NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss. 110.06, 110.20 (9) and 227.11 (2), Stats., and interpreting s. 110.20, Stats., the Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing in Room 254 of the Hill Farms State Transportation Building, 4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin on the 20th day of February, 2001, at 10:00 a.m. to consider the amendment of ch. Trans 131, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to a motor vehicle emissions inspection program.
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
The public record on this proposed rule making will be held open until close of business February 22, 2001, to permit the submission of written comments from persons unable to attend the public hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing. Any such comments should be submitted to Jerry Medinger, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Vehicle Services, Third Party Programs Section, Room 253, P. O. Box 7909, Madison, WI 53707-7909.
Parking for persons with disabilities and an accessible entrance are available on the north and south sides of the Hill Farms State Transportation Building.
Analysis Prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Statutory Authority: ss. 110.06, 110.20 (9) and 227.11 (2).
Statute Interpreted: s. 110.20.
General Summary of Proposed Rule
Ch. Trans 131 specifies the procedures used in the administration of the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program. The proposed rule amendments specify testing procedures and failure criteria for the use of on-board diagnostic inspections for newer model year vehicles. The new testing procedures result from recent USEPA regulation which requires the use of on-board diagnostic inspections in all areas that operate I/M programs.
The current emission testing procedure consists of operating a vehicle on a dynamometer to simulate on-road operation. The hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions discharged from the tailpipe are measured and compared to allowable limitations for that particular model year and weight class of vehicle. The maximum allowable limitations are set by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Vehicles that emit pollutants in excess of the allowable limits are required to be repaired and returned for reinspection.
The procedural changes described in the rule amendments specify how the Department will conduct the on-board diagnostic inspections on model year 1996 and newer vehicles which are equipped with on-board diagnostic, version II (OBD II) systems. The on-board diagnostic inspections will be used in place of the current tailpipe test.
Vehicle manufacturers have designed OBD II systems to monitor the electronic emission control components on automobiles and light-duty trucks. These OBD II systems continually check that the emission control systems are operating according to programmed specifications. If serious problems occur, the OBD II systems alert the driver by means of a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) or “check engine" light.
The on-board diagnostic inspection consists of an interrogation of the vehicle's OBD II computer system to verify that all of the emission controls are functioning properly. The inspection is performed by connecting a cable from the vehicle to the test-lane computer system. The test-lane computer system checks to see that the vehicle's OBD II system is functioning and ready for an information download. The OBD II computer sends information to the test-lane computer, and the motorist receives a printout containing the result of that communication. If the vehicle communicates that there is a malfunctioning emission component, the motorist is required to have the vehicle reinspected after repair.
The proposed rule amendments also include some minor changes for either grammatical purposes or to reflect current practice.
Fiscal Impact
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on the liabilities or revenues of any county, city, village, town, school district, vocational, technical and adult education district or sewerage district. The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on state revenues or liabilities.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.
This proposed rule will have no adverse impact on small businesses.
Copies of Proposed Rule
Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained upon request, without cost, by writing to Jerry Medinger, Third Party Programs Section, P. O. Box 7909, Madison, WI 53707-7909, or by calling (608) 266-2267. Hearing-impaired individuals may contact the Department using TDD (608) 266-3096. Alternate formats of the proposed rule will be provided to individuals at their request.
Submission of proposed rules to the legislature
Please check the Bulletin of Proceedings for further information on a particular rule.
Ch. Comm 5 - Relating to renewal of expired credentials.
Ch. DFI-Bkg 8.04 - Relating to stating name and location of office on bank checks.
Ch. HFS 97 - Relating to complaint procedures for inmates of the Wisconsin resource center.
Ch. HFS 79 - Relating to administration of supplemental security income (SSI), state supplemental payments to low-income elderly and disabled residents of Wisconsin and their dependent children.
Ch. NR 7 - Relating to recreation boating facilities program.
Ch. NR 10 - Relating to deer management unit boundaries and population goals.
Ch. PSC 118 - Relating to the use of renewable resource credits.
Rule orders filed with the
revisor of statutes bureau
The following administrative rule orders have been filed with the Revisor of Statutes Bureau and are in the process of being published. The date assigned to each rule is the projected effective date. It is possible that the publication date of these rules could be changed. Contact the Revisor of Statutes Bureau at (608) 266-7275 for updated information on the effective dates for the listed rule orders.
An order affecting chs. Comm 20-25 relating to the uniform (1-2 family) dwelling code.
Effective 4-1-01
An order to add sewerage systems to ch. PSC 132.
