NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to authority vested in the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors in Wis. Stat. ss.
15.08 (5) (b),
227.11 (2), and
443.10, and interpreting s.
442.10, Stats the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors will hold a public hearing at the time and place indicated below to consider an order to repeal and recreate s.
A-E 4.09 as relating to specific application documentation for applicants by comity and applicants for initial licensure.
Hearing Date, Time and Location
Date: November 14, 2003
Time: 9:30 A.M.
Location: 1400 East Washington Avenue
Room 179A
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 November 24, 2003, to be included in the record of rule-making proceedings.
Analysis prepared by the Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Statutes interpreted: s.
443.10.
Current rules define contents of applications for licensure. Section
A-E 4.09 provides that applications for licensure will include specific information and documentation that will verify the applicant's education, experience and training. The current rules do not provide specific application requirements for different types of applicants. For example, applications for original licensure now require the same documentation as applications by comity. Because applicants by comity are already licensed and practicing in another state, the documentation needed by the board to determine their eligibility for licensure in Wisconsin is not the same as that needed for an applicant for initial licensure.
TEXT OF RULE
SECTION 1 A-E 4.09 is repealed and recreated to read:
A-E 4.09 Application contents. (1) An application for original licensure shall include all of the following:
(a) Transcripts or apprenticeship records verifying the applicant's education and training.
(b) References from at least 5 individuals having personal knowledge of the applicant's experience in professional engineering, 3 of whom are registered professional engineers.
(c) A chronological history of the applicant's employment.
(d) Any additional data, exhibits or references showing the extent and quality of the applicant's experience that may be required by the professional engineer section.
(2) An application for licensure by comity from another state shall include all of the following:
(a) Verification of licensure submitted directly from all states, territories or provinces of Canada where the applicant is or has been licensed, including a statement regarding any disciplinary actions taken.
(b) Any additional data, exhibits or references showing the extent and quality of the applicant's experience that may be required by the professional engineer section.
Fiscal Estimate
The Department of Regulation and Licensing will incur $500 in costs to print and distribute the rule change.
Initial Regulatory 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.
Notice of Hearing
Commerce
(Uniform Dwelling Code, Chs.
Comm 20-
25)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
101.02 (1),
101.63 (1),
101.64 (3),
101.72 and
101.74 Stats., the Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing on proposed rules relating to Exiting from Small Dwellings and Rail Spindle Spacing.
The public hearing will be held as follows:
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 @ 10:00 AM
Tommy G. Thompson Commerce Center
Conference Room 3C (Third Floor)
201 West Washington Avenue, Madison, WI
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearings and present comments on the proposed rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing. Persons submitting comments will not receive individual responses. The hearing record on this proposed rulemaking will remain open until Friday, November 14, 2003, to permit submittal of written comments from persons who are unable to attend a hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at a hearing. Written comments should be submitted to Duane Hubeler, at the Department of Commerce, P.O. Box 2689, Madison, WI 53701-2689, or Email at
dhubeler@commerce.state.wi.us
These hearings are held in accessible facilities. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call (608) 266-8741 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY) at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available upon a request from a person with a disability.
Analysis of Proposed Rules
Under the statute sections listed above, the Department of Commerce has the responsibility to adopt rules that establish standards for the construction of 1- and 2-family dwellings. During the last biennial review of these rules, the department developed a proposal to decrease the maximum open space between rail spindles on stairways and other elevated areas such that a 4-inch sphere cannot fit through to be in agreement with national standards as specified under s.
101.63 (1). At the request of the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing, the Commerce Secretary withdrew that proposal pending further study by the Uniform Dwelling Code Council. After studying additional cost and safety data, the UDC Council unanimously reaffirmed its recommendation to adopt these rules.
Also during the last review, the department developed less stringent rules for exiting from small dwellings. After implementation, the department became aware that the size threshold had been set too low for many cabins located at campgrounds. The department believes the size threshold should be increased to avoid imposing a burden on such cabins. The department believes this change will not adversely affect safety in those dwellings.
