Scope statements
Commerce
Subject
Boilers and Pressure Vessels.
Objective of the rule. The objective of the rule is to update ch.
Comm 41, boiler and pressure vessel code, and to consider revisions in ch.
Comm 5 relating to requirements for certified boiler-pressure vessel inspectors and in ch.
Comm 2 relating to fees for the boiler/pressure vessel program.
Policy analysis
Since 1957 the state boiler and pressure vessel code has adopted by reference the boiler and pressure vessel code published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Currently, the 1998 edition of the ASME code is adopted in ch.
Comm 41. This rule project will consider updating the state code to the 2004 edition of the ASME code. Other standards currently adopted in ch.
Comm 41 will also be reviewed for updating. This rule project will also consider making adjustments to inspection thresholds and adding new rules for the inspection of steam traction engines.
Chapter
Comm 5 contains the Department's requirements relating to licenses, certifications and registrations, including the certification of persons who inspect boilers and pressure vessels. This rule project will consider changes in the requirements for renewal of the boiler-pressure vessel inspector certification.
Chapter
Comm 2 establishes fees for the services provided by the Department. This rule project will consider addressing administrative and enforcement issues relating to how the fees are charged and collected for the boiler/pressure vessel program services.
The alternative of not updating ch.
Comm 41 would result in the state code not being up-to-date with current nationally recognized standards for the design, installation, operation and repair of boilers and pressure vessels.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
The Department estimates that it will take approximately 400 hours to develop this rule. This time includes meeting with an advisory council, then drafting the rule and processing the rule through public hearings, legislative review and adoption. The Department will assign existing staff to develop the rule. There are no other resources necessary to develop the rule.
Elections Board
Subject
Section Elections Board 1.28. Scope of regulated activity; election of candidates. Relating to defining the term “political purpose".
Policy analysis
Objective of the rule. To amend the Elections Board's existing rule to more clearly define that activity which is subject to regulation by chapter 11 of the Wisconsin Statutes to reach pre-election activity in which clearly identified candidates are discussed.
Under the existing statute, (s.
11.01 (16), Stats.) and rule, (s. ElBd 1.28), individuals and organizations that do not spend money to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or a vote “Yes" or vote “No" at a referendum, are not subject to campaign finance regulation under ch.
11 of the Wisconsin Statutes. The term “expressly advocate" has been limited to so-called “magic words" or their verbal equivalents. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in WMC v. State Elections Board,
227 Wis.2d 650 (1999), has opined that if the Elections Board wishes to adopt a more inclusive interpretation of the term “express advocacy," it must do so by way of a rule. The United States Supreme Court, in McConnell et al. v. FEC et al., (No.02-1674), in a December 10, 2003 opinion, has said that Congress and state legislatures may regulate political speech that is not limited to “express advocacy."
The new rule will more clearly specify which communications, that go beyond express advocacy, are subject to regulation and which are not.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
50 hours of staff time.
Gaming
Subject
The Department of Administration proposes to repeal s.
Game 23.02 (2), relating to purses paid to greyhound owners in Wisconsin.
Policy analysis
Section
Game 23.02 (2) was created in the Department's rulemaking order (03-070). The Department proposes the repeal of this section due to the unforeseen hardship that it has created on the Wisconsin racetracks. This financial hardship presents itself in multiple ways. The racetracks rely on an outside vendor to compute the purses earned by all individuals. The vendor produces a similar system for most greyhound racetracks in the country. The purses are generated by the amount of money wagered on all races over a period of time. The current system does not provide for bonus purses to be paid out based upon the residency of certain owners. The current system would have to be reprogrammed at a significant cost to the racetracks. Although the bonus purses could be calculated and paid without a computer, it would create excessive clerical work that would also be costly to the racetracks.
Additionally, Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track committed to paying a minimum payout of purses to the greyhound and kennel owners that race in Delavan. Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track will supplement out of their own money any purse amount that does not exceed the minimum payout. As a result of paying the bonus purse to Wisconsin owned greyhounds, the variance between the actual purse and the minimum purse is increased and the financial liability to the racetrack is increased. Since this supplement is voluntary, the racetrack has indicated that it will probably have to cease the supplemental purses to the participants. This would result in reduced payments to the vast majority of the kennel owners and greyhound owners participating at the racetrack.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Approximately 20 hours of department staff time will be needed to promulgate the rule.
Natural Resources
Subject
Proposed revision of chapter NR 219, Wis. Adm. Code pertaining to the updating of ch.
NR 219 reflects the current laboratory analytical methodologies. These methodologies have been updated in federal rule. The following Federal Registers contained these updates: 04/15/1998, 09/21/1998, 12/30/1999, 01/16/2001, 8/31/2001, 10/23/2002, 10/29/2002, 07/21/2003, and 09/19/2003.
