Written comments should be sent to:
Robert Luck
Legal Unit - OCI Rule Comment for Rule Ins 14
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
PO Box 7873
Madison WI 53707-7873
Analysis Prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI)
3. Explanation of the OCI's authority to promulgate the proposed rule under these statutes: These statutes define certain requirements for vehicle protection plans to be implemented by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The statutes specifically require the Office to set the fees to be paid for regulation. These plans would currently be regulated as full fledged insurers and thus these statutes and implementing rule will lessen substantially the costs to the plans and the regulations that they are subject to.
4. Related Statutes or rules: None.
5. The plain language analysis and summary of the proposed rule: This rule implements new statutes regulating vehicle protection plans by setting the fees which the statutes required be set by rule by the commissioner. The fees are set at a level to attempt to cover the agencies costs incurred in relation to the review, data storage, monitoring and regulation of these plans.
6. Summary of and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule: No federal regulation addresses the activities of vehicle protection plans.
7. Comparison of similar rules in adjacent states as found by OCI:
Iowa: There is no similar rule in Iowa.
Illinois: Warranties on vehicle protection products are not considered insurance pursuant to s.
155.39, Illinois Insurance Code. Consequently, such products are not regulated by the Illinois Insurance Department.
Minnesota: There is no similar rule in Minnesota.
Michigan: There is no similar rule in Michigan.
8. A summary of the factual data and analytical methodologies that OCI used in support of the proposed rule and how any related findings support the regulatory approach chosen for the proposed rule: This rule implements the provisions of
2003 Wisconsin Act 302.
9. Any analysis and supporting documentation that OCI used in support of OCI's determination of the rule's effect on small businesses under s.
227.114: Given the following the following facts, OCI has determined that detailed analysis of the rule's effect on small business was not reasonable or necessary.
1) This rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses beyond those required or allowed by the applicable statutes.
2) The applicable statutes and the proposed rule actually reduce the regulatory burden on warrantors offering vehicle protection product warranties. Prior to the enactment of the statutes, such warrantors were subject to a much broader range of regulation because the warranties being offered are considered to be an insurance product.
3) Given that the statutes requiring the registration of warrantors offering vehicle protection product warranties have not yet become effective, it is not possible to accurately determine to what extent such warrantors are small businesses.
10. If these changes may have a significant fiscal effect on the private sector, the anticipated costs that will be incurred by private sector in complying with the rule: As described above, this rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses beyond those required or allowed by the applicable statutes and in fact implements statutory provisions that reduce anticipated costs that would otherwise apply in the absence of the statutory provisions.
11. A description of the Effect on Small Business: This rule will have little or no effect on small businesses.
12. Agency contact person: A copy of the full text of the proposed rule changes, analysis and fiscal estimate may be obtained from the WEB sites at:
http://oci.wi.gov/ocirules.htm or by contacting Inger Williams, OCI Services Section, at:
Phone: (608) 264-8110
Address: 125 South Webster St – 2nd Floor
Madison WI 53702
Mail: PO Box 7873, Madison WI 53707-78731
13. Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
The deadline for submitting comments is 4:00 p.m. on the 14th day after the date for the hearing stated in the Notice of Hearing.
Mailing address:
Robert Luck
Legal Unit - OCI Rule Comment for Rule 15
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
PO Box 7873
Madison WI 53707-7873
Street address:
Robert Luck
Legal Unit - OCI Rule Comment for Rule 15
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
125 South Webster St – 2nd Floor
Madison WI 53702
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule does not impose any additional requirements on small businesses.
OCI Small Business Regulatory Coordinator
The OCI small business coordinator is Eileen Mallow and may be reached at phone number (608) 266- 7843 or at email address
Eileen.Mallow@oci.state.wi.us
Contact Person
A copy of the full text of the proposed rule changes, analysis and fiscal estimate may be obtained from the OCI internet WEB site at
http://oci.wi.gov/ocirules.htm or by contacting Inger Williams, Services Section, OCI, at:
Inger.Williams@OCI.State.WI.US, (608) 264-8110, 125 South Webster Street – 2
nd Floor, Madison WI or PO Box 7873, Madison WI 53707-7873.
Fiscal Estimate
Vehicle protection plans doing business in this state will be regulated by OCI. This regulation will consist of, at least, reviewing new registrations to do business in this state, reviewing forms used, reviewing the financial responsibility requirements, recording information about these plans in to data systems, reviewing annual renewal registrations, dealing with complaints about such plans and taking administrative action regarding possible violations of law by these plans. All these activities require agency resources.
The statutes allow OCI to charge registration fees and late filing fees to attempt to recover at least some of the costs of regulation. It is unknown how many of these plans will register. Each plan registering will pay an initial fee of $250 and an annual registration fee of $250. If 25 plans register, the annual revenue would be $6250. If 50 plans register, the annual revenue would be $12,500. There is no way to know how many plans will register in the next year but a guess would be between 25 and 50 so 37 was taken as the number registering for the calculation of revenues of $9,250.
The calculation of the costs incurred by the agency will be dependent on the number of plans registering. There will be initial start-up costs to modify existing database systems to accommodate these plans. In addition, the review of initial registrations, forms and financial responsibility requirements will have to be made. These costs will not be substantial and will be absorbed by the agency within the existing budget. If a significant number of these plans register, the agency may have to request additional personnel to deal with them.
Notice of Hearing
Revenue
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to s.
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., and interpreting ss.
71.07 (3n),
71.28 (3n) and
71.47 (3n), Stats., the Department of Revenue will hold a public hearing at the time and place indicated below, to consider the creation of rules relating to the dairy investment credit.
Hearing Information
The hearing will be held at 9:00 A.M. on Tuesday, December 28, 2004, in the Events Room (1 st floor) of the State Revenue Building, located at 2135 Rimrock Road, Madison, Wisconsin.
Handicap access is available at the hearing location.
Comments on the Rule
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and may make an oral presentation. It is requested that written comments reflecting the oral presentation be given to the department at the hearing. Written comments may also be submitted to the contact person shown below no later than January 4, 2004, and will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Contact Person
Dale Kleven
Department of Revenue
Mail Stop 6-40
2135 Rimrock Road
P.O. Box 8933
Madison, WI 53708-8933
Telephone (608) 266-8253
Analysis by the Department of Revenue
Explanation of agency authority: Each agency may promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any statute enforced or administered by it, if the agency considers it necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute.
Plain language analysis: This proposed rule order clarifies the following terms as they apply to the dairy investment credit:
•
“amount the claimant paid in the taxable year,"
•
“dairy farm modernization or expansion,"
•
“milk production," and
•
“used exclusively related to dairy animals."
Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulation: There is no existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the rule.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states: The department is not aware of a similar rule in an adjacent state.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies:
2003 Wisconsin Act 135 created the dairy investment credit, available to dairy producers who are modernizing or expanding their operations. Soon after its creation, questions began to arise concerning the credit and its qualifications. As a result of this, it was requested that the department publish guidelines for dairy producers and tax return preparers concerning the credit. The department determined that to effectively provide guidance on the credit, it would be necessary to clarify some of the terms used in the credit's statutory language. In consultation with legislative personnel, the department developed clarifying language and used it to create this proposed rule order.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business: The department has prepared a fiscal estimate regarding this proposed rule order. It was determined that there is not a significant fiscal effect on small business.
Anticipated costs incurred by private sector: This proposed rule order does not have a significant fiscal effect on the private sector.