The proposed rules and an analysis of the proposed rules are available on the Internet at the Safety and Buildings Division web site at:
Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Roberta Ward, at the Department of Commerce, Program Development Bureau, P.O. Box 2689, Madison, WI 53701-2689, or Email at
rward@commerce.state.wi.us, or at telephone (608) 266-8741 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY). Copies will also be available at the public hearing.
Fiscal Estimate
The proposed rule change will have an effect on two specific areas of dwelling design. Both issues are covered under the current code but with different dimensions. There will be no impact on municipal inspections and no fiscal impact on any unit of government.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.
Home builders and campgrounds will be affected by these rules.
2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.
There are no reporting, bookkeeping or other similar procedures required for compliance with the rules.
3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.
There are no additional professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.
Environmental Analysis
Notice is hereby given that the Department has considered the environmental impact of the proposed rules. In accordance with chapter Comm 1, the proposed rules are a Type III action. A Type III action normally does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects and normally does not involve unresolved conflicts in the use of available resources. The Department has reviewed these rules and finds no reason to believe that any unusual conditions exist. At this time, the Department has issued this notice to serve as a finding of no significant impact.
Notice of Hearing
Health and Family Services
(Management and Technology and Strategic Finance– Chs.
HFS 1—)
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to s.
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., the Department of Health and Family Services will hold a public hearing to consider proposed permanent rules creating ch.
HFS 2, relating to Department recoupment of program benefit overpayments from program recipients.
Hearing Information
The public hearing will be held:
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at 1:00 p.m.
State Office Building
1 West Wilson St.
Room B145
MADISON
The hearing site is fully accessible to people with disabilities. Parking for people with disabilities is available on site.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
The Department proposes to create a new chapter of administrative rules, ch.
HFS 2, that addresses the Department's ability to recoup overpayments the Department made to recipients of Department program benefits.
Under section 16.51 (4) of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Wisconsin Department of Administration is responsible for the collection of all monies due the state. In the State Accounting Manual, the Department of Administration has, in turn, assigned to each State agency the responsibility to establish and document internal procedures to assure that all accounts are recorded, billed and collected or written-off in an efficient and timely manner. This includes the return of benefits that were overpaid to recipients.
To date, the Department of Health and Family Services has relied on its written overpayment policy to authorize the procedure the Department uses to recoup benefit payments. In 1999, in Mack vs. DHFS, 231 Wis. 2
nd 844, 605 N.W. 2
nd 651 (Ct. App. 1999), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals found that although the Department has the right to recover erroneous payment of public funds, the Department could not employ its recoupment process without promulgating the process as an administrative rule. Therefore, the Department proposes to promulgate its procedure for recouping overpayments as ch.
HFS 2.
Contact Person
The initial proposed rules upon which the Department is soliciting comments and which will be the subject of this hearing are posted at the Department's administrative rules website at:
www.adminrules.wisconsin.gov
To find out more about the hearing, or to comment on the proposed rule, please write or phone:
Amy Korpady
Division of Management and Technology
P.O. Box 7850
Madison, WI 53707-7850
608-266-2708
If you are hearing or visually impaired, do not speak English, or have other personal circumstances which might make communication at the 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 above. A person requesting a non-English or sign language interpreter should make that request at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.
Written comments on the proposed rule received at the above address no later than Tuesday, November 10, 2003, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Fiscal Estimate
The purpose of the proposed ch.
HFS 2 is to increase the Department's ability to implement its policy for recouping overpayments of benefits to individuals and other accounts receivable. The Department assumes that, in most circumstances, recoupments that result from this policy will be realized as GPR-earned.
One specific type of overpayment involves payments made for child welfare services through the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. The Department estimates that this rule will result in an annual increased recoupment of these overpayments of $30,000 to $45,000. It is likely that the Department could generate additional revenues from recoupment of benefits in other DHFS programs as well. The amount of revenue from recoupments cannot be estimated.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The rule changes will not affect small businesses as “small business" is defined in s.
227.114 (1) (a), Stats.
