Publication Date:
January 3, 2003
Effective Date:
January 3, 2003
Expiration Date:
June 2, 2003
Hearing Date:
April 2, 2003
3.
Rules adopted revising
ch. HFS 124, relating to critical access hospitals.
Finding of emergency
The Department of Health and Family Services finds that an emergency exists and that the rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The federal Rural Hospital Flexibility Program promotes the continued viability of rural hospitals by allowing qualifying hospitals to receive cost-based reimbursement for their services if the hospital qualifies for and is approved to convert to what is known as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). In Wisconsin, subchapter VI of ch.
HFS 124 governs the Department's designation and regulation of CAHs. Designation as a CAH and receipt of cost-based reimbursement promotes the hospital's continued viability. To date, 25 hospitals in Wisconsin have transitioned to CAH status, thereby ensuring continued acute care access for many rural residents.
The Department recently learned that the tenuous financial condition of St. Mary's Hospital in Superior jeopardizes its continued operation and places it in imminent danger of closing unless the hospital can be designated as a CAH and receive cost-based reimbursement. The closure of St. Mary's would reduce Douglas County residents' accessibility to acute care. Moreover, the loss of the facility would have a significant detrimental effect on the county because St. Mary's annual payroll is between $7-8 million and it employs the equivalent of about 160 persons full-time.
Federal regulations permit a hospital in an urban area such as Superior to be reclassified as a critical access hospital if the hospital is located in an area designated as rural under state law or regulation. The Department has determined that the current provisions in ch.
HFS 124 preclude St. Mary's from being reclassified as a rural hospital and designated as a necessary provider of health services to area residents. However, St. Mary's Hospital meets “necessary provider" status in the Wisconsin Rural Health Plan based on economic, demographic and health care delivery in its service area. Therefore, through this rulemaking order, the Department is modifying provisions in subchapter VI of ch.
HFS 124 to permit St. Mary's Hospital to be classified as a rural hospital and begin the approval process for designation as a Critical Access Hospital.
Publication Date:
March 21, 2003
Effective Date:
March 21, 2003
Expiration Date:
August 18, 2003
Hearing Date:
June 20, 2003
[See Notice This Register]
Higher Educational Aids Board
Rules adopted amending s.
HEA 5.05 (2), relating to the eligibility of those on active duty military service.
Finding of emergency
The Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board finds that an emergency exists and that the attached rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
The
1989 Wisconsin Act 31 created s.
39.435 which provides for Talent Incentive Program Grants to Wisconsin residents who meet criteria established by the statute and administrative code. The Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) administers this program under s.
39.435 and under ch.
HEA 5. According to the administrative rules, a student must be continuously enrolled from semester to semester and year to year to continue to receive this grant after their initial year. Under current rules, exceptions to this requirement may only be made for medical reasons.
Recently, students who have returned from active duty military service and resumed enrollment at a college or university have begun to request exceptions to the continuous enrollment requirement. This situation is not addressed in the current administrative rules, because the break in these students' enrollment was not due to medical reasons.
Unless the Board changes its rules, participating students who have been called up to active duty military service will permanently lose their eligibility in this program. Because this grant targets the most financially-needy and educationally-disadvantaged students, the loss of eligibility will cause a hardship to those students who rely most heavily on financial assistance.
The emergency rule procedure is being used to ensure that students who have returned from active duty military service and resumed enrollment during the current academic year, 2002-2003, will not permanently lose their eligibility in this program.
Publication Date:
April 4, 2003
Effective Date:
April 4, 2003
Expiration Date:
September 1, 2003
Natural Resources (4)
(Fish, Game, etc., Chs. NR 1-)
1.
Rules adopted revising
chs. NR 10 and 45, relating to the control and management of chronic wasting disease.
Finding of emergency
The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s.
227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The state legislature has delegated to the department rule-making authority in
2001 Wisconsin Act 108 to control the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin. CWD poses a risk to the health of the state's deer herd and citizens and is a threat to the economic infrastructure of the department, the state, it citizens and businesses.
Publication Date:
July 3, 2002
Effective Date:
July 3, 2002
Expiration Date:
November 30, 2002
Hearing Date:
August 12, 2002
Extension Through:
April 30, 2003 (part)
September 1, 2003 (part)
2.
Rules adopted repealing and recreating
s. NR 20.20 (49) (d) and (61) (c), relating to the closure of carp fishing on Cedar Lake and connected waters in Polk and St. Croix counties.
Finding of emergency
The Department of Natural Resources 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 facts constituting the emergency is:
Spring viremia of carp virus is of international animal health concern. The virus effects fishes in the minnow family in nature. Minnows are extremely important forage fish for many important sport fishes in Wisconsin and are also important to the bait and aquaculture industries. Assuring the health of minnow populations and preventing the spread to other waters is important in preserving the welfare of Wisconsin citizens by protecting popular and economically valuable sport and bait fisheries. Little is currently known about the extent of the virus and until we can increase our knowledge, this closure will limit the potential spread from transport of fish and/or their parts and fluids.
