Publication Date:
March 3, 2006
Effective Date:
March 3, 2006
Expiration Date:
July 31, 2006
Hearing Date: March 31, 2006
Extension Through:
September 28, 2006
2.
Rules adopted revising
ch. ATCP 136, relating to mobile air conditioners; reclaiming or recycling refrigerant.
(1) The Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection (“DATCP") administers s.
100.45, Stats. DATCP has adopted rules under ch.
ATCP 136 to implement s.
100.45, Stats. The current rules regulate the sale and installation of mobile air conditioner refrigerants, including “substitute refrigerants" such as R 134A. Among other things, the current rules prohibit the sale of mobile air conditioner refrigerants in containers holding less than 15 lbs. of refrigerant.
(2) On June 28, 2006, the Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) voted to suspend all current state rules related to the installation and sale of “substitute refrigerants" of any kind. This broad exemption will become effective on July 7, 2006 unless by that date DATCP adopts a narrower alternative exemption by emergency rule. The narrower exemption specified by JCRAR would apply only to the sale of the “substitute refrigerant" R 134A. The exemption would allow the sale of R 134A to the general public in “do-it-yourself" containers holding less than 15 lbs.
(3) DATCP is adopting this emergency rule for the sole purpose of preventing a broader JCRAR suspension of rules that currently prevent the release of mobile air conditioner refrigerant into the environment.
Publication Date:
July 12, 2006
Effective Date:
July 12, 2006
Expiration Date:
December 9, 2006
Hearing Date: August 15, 2006
Commerce
(Financial Resources for Businesses and Communities, Chs.
Comm 105 to
131)
Rule adopted creating
ch. Comm 131, relating to diesel truck idling reduction grants.
Exemption from Finding of Emergency
The legislature by Section 9108 (1w) in
2005 Wisconsin Act 25, provides an exemption from a finding of emergency for the adoption of this rule.
The rules specify who is eligible for receiving a grant in this program for purchasing and installing diesel truck idling reduction equipment. Eligible costs are also specified, along with how to apply for the grants. Parameters for awarding the grants are likewise specified. These parameters include (1) disallowing grants to any applicant who is failing to comply with any conditions imposed on any previous grant received in this program; and (2) alerting applicants that the Department may (a) refuse to award grants for idling reduction equipment on truck tractors that do not have a sleeper berth, (b) annually allocate up to 25 percent of the grant funding to applicants who
own and operate 50 or fewer truck tractors, and (c) set deadlines for submitting applications, and then prorate the awards to the applicants if the total funding requested in the applications exceeds the available revenue.
Publication Date:
June 30, 2006
Effective Date:
July 1, 2006
Expiration Date:
November 28, 2006
Hearing Date: July 25, 2006
Corrections
A rule was adopted creating
s. DOC 332.19, relating to a sex offender registration fee.
Finding of Emergency
The department of corrections finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is: Under
2005 WI Act 25, the legislature authorized the department to establish a sex offender registration fee. If the rule is not created promptly and immediately, the department will not be able to collect the fees which are to be used to offset the costs of monitoring probationers, parolees, or persons on extended supervision, which could result in a lessening of supervision due to budget limitations.
The purpose of the emergency rule is to establish an annual sex offender registration fee to partially offset the costs of monitoring persons who are on probation, parole, or extended supervision. The permanent rule process has been started. However, the permanent rule process will take approximately nine months to complete. Emergency rules are necessary to respond promptly to the collection of fees while permanent rules are being developed.
Publication Date:
June 8, 2006
Effective Date:
June 8, 2006
Expiration Date:
November 5, 2006
Hearing Date: July 18, 2006
Elections Board (2)
1. Rules adopted creating s. ElBd 1.395, relating to the use of funds in a federal campaign committee that has been converted to a state campaign committee and relating to the use of those converted funds whose contribution to the federal committee would not have been in compliance with Wisconsin law if the contribution had been made directly to a state campaign committee.