Policy analysis
The majority of this proposal reflects no change in existing policy. The addition of required extraction clean-up procedures does reflect a change in policy. Currently, clean-up procedures are optional steps in the methodology for determining PCBs in sludge. Most laboratories do not use all of the clean-up procedures necessary to enable proper chromatography of sludge samples. This proposal requires that all or some of these steps be used for proper quantitative results of PCBs present in sludge.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Approximately 40 hours will be needed by department staff to develop the proposed revisions.
Natural Resources
Subject
Chapter
NR 20 pertaining to sport fishing for yellow perch in Lake Michigan.
Policy analysis
In 2002 the Natural Resources Board adopted NRB Order FH-04-02, changing the closed season for sport fishing for yellow perch in Lake Michigan. The Department had recommended the change in order to provide additional protection to spawning female yellow perch each spring.
Recently the Department received a petition asking for the closed season to be reduced. The Department's obligations regarding petitions are described in s 227.12 Stats. Although we may not be obligated to bring this issue to your attention in the form of a rule proposal, we are doing so in order to allow you to consider the issue. We will draft a rule under which the closed season would be reduced. Department staff will compile relevant information for your review. We do not recommend adoption of the proposed rule or approval of public hearings.
Statutory authority
ss. 29014 (1), 29.041 and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats.
Staff time required
Approximately 20 hours will be needed.
Natural Resources
Subject
Creation of NR 341 – Grading on the Banks of Navigable Waterways.
Revision of NR 216 – Storm Water Discharge Permits.
Policy analysis
Individuals or businesses who want to do earth-moving, grading or excavating generally need to obtain a number of permits from various regulatory agencies. These include 1) a DNR stormwater permit for construction sites with one or more acres of land disturbance, 2) a DNR grading permit for projects greater than 10,000 square feet on the banks of a navigable waterway, and 3) a county permit for excavating or land disturbance in the shoreland zone. For some projects, two or all three of these permits are required, each with its own purpose, procedures and timelines.
The Department proposes to consolidate the NR 216 stormwater construction site permit and 30.19, Stats. grading permit requirements, and to allow for additional consolidation with counties issuing NR 115 shoreland excavating permits. The 30.19 grading permit process will be simplified through adoption of a new rule adding definitions (including “bank"), scientific criteria (e.g., when are various public rights are likely to be affected) and updated procedures. For example, chapter 30 authorization might be accomplished through the NR 216 process for smaller projects with limited change in site topography or buffer areas. NR216 will be revised to allow for consolidated permitting procedures. NR 115 will be modified through its ongoing revision process, to allow counties to let the Department's consolidated permit serve as the county's authorization.
Consolidating the NR 115, NR 216 and 30.19 permits will reduce current duplication of effort in administering separate permit programs with some common purposes but very different procedures, fees and timelines. Changes will benefit the agency and the external customers by providing parameters that protect the water resource, can be consistently administered, and simplify the permit process. The expected outcome of this effort is a single application and single permit for grading authorities of the Department. The new rule standards in NR341 can be used for automatic general permits for designated site and project features, if appropriate legislation passes.
This approach is directly in line with the current agency and governor's strategy to improve regulatory processes without reducing environmental protection. The Legislature has also expressed interest in this issue in recent years, and streamlined permitting is the subject of pending legislation. Groups impacted will include waterfront property owners and developers, citizens who use public waters, and environmental advocacy organizations.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Department staff will need approximately 500 hours for this rule revision, not including time and travel for proposed public hearings. The goal is to submit an initial rule package to the Natural Resources Board in July 2004.
Natural Resources
Subject
NR 500 series dealing with landfill design, operational and financial assurance standards for solid waste facilities.
Policy analysis
The proposed rule revisions would extend the maximum length of landfill leachate collection pipes beyond the current limit of 1200 feet. In code revisions completed in 1996, the length of landfill leachate collection pipes was limited to 1200 feet to help ensure the ability to clean the pipes over the long term. This is a controversial code provision since it indirectly limits the size of landfills. During the associated technical advisory committee meetings held in the early to mid-90s, the department agreed to re-evaluate this code criterion at a later date. Beginning in early 2003, the Waste Management Program held several meetings with a group of interested stakeholders. At the conclusion of this step, the Waste Management Program indicated that it would be willing to consider code revisions to increase the 1200 foot limit, provided several related concerns were addressed simultaneously. These related concerns involve landfill design, operation and financial assurance and would help mitigate the risk associated with longer leachate pipes and larger landfills. Groups that will be impacted or interested in this issue include all owners of active landfills, consultants, and environmental groups. These groups will all be represented in the stakeholder process we plan to use in developing the draft rule.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Approximately 250 hours will be needed.
Natural Resources
Subject
Administrative rule changes relating to the management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin.
