce victims' rights established by Wis. Const. Art. I, s. 9m, adopted in 1993. The Wisconsin Constitution states that the Legislature shall provide remedies for the violation of victims' constitutional rights. The Board's process represents the only means of enforcing the remedies available to victims of crime who are not provided with the rights guaranteed to them by the Wisconsin Constitution and the Wisconsin statutes. The Board can issue reprimands to correct violations of victims' rights, seek forfeitures in egregious cases, and seek equitable relief to enforce victims' rights. The Board can also work to prevent future violations of victims' rights by issuing reports and recommendations on crime victims' rights and services.
Complaints must be presented to the Department of Justice before they can be presented to the Board. The Department estimates that it receives 200 complaints annually involving the treatment of crime victims. The Department has no authority to enforce victims' rights; the Department can only seek to mediate disputes. Of those complaints, approximately 25 per year cannot be resolved to the parties' satisfaction, and are therefore ripe for the Board's consideration. There are presently 5 complaints that could be referred to the Board if the Board were able to receive and act on complaints.
Until the Board establishes its complaint process by administrative rule, it is unable to provide the remedies constitutionally guaranteed to crime victims.
Publication Date:   September 17, 1999
Effective Date:   September 17, 1999
Expiration Date:   February 14, 1999
Hearing Date:   November 9, 1999
Extension Through:   June 12, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Employe Trust Funds
Rules adopted revising s. ETF 20.25 (1), relating to the distribution to annuitants from the transaction amortization account to the annuity reserve under 1999 Wis. Act 11.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Employe Trust Funds, Employe Trust Fund Board, Teacher Retirement Board and Wisconsin Retirement Board find that an emergency exists and that administrative rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The Public Employe Trust Fund was created for the purpose of helping public employes to protect themselves and their beneficiaries against the financial hardships of old age, disability, death, illness and accident. The Trust Fund thus promotes economy and efficiency in public service by facilitating the attraction and retention of competent employes, by enhancing employe morale, by providing for the orderly and humane departure from service of employes no longer able to perform their duties effectively, and by establishing equitable benefit standards throughout public employment. There are approximately 102,000 annuitants of the Wisconsin Retirement System, of whom about 80% reside throughout the State of Wisconsin. The Department of Employe Trust Funds estimates that up to 7,000 public employes covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System will retire and take annuity benefits effective during 1999.
WRS participants who retire during 1999 are not eligible to have their retirement benefits calculated using the higher formula factors for pre-2000 service which are provided by the treatment of Wis. Stats. 40.23 (2m) (e) 1. through 4. by 1999 Wis. Act 11. Section 27 (b) 2. of the Act directs that any funds allocated to the employer reserve in the Trust Fund as a result of the $4 billion transfer mandated by the Act, which exceed $200,000,000 shall be applied towards funding any liabilities created by using the higher formula factors with respect to pre-2000 service.
If the existing administrative rule mandating proration is not revised, then the distribution of the funds transferred into the annuity reserve by Act s. 27 (1) (a) of 1999 Wis. Act 11 will be prorated with respect to annuities with effective dates after December 31, 1998, and before January 1, 2000. The extraordinary transfer of funds from the Transaction Amortization Account (TAA) mandated by 1999 Wis. 11 causes funds, which would otherwise have remained in the TAA to be recognized and fund annuity dividends in later years, to instead be transferred into the annuity reserve in 1999 and paid out as an annuity dividend effective April 1, 2000. Normally, annuities effective during 1999 would receive only a prorated dividend. If this occurred with respect to this extraordinary distribution, then annuitants with annuity effective dates in 1999 would be deprived of a portion of the earnings of the Public Employe Trust Fund that would otherwise have affected their annuities as of April 1, 2001 and in subsequent years.
Promulgation of an emergency rule is the only available option for revising the effect of Wis. Adm. Code s. ETF 20.25 (1) before December 31, 1999. Accordingly, the Department of Employe Trust Funds, Employe Trust Funds Board, Teacher Retirement Board and Wisconsin Retirement Board conclude that preservation of the public welfare requires placing this administrative rule into effect before the time it could be effective if the Department and Boards were to comply with the scope statement, notice, hearing, legislative review and publication requirements of the statutes.
Publication Date:   December 27, 1999
Effective Date:   December 31, 1999
Expiration Date:   May 29, 2000
Hearing Date:   February 11, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Department of Financial Institutions
Division of Securities
Rules adopted revising s. DFI-Sec 5.01 (4), relating to investment adviser representative competency examination grandfathering provisions.
Finding of Emergency and Analysis
The Division of Securities of the Department of Financial Institutions for the State of Wisconsin finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency follows:
The Division recently adopted for January 1, 2000 effectiveness as part of its annual rule revision process for 1999, a new administrative rule in s. DFI-Sec 5.01(3) that prescribes a new examination requirement for investment advisers and investment adviser representatives seeking licensure in Wisconsin on or after January 1, 2000. That new examination requirement, which includes completely revised Series 65 and Series 66 examinations, was developed over a 3-year period by a Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA").
