Accounting Examining Board
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to authority vested in the Accounting Examining in ss.
15.08 (5) (b) and
227.11 (2), Stats., and interpreting s.
442.04 (3), Stats., the Accounting Examining Board will hold a public hearing at the time and place indicated below to consider an order to amend Accy 5.04, relating to experience in public practice.
Hearing Date, Time and Location
Date: June 11, 2001
Time: 9:45 a.m.
Location: 1400 East Washington Avenue
Room 180
Madison, Wisconsin
Appearances at the Hearing:
Interested persons are invited to present information at the hearing. Persons appearing may make an oral presentation but are urged to submit facts, opinions and argument in writing as well. Facts, opinions and argument may also be submitted in writing without a personal appearance by mail addressed to the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Office of Administrative Rules, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, Wisconsin 53708. Written comments must be received by June 25, 2001 to be included in the record of rule-making proceedings.
Analysis prepared by the Department of Regulation and Licensing
An applicant for a certificate as a certified public accountant is required to have earned a bachelor's or higher degree with an accounting concentration or its reasonable equivalent as determined by the Accounting Examining Board. An applicant must have 1 1/2 years of accounting experience equivalent to that of a senior in public practice.
The Accounting Examining Board amends its rule on experience in public practice to require that an applicant acquire senior level experience after earning a degree with an accounting concentration or a degree that is reasonably equivalent.
Text of Rule
SECTION 1. Accy 5.04 is amended to read:
Accy 5.04 Experience in public practice. An individual must have adequate accounting experience at the level of a junior in public practice before senior experience is possible. Such junior experience normally requires approximately 1 1/2 years, thus at least 3 years of experience in public practice is normally required to earn 1 1/2 years of experience at the senior level.
Senior level experience shall be acquired after the applicant has earned a degree that qualified the applicant to take the CPA examination as described in s. Accy 3.04.
Fiscal Estimate
1. The anticipated fiscal effect on the fiscal liability and revenues of any local unit of government of the proposed rule is: $0.00.
2. The projected anticipated state fiscal effect during the current biennium of the proposed rule is: $0.00.
3. The projected net annualized fiscal impact on state funds of the proposed rule is: $0.00.
Initial Flexibility Analysis
These proposed rules will be reviewed by the department through its Small Business Review Advisory Committee to determine whether there will be an economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses, as defined in s.
227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
Copies of Rule and Contact Person
Copies of this proposed rule are available without cost upon request to: Pamela Haack, Department of Regulation and Licensing, Office of Administrative Rules, 1400 East Washington Avenue, Room 171, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, Wisconsin 53708 (608) 266-0495.
Notice of Hearings
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold public hearings on proposed rules
to repeal ch.
ATCP 56, and to repeal and recreate ch.
ATCP 55, relating to meat and meat food products. The department will hold three hearings at the time and places shown below. The department invites the public to attend the hearings and comment on the proposed rules. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until July 6, 2001, for additional written comments.
You may obtain a free copy of this rule by contacting the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, or by calling (608) 224-4726. Copies will also be available at the hearings.
Hearing impaired persons may request an interpreter for these hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by June 12, 2001, by writing to Carol Winner, Division of Food Safety, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911, telephone (608) 224-4726. Alternatively, you may contact the Department TDD at (608) 224-5058. Handicap access is available at the hearings.
Hearings are scheduled at:
Tuesday June 19, 2001, 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Green Bay State Office Building
200 North Jefferson Street
Room 152-A
Green Bay, WI 54301
Handicapped accessible
Wednesday, June 20, 2001, 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
WDATCP Regional Office
3610 Oakwood Hills Parkway
Eau Claire, WI 54701-7754
Handicapped accessible
Friday, June 22, 2001, 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Board Room
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison, WI 53718
Handicapped accessible
Analysis Prepared by the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
This rule repeals and recreates Wisconsin's current meat inspection rules. This rule incorporates major federal law changes affecting Wisconsin's meat inspection program, and repeals current rule provisions made obsolete by the new federal requirements. It also updates, reorganizes and clarifies current state rules.
Background
The United States department of agriculture (“USDA") administers the federal meat inspection program, which is designed to ensure that meat used for human food is safe, wholesome and properly labeled. The Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection (“DATCP") administers a similar meat inspection program for the state of Wisconsin. USDA provides 50% funding for Wisconsin's program. Under federal law, Wisconsin's program must be “at least equal to" the federal program.