Finding of Emergency
The Elections Board finds that an emergency exists in the recent change in federal law that permits the transfer of the funds in a federal candidate campaign committee's account to the candidate's state campaign committee account and finds that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is as follows:
Since the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BICRA), transfers of funds from a federal campaign committee to a state campaign committee had not been authorized under federal law. In November, 2004, Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act, (H.R. 4818, s. 532 (3) and 532 (4), to permit the transfer of a federal candidate's campaign committee's funds to the candidate's state campaign committee, if state law permitted, and subject to the state law's requirements and restrictions.
Because of Congress' action in November, 2004, money which had not been available to a state committee under BICRA, and which might not have qualified for use for political purposes in a state campaign because of its source or because of other noncompliance with state law, could now be transferred to a state committee, if state law permitted. Wisconsin law, under the Board's current rule, s. ElBd 1.39, Wis. Adm. Code, allows for conversion of federal campaign committees, and their funds, to a state campaign committee without regard to the source of those funds and without regard to contribution limitations.
Restricting the use of such money to that money which has been contributed to the candidate's federal committee, under circumstances in which the contribution would have complied with Wisconsin law if it had been given directly to the Wisconsin campaign committee, is found to be in the public interest.
Publication Date:
February 3, 2005
Effective Date:
February 3, 2005*/**
Expiration Date:
December 3, 2006
Hearing Date: May 18, 2005
* On February 9, 2005, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules suspended this emergency rule.
** The legislative session ended on July 12, 2006, with no action on the bill that would have sustained the suspension action.
2. Rules were adopted creating s. ElBd 3.04, relating to election day registration and the requirement to provide a driver's license number or other form of identification to register at the polls.
Finding of Emergency
The Elections Board finds that an emergency exists in the 2002 change in federal law that requires persons who have been issued a current and valid driver's license to list that number in completing a voter registration application or their registration may not be processed.
In 2002, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act to address problems and issues that surfaced in the 2000 presidential election. Section 303(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act provided that “an application for voter registration for an election for Federal office may not be accepted or processed by a state unless the application includes – in the case of an applicant who has been issued a current and valid driver's license, the applicant's driver's license number." To comply with federal law, but also to avoid disenfranchising those Wisconsin election day registrants who have been issued a current and valid Wisconsin driver's license but do not provide that number on their registration form, the Board has adopted s. ElBd 3.04, providing for the issuance of a provisional ballot to those registrants, pursuant to s.
6.97, Stats. Under that statute, the provisional ballot will be counted if the registrant provides, by any means feasible, his or her driver's license number to the clerk of the municipality in which the registrant has voted, not later than 4:00 p.m., on the day following the election.
Previously, the Board's policy had been to process the election day registration of those registrants who failed to list their driver's license number on their registration application, if they had provided, on their registration form, a Wisconsin-issued Identification Card Number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number. Whether that policy complied with federal law had been in issue. Assuring that Wisconsin's practice complies with federal law and obtaining that assurance before election day, by the promulgation of this emergency rule, is found to be in the public interest.
Publication Date:
July 31, 2006
Effective Date:
July 31, 2006
Expiration Date:
December 28, 2006
Hearing Date: October 4, 2006
Emergency Management
Rule adopted creating
ch. WEM 7, relating to disaster assistance for local governments.
Finding of Emergency
The Wisconsin Division of Emergency Management 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 an emergency is as follows:
1. The
2005 Wis. Act 269 created the major disaster assistance program under Wis. Stats. §
166.03 (2) (b) 9. An annual appropriation of $3,000,000 SEG A for fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07 was established under Wis. Stats. §
20.465 (3) (b) (s) from the petroleum inspection fund. These funds were provided to make payments to local units of government for damages and costs incurred as a result of a major catastrophe. This Act was made retroactive to January 1, 2005.
2. The Act requires the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, through its Division of Emergency Management, to promulgate rules to implement and establish the application process and the criteria to determine eligibility under the major disaster assistance program. The Division will immediately begin the permanent rule-making process for establishing administrative rules for these payments, but cannot complete the required hearings and review of these rules prior to the lapse of funds retained in the major disaster assistance appropriation for fiscal year 2005-06.
3. To ensure that appropriated funds for fiscal year 2005-06 are timely paid to local governmental units for damages and eligible costs incurred as a direct result of major catastrophes, emergency administrative rules must be established immediately.