The new NASAA examination requirement (which also included certain “grandfathering"/examination-waiver provisions) was approved by vote of NASAA member states (including Wisconsin) at the NASAA 1999 Spring Conference to become effective on December 31, 1999. The NASAA membership vote was accompanied by a recommendation that for uniformity purposes, each NASAA member state complete the necessary steps to adopt and have effective by January 1, 2000, the new examination requirement conforming to the NASAA format in all respects.
Following the adoption on November 18, 1999 by the Division of the new investment adviser examination requirement in s. DFI-Sec 5.01(3) as part of the Division's annual rule revision process, it was noted that the “grandfathering"/examination waiver provisions that had been included in s. DFI-Sec 5.01(4) did not track the NASAA Model language in two respects.
Because it is critical that the grandfathering provisions for the new Wisconsin investment adviser examination requirement be uniform with those of the other NASAA member states as of the coordinated January 1, 2000 date so that applicants for licensing in Wisconsin receive equivalent treatment to that accorded them by other states in which they may be seeking licensure, this emergency rulemaking for January 1, 2000 effectiveness is necessary.
The emergency rulemaking action is comprised of two provisions which do the following: (1) provide an examination waiver in new section DFI-Sec 5.01(4)(e) for any applicant licensed as an investment adviser or investment adviser representative in any jurisdiction in the U.S. on January 1, 2000; and (2) provide an examination waiver in amended section DFI-Sec 5.01(4)(b) for any applicant that has been licensed as an investment adviser or investment adviser representative in any jurisdiction in the U.S. within two years prior to the date the application is filed.
Publication Date:   December 28, 1999
Effective Date:   January 1, 2000
Expiration Date:   May 30, 2000
Hearing Date:   March 13, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
Gaming Division
1.   Rules adopted creating ch. Game 27, relating to the conduct of pari-mutuel snowmobile racing.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Administration's Division of Gaming finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
In January of 2000 a snowmobile promoter proposes to offer pari-mutuel wagering on snowmobile races conducted in Wisconsin. Section 562.124, Stats., allows for pari-mutuel snowmobile racing with the requirement that the Division of Gaming regulate the racing and promulgate all rules necessary to administer the statutory provision in the statutes.
Since this will be the first occasion within the United States that there will be pari-mutuel wagering on a motor sport or mechanical event, the Division of Gaming took extra time in preparing and reviewing the proposed rules with emphasis and attention directed toward the health, welfare and safety of the participants, workers and the public. Additionally, the Division of Gaming is incorporating standards by reference, specifically the Oval Sprint Racing Rules; Sno-Cross Racing Rules; and the General Competition Rules, excluding Enforcement, Discipline and Violation, of International Snowmobile Racing, Incorporated as identified in the 1999-2000 ISR Snowmobile Racing Yearbook. These rules, which were made public in October of 1999 were reviewed extensively, once again with an emphasis on the health, welfare and safety of the prior noted individuals.
The conduct of pari-mutuel snowmobile racing will create additional jobs, increase tourism within the State of Wisconsin and generate revenues for the Division of Gaming.
Publication Date:   December 23, 1999
Effective Date:   December 23, 1999
Expiration Date:   May 21, 2000
2.   Rule adopted repealing ch. Game 27, relating to the conduct of pari-mutuel snowmobile racing, which was created by emergency rule on December 23, 1999.
Finding of Emergency
Based upon the public opposition to this emergency rule, the Department has reconsidered its creation of ch. Game 27 as an emergency rule. The Department will instead pursue creation of the proposed rule under the permanent rulemaking procedures.
Publication Date:   January 15, 2000
Effective Date:   January 15, 2000
Expiration Date:   May 21, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT (2)
Health & Family Services
(Management, Technology, etc., Chs. HFS 1-)
1.   A rule was adopted revising chapter HFS 12 and Appendix A, relating to caregiver background checks.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Health and Family Services finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
Since October 1, 1998, the Department has been implementing ss. 48.685 and 50.065, Stats., effective on that date, that require use of uniform procedures to check the backgrounds of persons who apply to the Department for regulatory approval, to a county social services or human services department that licenses foster homes for children and carries out adoption home studies, to a private child-placing agency that does the same or to a school board that contracts for day care programs, to provide care or treatment to persons who need that care or treatment, or who apply to a regulated entity to be hired or contracted with to provide services to the entity's clients or who propose to reside as a non-client at the entity. The statutes direct the regulatory agencies and regulated entities to bar persons, temporarily or permanently, depending on the conviction or finding, who have in their backgrounds a specified conviction or finding substantially related to the care of clients, from operating a service provider organization, providing care or treatment to persons who need that care or treatment or from otherwise having contact with the clients of a service provider.