Federal and state meat inspection programs have traditionally regulated the production and sale of meat from domesticated food animals such as cattle, swine and poultry. In recent years, they have also begun to regulate the production and sale of meat from other animals, such as farm-raised deer, ratites, captive game animals and captive game birds. The federal program regulates meat sold in interstate commerce. The state program focuses on meat produced and sold within Wisconsin, often by smaller meat establishments.
Animals must be slaughtered subject to state or federal inspection if their meat is sold for human consumption. Slaughter inspection includes ante mortem inspection of live animals and post mortem inspection of carcasses. Slaughter and processing operations must comply with sanitation standards. Meat must bear official inspection marks or legends, and must comply with other labeling requirements.
Federally inspected meat may be sold between states. State-inspected meat may be sold in Wisconsin, but federal law prohibits the sale of state-inspected meat to other states. This prohibition does not apply to state-inspected meat from captive game.
Congress and USDA recently overhauled the entire federal meat inspection program. They replaced the old system, based mainly on visual inspection, with a new “hazard analysis critical control point" (HACCP) system that includes pathogen testing. Wisconsin's meat inspection program must conform to the new federal standards. In the last biennial budget act (
1999 Wis. Act 9), the Wisconsin legislature incorporated the new federal standards by reference under s.
97.42 (4m), Stats.
This rule repeals and recreates DATCP's current meat inspection rules, based on the new federal requirements. It also reorganizes and clarifies current rules. This rule updates current rules related to meat establishment licensing, slaughter inspection, slaughter and processing standards, custom slaughter and processing, mobile custom slaughter and processing, meat labeling, and the production of meat from non-traditional sources such as captive game animals and captive game birds.
Rule Contents
Coverage
This rule applies to persons who slaughter animals for human consumption, or who process, store, transport, sell or distribute meat for human consumption. But this rule does not apply to any of the following:
• Restaurants, vending machine commissaries or catering establishments, regulated by the Wisconsin department of health and family services or its agents, that sell meat only in meals that they serve.
•Federally inspected slaughter or processing establishments.
• Persons slaughtering their own animals, or processing or transporting their own meat, for their own personal or household consumption.
Definitions
This rule defines some important terms used in the rule, including the following:
• “Food animals" means all the following:
□ “Domesticated food animals." This includes cattle, swine, poultry (domesticated chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowl and squab), sheep, goats, farm-raised deer (not captive white-tail deer) and horses.
□“
Ratites." This includes ostriches and emus.
□
“Captive game animals." This includes bison, white-tail deer and other animals of a normally wild type that are produced in captivity for slaughter and consumption. It does not include farm-raised deer, ratites, captive game birds, fish, or game animals kept solely for hunting purposes at a hunting preserve.
□
“Captive game birds." This includes farm-raised game birds, such as pheasants, quail, wild turkeys, waterfowl and exotic birds, which are produced in captivity for slaughter and consumption. It does not include poultry or ratites. Nor does it include game birds kept solely for hunting purposes in a hunting preserve.
•“Meat" means the edible muscle and other edible parts of a food animal.
•“
Meat establishment" means an establishment used to slaughter food animals for human consumption, or to process the meat of food animals for human consumption.
• “Custom slaughter" or “custom processing" means slaughter or processing services provided to an individual who already owns the affected food animal or meat, and who uses the resulting meat products solely for his or her personal or household consumption. The service provider does not sell meat to the service recipient, but merely provides a service for hire.
• “Mobile custom slaughter" or “mobile custom processing" means custom slaughter or processing services provided at the recipient's premises (typically a farm), rather than at a meat establishment.
Licensed Meat Establishments
This rule clarifies current meat establishment licensing requirements. Under this rule, no person may operate a meat establishment without a current annual license from DATCP. But no license is required for any of the following:
• Federally inspected slaughter or processing operations.
• Mobile custom slaughter or mobile custom processing operations. A person engaged in mobile custom slaughter or mobile custom processing operations must hold an annual registration certificate from DATCP (see below) if the person does not hold a meat establishment license.
• The custom slaughter or custom processing of captive game animals or captive game birds.
• A farmer who slaughters and processes, for sale at his or her farm, not more than 1,000 poultry per year produced on that farm. The poultry must be labeled “NOT INSPECTED."
•A retail establishment that processes meat primarily for sale to consumers at the retail establishment, provided that all the following apply:
□ The retail establishment is not engaged in slaughter operations.
□ The retail establishment sells its processed meat only to consumers at the retail establishment, or to restaurants or institutions for use in meals served at those restaurants or institutions.
□ The retail establishment's sales of its processed meat to restaurants or institutions do not exceed $28,800 annually, or 25% by dollar volume of its total annual meat sales, whichever amount is less.
