Rule-making notices
Notice of Hearings
Health and Family Services
(Community Services, Ch.
HFS 30-)
These proposed amendments would affect Wisconsin's application for funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C. These hearings and opportunity to comments will also provide public participation for the proposed amendments to the application.
Hearing Information
The public hearings will be held:
Date & Time Location
October 16, 2001 Room 950A
Tuesday 1 W. Wilson Street
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Madison, WI
October 17, 2001 State Office Building
Wednesday 610 Gibson Street
2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eau Claire, WI
The hearing sites are fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
The Department's rules for the state's early intervention program (the Birth to 3 Program) are in ch.
HFS 90 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. Through this rulemaking order, the Department is proposing to establish a system for determining the parental cost share for early intervention services that is applied only to the Birth to 3 Program. The proposed rule would eliminate application of the Uniform Fee system in ch.
HFS 1 and the Family Support Program payment formula in s.
HFS 65.05 as the basis for determining the parental cost share.
Specifically, the rule modifications would have two results. First, since ch.
HFS 90 would no longer cross-reference ch.
HFS 1, county participation in administering the Birth to 3 Program cost share would become mandatory. Second, the method of determining parents' share of the costs of needed services would be simplified and standardized statewide and would be based on the relationship of families' incomes to the federal poverty threshold. This would reduce the administrative costs associated with the program.
The Department proposes using the federal poverty threshold, as revised annually, as a benchmark against which families' adjusted incomes would be compared to determine the parental cost share liabilities. Families with adjusted incomes below 200% of the federal poverty threshold will be exempt from cost sharing. Families with incomes above 200% of the federal poverty level will be billed for part of the early intervention services their children receive.
Under the simplified payment system the Department is proposing, the Department expects counties' costs to administer the payment system to decline as the number of forms and required calculations would be significantly reduced. The Department projects that the proposed rule changes would increase the revenues generated by counties, in total, due to the fact that more families would have a parental cost share and more counties will be participating in the parental cost share system. However, individual counties having relatively lower per capita incomes may not experience significant revenue increases.
Contact Person
To find out more about the hearing or to request a copy of the proposed rules, write, phone or e-mail:
Donna Miller
Bureau of Developmental Disabilities
P.O. Box 7851
Madison, WI 53701-7851
608-267-5150
If you are hearing or visually impaired, do not speak English, or have circumstances that 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 given above at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.
Written comments received by mail or e-mail at an above address no later than 5:00 p.m., November 15, 2001, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at a hearing.
Fiscal Estimate
The Department projects that the proposed rule changes would increase counties' revenues by $1,459,762, in total, due to the fact that more families would have a parental cost share, counties' costs to administer the payment system will decline as the number of forms and required calculations would be significantly reduced, and more counties will be participating in the parental cost share system. However, individual counties having relatively lower per capita incomes may not experience significant revenue increases.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The revision of ch.
HFS 90 will decrease the number of forms county administrative agencies are required to complete and the number of calculations agencies are required to perform as part of their billing and collection responsibilities under the Birth to 3 Program. Counties may delegate their billing and collection responsibilities to a service provider by written agreement. Occasionally, service providers are small businesses as defined under s.
227.114 (1) (a), Stats. Since county administrative agencies have ultimate responsibility for the paperwork associated with determining parental cost share and, through these proposed rules, the Department is proposing ease the administrative burden of the program, the Department has not proposed specific exemptions from these requirements for small businesses.
Bureau of Developmental Disabilities
P.O. Box 7851
Madison, WI 53701-7851
608-267-5150
Notice of Hearings
Health and Family Services
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to s.
227.16 (1),
227.17 and
227.18, Stats., the Department of Health and Family Services will hold public hearings to consider the proposed repeal of ch. HSS 157 and creation of ch.
HFS 157 Radiation Protection, relating to the regulation of radiation producing devices and radioactive materials.
Hearing Information
The public hearings will be held:
Date and Time Location
October 26, 2001 Room 751
Friday 1 W. Wilson Street
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Madison, WI
November 2, 2001 Rib Mountain Inn
Friday 4700 Rib Mountain Drive
12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wausau, WI
November 6, 2001 Country Inn, Meadow Brook
Tuesday West Room
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2810 Golf Road
Waukesha, WI
The hearing sites are fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
Governor Thompson assigned the Department of Health and Family Services the responsibility of pursuing an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that will allow the state to assume regulatory (including judicial) authority over certain radioactive materials currently under federal jurisdiction. Under this agreement, Wisconsin would become an “agreement state" with the NRC and assume responsibility for licensing, inspecting and regulating the use of radioactive materials at 253 facilities statewide, excluding nuclear power reactors and federal facilities. Among other requirements, the NRC requires a potential agreement state to update their state radiation protection rules with a compatible version of current federal radiation protection regulations prior to signing the agreement transferring regulatory authority. The state rules must also establish a radioactive material licensing and inspection program that is at least as stringent as that of the NRC. This is the reason for and purpose of this proposed rulemaking order.
The proposed chapter HFS 157 is based upon an agreement state rule template called the “Suggested State Regulations for the Control of Radiation" (SSRCR) developed by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD). The CRCPD is a national organization of state radiation control staff that supports and represents state radiation control programs. The SSRCR is developed with the involvement of federal radiation agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The SSRCR is also continually updated and used by most of the 32 existing agreement states to help meet federal requirements. Chapter
HFS 157 was also developed with the input of a 40-member rules advisory group representing a cross-section of the regulated user community.
The ch.
HFS 157 proposed rulemaking order would accomplish the following:
1. Retain the current requirement under s.
254.35, Stats. to register x-ray devices and propose no change to the annual $36 site fee and $30 (dental) or $44 (other) tube fees for x-ray producing devices.