Policy analysis
The department will be presenting a rule package pertaining to the eradication and control of CWD in Wisconsin. This rule may include modifications to the deer hunting seasons, management zones and other deer hunting related regulations such as baiting and feeding. This rule is necessary to update rules that were approved by the NRB last year, in order to adapt and modify CWD management strategies based on testing results and hunter success.
Proposed changes will not deviate significantly from the previous CWD rule order. The modifications proposed will be consistent with the Board's policy of aggressive measures to control the spread of the disease, prevent no areas of disease establishment and to eradicate the disease in areas of known infection.
Groups likely impacted will be landowners in close proximity to CWD positive cases, deer hunters, meat processors and other businesses.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Approximately 404 hours will be needed by the department.
Transportation
Subject
Objective of the rule. This rule making will amend ch.
Trans 1, relating to the elderly and disabled transportation assistance to counties, by capping the amount counties can keep in trust funds, updating language regarding the role of district offices in the program, updating reporting requirements, and allowing counties more flexibility in meeting trip purpose priorities.
Policy analysis
Currently, the rule allows a county to establish a trust fund and deposit all or part of its allocation in this fund. Trust funds can only be used for the purchase or maintenance of transportation equipment, or to make grants to other local governments and private nonprofit organizations which provide specialized transportation services for purchase or maintenance of transportation equipment. When the rules regarding establishment of the trust fund were developed, counties were not eligible applicants for the Federal Elderly and Disabled Transportation Program authorized under
49 U.S.C. 5310/Capital Assistance Program for Specialized Transportation authorized under Wisconsin Statute section 85.22. (This program provides grants to cover 80% of the cost of vehicles with the grantee paying the remaining 20%.) In the past, trust funds provided a means for counties to save significant amounts of money for the purchase of vehicles. Counties are now eligible applicants for the Section 5310/85.22 program and can also contract with successful 5310 grantees in their county. The need to save large amounts of program dollars for vehicles no longer exists. Currently, a few counties have amassed considerable amounts of money in their trust funds.
Over the years, due to increasing workloads, district involvement in this program has decreased to its current front door role. The districts provide basic information about the program and then refer individuals to the program manager at the central office. The proposed changes update ch.
Trans 1 to reflect current business practice.
The current rule prescribes ways a county can meet trip purpose requirements. Increasing flexibility in how counties administer trip purpose requirement allows them to meet their individual needs. In addition, this greater flexibility may result in innovative ways of providing and funding services at the local level.
The current rule requires that all passenger revenue received in a given year be applied to transportation expenses incurred in that same year. This is difficult to apply in reality as expenditures may not come in for several months after the end of the calendar year. The proposed changes keeps the intent of the original law - applying revenues back to the transportation program, but doesn't define a timeframe.
The policy alternatives are to give counties more flexibility in the use of trust funds and in developing innovative means of providing service or to maintain the existing system. Providing more flexibility to counties and limiting the amount that can be held in trust should result in higher levels of service to Wisconsin's elderly and disabled population without increasing the amount of money allocated under this program.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Approximately 80 hours.
Workforce Development
Subject
Description of Policy Issues
Pursuant to ss.
103.005 (5) (a) and
104.04, Stats., DWD is creating a Minimum Wage Advisory Council to collect, review, and analyze data relating to the issue of the State of Wisconsin's minimum wage rates; determine the adequacy of the current minimum wage rates set by the department; and make a recommendation to the department on potential adjustments to the minimum wage rates for the next three years.
The charge to the council, in accordance with Wisconsin statutes and administrative rules, is to do the following by April 2, 2004:
•Determine whether Wisconsin's current minimum wage is sufficient to enable minimum wage earners to maintain an adequate standard of living, pursuant to s.
104.04, Stats.
• If the council believes the minimum wage is not sufficient for a worker to maintain an adequate standard of living, the council shall develop a recommendation for adjusting the minimum wage to enable a worker to maintain an adequate standard of living, pursuant to
•The council shall review s.
104.04, Stats., and Chapter
DWD 272 to determine if any changes need to be made to these rules and recommend those changes to the department.
•The council shall study the various minimum wage sub-categories currently in ch.
DWD 272, make a recommendation as to whether to maintain those sub-categories, and, if so, recommend how any minimum wage adjustments should affect the rates currently in place in those sub-categories.
The council recommendations should consider, but not necessarily be limited to, the following issues, in accordance with s.
DWD 272.001 (2):
•What level of wages would be necessary for an individual working 40 hours a week “to maintain himself or herself living independently in minimum comfort, decency, physical and moral well being."
•The effect of minimum wage adjustments “
on job creation, retention and expansion as well as the availability of entry level jobs" within the Wisconsin economy.
•The effect of a minimum wage adjustment “
on regional economic conditions within the state."
Statutory Authority
Staff Time Required
300 hours.
