Description of professional skills required
None beyond those currently required.
Fiscal Estimate
State fiscal effect
None
Local fiscal effect
None
Long-range fiscal implications
None
Notice of Hearing
Natural Resources
Fish, Game, etc., Chs.
NR 1—
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
23.09 (2) (intro.),
23.091,
23.11 (1),
23.22 (2) (a) and
(b) 6.,
27.01 (2) (j),
29.014 (1),
29.041,
29.039 (1),
29.509 (4) and
(5),
227.11 (2) (a) and
227.24 (1) (a), Stats., interpreting ss.
23.09 (2) (intro.),
23.22 (2) (a),
29.014 (1),
29.039 (1),
29.041 and
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing on Natural Resources Board Emergency Order No. FH-40-07A(E) which took effect on April 4, 2008.
Hearing Information
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the hearing will be held on:
May 12, 2008
Monday
11:00 a.m.
|
Room 405
GEF #2 State Office Building
101 South Webster Street
Madison
|
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call Bill Horns at (608) 266-8782 with specific information on your request at least 10 days before the date of the hearing.
Submission of Comments and Copies of Rule
The emergency rule and fiscal estimate may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at the following Internet site:
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov.
Written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted via U.S. mail to Mr. Bill Horns, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Comments may be submitted until May 16, 2008. Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings. A personal copy of the proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be obtained from Mr. Horns.
Analysis Prepared by the Dept. of Natural Resources
FH-40-07A(E) revises chs.
NR 19 and
20, Wis. Adm. Code, pertaining to control of fish diseases and invasive species, as affected by Natural Resources Board Emergency Order No. FH-40-07(E), which took effect on November 2, 2007. FH-40-07A(E) deals with viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus, which is present in Wisconsin waters.
FH-40-07A(E) will:
1. Allow anglers to retain minnows after a fishing trip if the minnows were obtained from a Wisconsin bait dealer and have not been exposed to the water or fish of the lake or stream, or the minnows were obtained from a Wisconsin bait dealer and will subsequently be used for bait only on that same water body.
2. Allow up to 2 gallons of water in a container holding those minnows to be transported away from the water body.
3. Prohibit the harvest of minnows (except suckers) from any water body where the Department has reason to believe that the VHS virus may be present (as identified by the Department).
4. Allow suckers to be harvested from those waters, but not be transported alive away from those waters.
Notice of Hearing
Transportation
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
85.15 (1),
218.0152 and
227.11, Stats., interpreting Subchapter 1 of Chapter
218, Stats., the Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing to consider the amendment of chs.
Trans 137,
138 and
139, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to motor vehicle dealer franchise operations, record keeping and trade practices.
Hearing Information
May 13, 2008
10:00 a.m.
|
Hill Farms State Transportation Bldg.
Room 254
4802 Sheboygan Avenue
Madison, WI
|
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
Parking for persons with disabilities and an accessible entrance are available.
Agency Contact Person, Submission of Written Comments, Copies of Proposed Rule
The public record on this proposed rule making will be held open until close of business the day of the hearing to permit the submission of comments in lieu of public hearing testimony or comments supplementing testimony offered at the hearing. Any such comments should be submitted to Carson Frazier, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Vehicle Services, Room 255, P. O. Box 7911, Madison, WI 53707-7911. You may also contact Ms. Frazier by phone at (608) 266-7857 or via e-mail at:
carson.frazier@dot.state. wi.us.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Transportation
Statutes interpreted
Subchapter 1 of Chapter
218, Stats.
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is authorized to license and regulate motor vehicle dealers and their trade practices. This rule making controls motor vehicle dealer trade practices, record keeping, and relevant definitions.
Related statute or rule
Plain language analysis
This rule amendment makes several additions to chs.
Trans 137,
138 and
139, regarding motor vehicle dealer requirements under Chapter
218, Wis. Stats. The rule additions clarify several authorized and prohibited actions by dealers, most of which the Department has previously clarified in policy.
1. Explicitly define in chs.
Trans 137,
138 and
139 a “title" as a title in s.
342.10, Stats. While common understanding of the term has long prevailed, this will make the meaning clear.
2. Create a definition in ch.
Trans 139 of “bird dogging," i.e., referral selling, and explicitly prohibit this practice. While this practice is prohibited in statute, which governs dealer behavior, DOT believes it would be appropriate to repeat the statutory prohibition in rule and elaborate on statutory definition.