To implement the new Caregiver Law, the Department on October 1, 1998, published administrative rules, ch. HFS 12, Wis. Adm. Code, by emergency order. The October 1998 emergency rules were modified in December 1998 and February 1999 by emergency order, and were replaced by permanent rules effective July 1, 1999. On September 12, 1999, the Department issued another emergency order again modifying ch. HFS 12, but only the Crimes List and not the text of the chapter. The number of specified crimes was reduced to 79, with 6 of them, all taken from ss. 48.685 and 50.065, Stats., being crimes that permanently barred persons for all programs. The change to the ch. HFS 12 Crimes List was made at that time because the 1999-2001 Budget Bill, subsequently passed by the Legislature as 1999 Wisconsin Act 9, was expected to provide for a more modest list of crimes than the one that was appended to ch. HFS 12. The more modest crimes list published by an emergency rulemaking order on September 12, 1999 reflected the Legislature's intent that some persons who under the previous rules would lose their jobs effective October 1, 1999, were able to keep their jobs.
The 1999-2001 Biennial Budget Act, 1999 Wisconsin Act 9, made several changes to ss. 48.685 and 50.065, Stats., the Caregiver Law. These changes were effective on October 29, 1999. The Department's current rules, effective July 1, 1999, as amended on September 16, 1999, have been in large part made obsolete by those statutory changes. Consequently, the Department through this order is repealing and recreating ch. HFS 12 to bring its rules for operation of the Caregiver Law into conformity with the revised statutes. This is being done as quickly as possible by emergency order to remove public confusion resulting from administrative rules, which have been widely relied upon by the public for understanding the operation of the Caregiver Law, that are now in conflict with current statutes.
The revised rules minimize repetition of ss. 48.685 and 50.065, Stats., and are designed to supplement those statutes by providing guidance on:
  Sanctions associated with the acts committed under the Caregiver Law;
  Determining whether an offense is substantially related to client care;
  Reporting responsibilities; and
  The conduct of rehabilitation review.
Publication Date:   February 12, 2000
Effective Date:   February 13, 2000
Expiration Date:   July 12, 2000
Hearing Date:   April 13, 2000
2.   Rules adopted creating ch. HFS 10, relating to family care.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
The Legislature in s. 9123 (1) of 1999 Wis. Act 9 directed the Department to promulgate rules required under ss. 46.286 (4) to (7), 46.288 (1) to (3) and 50.02 (2) (d), Stats., as created by 1999 Wis. Act 9, but exempted the Department from the requirement under s. 227.24 (1) and (3), Stats., to make a finding of emergency.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
Legislation establishing a flexible Family Care benefit to help arrange or finance long-term care services to older people and adults with physical or developmental disabilities was enacted as part of 1999 Wis. Act 9. The benefit is an entitlement for those who meet established criteria. It may be accessed only through enrollment in Care Management Organizations (CMOs) that meet requirements specified in the legislation.
The Act also authorizes the Department of Health and Family Services to contract with Aging and Disability Resource Centers to provide broad information and assistance services, long-term care counseling, determinations of functional and financial eligibility for the Family Care benefit, assistance in enrolling in a Care Management Organization if the person chooses to do so, and eligibility determination for certain other benefits, including Medicaid, and other services.
Until July 1, 2001, the Department of Health and Family Services is authorized to contract with CMOs and Resource Centers in pilot counties to serve up to 29% of the state's eligible population. Further expansion is possible only with the explicit authorization of the Governor and the Legislature.
When Aging and Disability Resource Centers become available in a county, the legislation requires nursing homes, community–based residential facilities, adult family homes and residential care apartment complexes to provide certain information to prospective residents and to refer them to the Resource Center. Penalties are provided for non-compliance.
These proposed rules interpret this new legislation, the main body of which is in newly enacted ss. 46.2805 to 46.2895, Stats. The Department of Health and Family Services is specifically directed to promulgate rules by ss. 46.286 (4) to (7), 46.288 (1) to (3), 50.02 (2) (d) and 50.36 (2) (c), Stats. Non-statutory provisions in section 9123 of 1999 Wis. Act 9 require that the rules are to be promulgated using emergency rulemaking procedures and exempts the Department from the requirements under s. 227.24 (1) (a), (2) (b) and (3) of the Stats., to make a finding of emergency. These are the rules required under the provisions cited above, together with related rules intended to clarify and implement other provisions of the Family Care legislation that are within the scope of the Department's authority. The rules address the following:
  Contracting procedures and performance standards for Aging and Disability Resource Centers.
  Application procedures and eligibility and entitlement criteria for the Family Care benefit.
  Description of the Family Care benefit that provides a wide range of long-term care services.
  Certification and contracting procedures for Care Management Organizations.
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