Publication Date:
June 8, 2006
Effective Date:
June 8, 2006
Expiration Date:
November 5, 2006
Hearing Date: August 14, 15, 16 & 17, 2006
Health and Family Services (2)
(Health, Chs.
HFS 110—)
1.
Rules were adopted revising
chs. HFS 110 and 111, relating to licensing emergency medical technicians and affecting small businesses.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Health and Family Services finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public, health, safety and welfare.
The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
In Wisconsin there are approximately 430 ambulance service providers. Approximately 80% are volunteer (not for profit) or owned by private for profit entities. The remaining 20% are government owned. A total of 129 ambulance service providers and 2,812 licensed individuals in 48 counties currently provide emergency medical services at the EMT-basic-IV (74) or EMT-provisional intermediate (55) level to approximately 2.65 million Wisconsin residents. The provider industry estimates that these ambulance service providers are losing approximately $1.5 million dollars in reimbursement revenues annually due to the codification of the EMT-basic IV services in ch.
HFS 110 as basic life support. The loss is likely to increase when the provisional EMT-intermediate is renamed EMT-basic IV effective July 1, 2006, and an estimated 95% of the individuals who are currently licensed and titled as provisional EMT-intermediate will be renamed EMT-basic IV. Ambulance service providers report that they cannot continue to cover the costs of training and operating at the advanced life support level of care while being reimbursed at the basic life support level of care. Consequently, the level of emergency medical services provided in over half of the state's 72 counties may be reduced or become non-existent unless changes are implemented.
To maintain the level of emergency medical services that are currently being provided and to avoid confusion about the skills and level of care provided by the EMT-basic IV licensee, the department in these emergency rules is changing the name of the EMT-basic IV license to EMT-intermediate technician and moving the licensing requirements to ch.
HFS 111. These changes will allow ambulance service providers to charge for both at the higher rate of reimbursement. In addition, these emergency rules will modify the continuing education requirements under ch.
HFS 110 to allow ambulance service providers flexibility in providing refresher training to EMT-basic licensees. This change will reduce financial and scheduling burdens on providers by allowing them to use their training dollars more cost effectively.
Publication Date:
July 1, 2006
Effective Date:
July 1, 2006
Expiration Date:
November 28, 2006
Hearing Dates:
July 25, 26 and 27, 2006
2.
Rules adopted creating
ch. HFS 137, relating to prescribing forms for use by physicians, technicians and tissue bank employees when removing organs and tissue, other than cardiovascular tissue from decedents.
Exemption from Finding of Emergency
The legislature by
2005 Wisconsin Act 230 requires these rules to be promulgated as emergency rules and exempts the Department from making a finding of emergency or providing evidence that these rules as emergency rules is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare.
Plain language analysis:
The Department is required by
2005 Wisconsin Act 230 to appoint an advisory committee to assist the Department in prescribing, by rule, a form for removal of organs and a form for removal of tissue, other than cardiovascular tissue, for use by physicians, technicians, and tissue bank employees under section
157.06 (4m) (e) of the statutes, as created by Act 230. Section
157.06 (4m) (e), Stats., requires a physician who removes tissue or an organ from a decedent or a technician or tissue bank employee who removes tissue from a decedent under s.
157.06 (4m), Stats., to complete the form created by the Department and transmit the form to the coroner or medical examiner with jurisdiction over the decedent.
As required by section. 12. (1) (b) of Act 230, the Department intends to promulgate permanent rules that are substantially identical to the emergency rules.
Because these rules only prescribe forms, the Department will, as allowed under s.
227.23, Stats., promulgate these rules without adhering to the notice and public hearing requirements set forth under ch.
227, Stats. Also, as allowed under s.
227.23, Stats., the forms prescribed by the proposed rules will not be published in the Wisconsin administrative code or the Wisconsin Administrative Register, but will be listed by title and description with a statement as to how the forms may be obtained.
Publication Date:
July 24, 2006
Effective Date:
August 1, 2006
Expiration Date:
December 29, 2006
Insurance
Rules adopted creating
ss. Ins 9.25 (8) and 9.27 (4), Wis. Adm. Code, relating to preferred provider plan applicability dates and affecting small business plan limited exemption.
Finding of Emergency
The Commissioner of Insurance finds that an emergency exists and that the attached rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. Facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