Effective 3-1-01
rules_published
Rules published with this register and final regulatory flexibility analyses
The following administrative rule orders have been adopted and published in the January 31, 2001 Wisconsin Administrative Register. Copies of these rules are sent to subscribers of the complete Wisconsin Administrative Code and also to the subscribers of the specific affected Code.
For subscription information, contact Document Sales at (608) 266-3358.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(
CR 00-060)
An order to repeal and recreate ch. ATCP 75 relating to retail food establishments.
Effective 2-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
This rule repeals and recreates DATCP's current rules for retail food establishments, such as grocery stores. This rule is based on the federal model food code, published by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The model food code is based on the best science currently available to FDA.
The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services is proposing nearly identical rules for restaurants. This is a joint effort by DATCP and DHFS to establish consistent and up-to-date standards for all food service operations. DATCP and DHFS are already coordinating their licensing and inspection activities, to provide effective regulation without unnecessary overlap.
The model food code is applicable to retail food establishments as well as restaurants. The FDA has recommended that state and local governments adopt the model food code. Retail food operations throughout the nation are familiar with the model food code.
This rule will not have a major impact on small businesses, because the food sanitation requirements contained in this rule are similar to those that currently apply. However, this rule will require some additional training of retail food establishment personnel. It should not be necessary for retail food establishments to hire additional professional services to comply with this rule.
This rule will assist small business by maintaining public confidence in the retail food supply, and by eliminating inconsistent regulation of retail food establishments and restaurants (many of which are combined at the same location). The final regulatory flexibility analysis is attached as an Appendix.
On September 1, 2000, the department transmitted the above rule for legislative committee review. The rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Health, Utilities and Veterans and Military Affairs and the Assembly Committee on Public Health. The Assembly committee took no action on this rule during the review period.
The Senate committee held a hearing November 2, 2000. As a result of this hearing, the Chair of the Senate committee, Rodney Moen, asked that DHFS modify their rule to establish minimum inspection frequencies of once every 12 months for full service restaurants and once every 18 months for limited service restaurants. DHFS has agreed to make these modifications to their rule.
Neither committee asked DATCP to modify the final rule. Also, neither of the committees asked the agencies to make any changes to Appendix A of the rule, the Wisconsin Food Code.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(
CR 00-104)
An order affecting ch. ATCP 136 relating to reclaiming and recycling refrigerant for mobile air conditioners.
Effective 2-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
Small businesses continue to have flexibility under the current rule and the proposed amendments. Auto repair businesses are not required to service or repair mobile air conditioners or trailer refrigeration equipment. In fact, many auto repair businesses do not service air conditioners or refrigeration equipment themselves. Rather, they contract out repairs related to refrigerant recovery, recycling and recharging air conditioners or refer customers to businesses registered to perform these kinds of repairs.
This department transmitted the above rule for legislative committee review on October 12, 2000. The rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environmental Resources and Campaign Finance Reform on October 18, and to the Assembly Committee on Environment on October 19. The committees took no action on the rule during its review period. Nor did the department receive any comments from the committees.
An order to repeal and recreate ch. HFS 175 relating to recreational and educational camps.
Effective 2-1-01
Summary of final regulatory flexibility analysis
No more than 30 of the 246 recreational and educational camps in Wisconsin are small businesses as ``small business" is defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. However, the repeal and recreation of ch. HFS 175 will have a minimal fiscal effect on these small businesses.
The revised rules clarify current provisions, add new safety requirements and make the rules more flexible in recognition of changes in the industry. The definition of ``camp" is modified to delete the limitation that a camp provide 4 or more consecutive nights of lodging, the effect being to permit a camp to operate the year around and to enable some camps to avoid having to obtain restaurant and hotel permits in addition to a camp permit; there is no longer a requirement for Department pre-approval of plans for a new or expanded camp; food safety and service requirements and related equipment and utensil requirements in ch. HFS 196, rules for restaurants, are made to apply also to camp dining halls; there are new rules for food safety and sanitation when food is prepared and served out-of-doors; and more flexibility is permitted in staffing for health care services. Finally, the proposed rules reference other existing administrative rules of this Department and the Departments of Commerce and Natural resources. The Department could not exempt particular operators from the rules of other Departments.
The major effect of these rules on camp operators will be increased record keeping requirements necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of campers. However, these rules will not require camp operators to employ additional professional services to achieve compliance. Pursuant to s. HFS 175.02 (2), licensed operators will still have the ability to apply for comparable compliance for alternative methods, practices, materials, equipment or design allowing additional flexibility and minimizing impact.
In summary, these rules are minimum requirements for protecting the health and safety of campers and staff. Given this, no additional special measures could be included in the revised rules to relieve small businesses from complying with the rule's requirements.