Publication Date:
October 3, 2002
Effective Date:
October 3, 2002
Expiration Date:
March 2, 2003
Hearing Date:
November 11, 2002
Extension Through:
April 30, 2003
3.
Rules adopted revising
chs. NR 16 and 19 and creating
ch. NR 14, relating to captive wildlife.
Finding of emergency
2001 Wis. Act 56 was not enacted until April of 2002. It required standards for captive animals held under licenses issued under ch.
169, Stats., to be in place by January 1, 2003, the effective date of the change from licensing under ch.
29, Stats., to ch.
169, Stats. As the use of the permanent rule process would not allow these standards to be in place by January 1, 2003, the Department had no choice but to use the emergency rule procedures. Failure to have standards in place would result in the lack of humane care standards for wild animals held in captivity and the lack of pen standards necessary to prevent the interactions between captive and wild animals.
Publication Date:
December 20, 2002
Effective Date:
January 1, 2003
Expiration Date:
May 31, 2003
Hearing Date:
January 16, 2003
4.
Rules adopted revising
ss. NR 10.07 (2), 12.06 and 19.60, relating to the control and management of chronic wasting disease.
Finding of emergency
The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s.
227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The state legislature has delegated to the department rule - making authority in
2001 Wisconsin Act 108 to control the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin. CWD poses a risk to the health of the state's deer herd and citizens and is a threat to the economic infrastructure of the department, the state, it's citizens and businesses. This rule is needed to reduce the deer herd in the CWD eradication zone further than accomplished through the hunting seasons to help prevent the spread of CWD.
Initial Applicability. This emergency rule repeals and recreates portions of the original CWD emergency rule order (WM-32-02 (E)) which was adopted by the Natural Resources Board in June 2002. The effective period of this emergency rule will coincide with the effective period of the original CWD emergency rule order which has been extended by the Legislative Joint Committee on the Review of Administrative Rules until April 1, 2003, pursuant to 2001, Wisconsin Act 108.
Publication Date:
January 11, 2003
Effective Date:
January 11, 2003
Expiration Date:
April 1, 2003
Hearing Date:
February 11, 2003
Nursing
Rules adopted creating
s. N 4.10, relating to malpractice insurance coverage for nurse-midwives.
Exemption from finding of emergency
Under Section
13 of
2001 Wisconsin Act 52, the Board of Nursing is directed to use the procedure under s.
227.24, Stats., in promulgating the rules required under s.
441.15 (5) (b) of the statutes. Under that procedure, the Board of Nursing may promulgate this rule for the period before permanent rules become effective. The Board of Nursing need not provide evidence of the necessity of preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare in promulgating this rule.
Analysis prepared by the Department of Regulation
2001 Wisconsin Act 52 makes a number of changes to the provisions affecting nurse-midwives, including that licensed nurse-midwives carry malpractice insurance in an amount determined by rules to be promulgated by the Board of Nursing. This rule establishes those requirements relating to malpractice coverage for nurse-midwives.
Using the procedure under s.
227.24, Stats., the Board of Nursing will promulgate the rules as created by
2001 Wisconsin Act 52, for the period before permanent rules become effective.
Publication Date:
November 5, 2002
Effective Date:
November 5, 2002
Expiration Date:
April 4, 2003
Hearing Date:
March 7, 2003
Extension Through:
June 2, 2003
Workforce Development
(Public Works Const. Contracts, Chs.
DWD 290-
294)
Rules adopted amending
s. DWD 290.155 (1), relating to the annual adjustment of thresholds for application of prevailing wage rates.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Workforce Development finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. A statement of facts constituting the emergency is:
The Department of Workforce Development is acting under its statutory authority to annually adjust thresholds for the application of prevailing wage laws on public works projects. The thresholds are adjusted in accordance with any change in construction costs since the last adjustment. The last adjustment was initially by emergency rule in January 2002 based on changes in the construction cost index in 2001. The Department uses the construction cost index in the December issue of the Engineering News-Record, a national construction trade publication, to determine the change in construction costs over the previous year. The current construction cost index indicates a 2.7% increase in construction costs in 2002. This increase in construction costs results in an increase in the threshold for application of the prevailing wage laws from $36,000 to $37,000 for single-trade projects and from $175,000 to $180,000 for multi-trade projects.
If these new thresholds are not put into effect by emergency rule, the old thresholds will remain effective for approximately 7 months, until the conclusion of the permanent rule-making process. Between January 1, 2003, and August 1, 2003, a single-trade project with a minimum estimated project cost of more than $36,000 but less than $37,000 or a multi-trade project with an estimated cost of more than $175,000 but less than $180,000 would not be exempt from the prevailing wage laws, as they would be if the emergency rule were promulgated. The threshold adjustments for application of the prevailing wage laws are based on national construction cost statistics and are unlikely to be changed by the permanent rule-making process. The Department is proceeding with this emergency rule to avoid imposing an additional administrative burden on local governments and state agencies.
Publication Date:
December 27, 2002
Effective Date:
January 1, 2003
Expiration Date:
May 31, 2003
Hearing Date:
February 27, 2003
