Under Wisconsin's lobbying law, s.
13.625 (3), Stats., no candidate for an elective state office, elective state official, agency official, or legislative employee may solicit anything of pecuniary value from a lobbyist or principal, except as specifically permitted. A solicitation may take many forms. Whether a particular communication is a solicitation or not may not always be clear. The proposed rule will establish criteria and standards for determining whether a communication or activity is a solicitation circumscribed by statute.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
The anticipated time commitment is 60 hours.
Health and Family Services
Subject
The Department proposes to modify ch.
HFS 45, relating to the licensing of family day care centers and ch.
HFS 46, relating to the licensing of group day care centers. Chapter
HFS 45 applies to centers caring for between 4 and 8 children, while ch.
HFS 46 applies to centers caring for 9 or more children. These modifications would:
1. Incorporate new statutory requirements under s.
48.67, Stats., for training of child care providers in the most recent medically accepted method of reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
2. Bring both chapters of rules into conformance with other legislation relating to Caregiver Background Checks (s.
48.685, Stats.) and the Clean Indoor Air Act (s.
101.123 (2) (bm), Stats.)
3. Revise the rules to reflect current generally accepted safety practice in child care.
4. Modify portions of ch.
HFS 45 to make those provisions consistent with ch.
HFS 46.
5. Revise the licensing administration section of chs.
HFS 45 and
46 to reflect changes in the ways the Department issues a license and create provisions that would allow the Department to bar consideration of an application if the applicant has had a previous license revoked or application denied for a substantive reason.
6. Change the name of programs from day care centers to child care centers.
Policy Analysis
With minor exceptions, the Department has not revised ch.
HFS 45, relating to licensing rules for family day care centers, since 1989. Since that time, several events have suggested or required the modification of ch.
HFS 45. First, in 1997, the Department created ch.
HFS 46, relating to licensing of group day care centers. Not surprisingly, these two chapters of rules address similar topics and, in the Department's judgement, should contain comparable requirements, including ones related to definitions, licensing procedures and penalties and sanctions. Second, since 1989, changes in the child safety practices standards have become generally accepted. For example, cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for childcare providers has become standardized. Finally,
2001 Wis. Act 16 amended s.
48.67, Stats., to require that all child care centers licensed to care for children under 1 year of age must receive training in the most recent medically accepted practice to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Similarly, ch.
HFS 46 needs to be revised to reflect recent generally accepted child care practices standards in addition to
2001 Wis. Act 16. In developing these rules, the Department will consult with the Department of Workforce Development's Office of Child Care, the agency responsible for developing rules for certified child care homes.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
About 120 hours of staff time to research, write and review the proposed changes to the licensing rules.
Parole Commission
Subject
Rule amendment to update ch.
PAC 1, relating to parole procedure, to conform to current law, terminology, prison population and requirements of parole commission operations.
Policy Analysis
Objective of the rule. The administrative rules relating to parole procedures have not been evaluated and updated since they were created in 1993, despite minor amendments in 1995. With over 8 years of experience working with these rules, and given statutory changes, increased prison populations, and necessary parole procedures, the commission proposes to update the rule.
Chapter
PAC 1 relates to the structure of the parole procedure in Wisconsin, the functions of discretionary parole, eligibility for parole, parole consideration and parole commission recommendations. The commission plans to review and revise these existing rules to ensure that they conform with existing law, technology, terminology, prison populations and requirement of the parole commission operations. The commission plans to revise the rule to provide the necessary flexibility and tools to allow parole commission members a better opportunity to meet statutory responsibilities of conducting parole interviews timely, legally, and effectively, thereby more adequately serving the needs of the inmates, the legislature, and society. In addition, the commission will examine the procedures afforded inmates when a recommended parole grant is cancelled due to a variety of circumstances.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
It is anticipated that 150 hours of staff time may be necessary to review and revise the administrative rule, including drafting, cost estimates, public hearings and complying with rule making requirements. Other than staff time, it is anticipated that the resources to develop the rule will be minimal.