3. In ch.
Trans 138, clearly allow multi-location dealership records to be kept at a single location, with proper availability for inspection. This is implicit in rule reference to a dealership, and is currently allowed by DMV policy, but it would appropriate to state explicitly, and to clarify what constitutes a single dealership with multiple locations as opposed to separate dealerships.
4. Amend the ch.
Trans 137 definition of “used motor vehicle" to include rental or leased vehicles with 4,000 or fewer miles that have been damaged. The current definition effectively treats these vehicles as “new" for the purpose of needing a franchise to sell the vehicles.
5. Amend ch.
Trans 139 to allow, instead of currently prohibit, the use of motor vehicle pricing guides (such as Kelly Blue Book or Edmu
onds guide) as price comparison in advertising used vehicle prices.
6. Amend the ch.
Trans 138 requirement that dealers have in their possession the title for any vehicles they offer for sale to exclude title of a manufacturer buy-back under the lemon law, instead allowing a dealer to have in its possession a copy of the title. Wis. Stat. 218.0171(2)(d) requires that no manufacturer buy-back may be sold or leased to a new customer unless the manufacturer buy-back condition is fully disclosed to that customer. To protect themselves from liability, manufacturers have developed a disclosure form that they require dealers to submit to them before they will release the title to the dealer. In the meantime, the dealer keeps a copy of the title in its possession. DMV allows this by policy, and DMV wishes to clarify this in rule.
7. Amend ch.
Trans 139 to clarify that if the dealer proposes to make changes to the warranty and service contract language in the Buyers Guide or in the Purchase Contract, the dealer shall send the proposed changes to DOT, which will reply within a certain time frame approving or denying the changes.
Comparison with federal regulations
Wisconsin statutes and rules govern motor vehicle dealer sales practices and recordkeeping. No federal regulations apply to these policies.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
Most of the proposed provisions are already DOT policy. With regard to the newly proposed provisions:
Michigan:
1. Michigan would consider a damaged rented or leased vehicle a “used" vehicle, similar to what DOT proposes in this rule making.
2. Michigan does not have regulations on this point, and thus would allow use of pricing guide, similar to what DOT proposes in this rule making.
3. Michigan regulations do not require verbatim language or approval of language in the purchase contract or disclosure statements, unlike Wisconsin current or proposed regulations.
Minnesota:
1. Minnesota would consider a damaged rented or leased vehicle a “used" vehicle, similar to what DOT proposes in this rule making.
2. Minnesota regulations regarding advertising are unclear to DOT, as the Minnesota Department of Public Safety does not regulate advertising.
3. Minnesota regulations do not require verbatim language or approval of language in the purchase contract or disclosure statements, unlike Wisconsin current or proposed regulations.
Illinois:
1. Illinois would consider a damaged rented or leased vehicle a “new" vehicle, similar to Wisconsin's current rule.
2. Illinois would allow use of pricing guide, similar to what DOT proposes in this rule making.
3. Illinois regulations require documents to comply with specific state law, similar to Wisconsin's current rule.
Iowa:
1. Iowa would consider a damaged rented or leased vehicle a “used" vehicle, similar to what DOT proposes in this rule making.
2. Iowa Attorney General's office does not review advertising related to car price.
3. Iowa regulations do not require verbatim language or approval of language in the purchase contract or disclosure statements, unlike Wisconsin current or proposed regulations.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
Most of the proposed provisions are already DOT policy. The following provisions are newly proposed:
1. Amend the ch.
Trans 137 definition of “used motor vehicle" to include rental or leased vehicles with 4,000 or fewer miles that have been damaged. The Department has received several inquiries during the past few years from rental and leasing companies that need to dispose of damaged vehicles. The Department has concluded that allowing this exception to the new vehicle definition, for purposes of needing a franchise to sell, will not adversely affect franchised motor vehicle dealers.
2. Amend ch.
Trans 139 to allow, instead of currently prohibit, the use of motor vehicle pricing guides (such as Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds guide) as price comparison in advertising used vehicle prices. This has been considered an unfair trade practice because price guides may not sufficiently account for vehicle condition. However, the Department recognizes that these pricing guides are readily accessible on the internet and in print, and consumers often make use of them. The Department proposes to couple allowing use of price guides with requirements for dealer disclosure of vehicle condition sufficient to protect a customer from making false inference about the vehicle's actual sales price and thus being taken in by false advertising.
3. Amend ch.
Trans 139 to clarify that if the dealer proposes to make changes to the warranty and service contract language in the Buyers Guide or in the Purchase Contract, the dealer shall send the proposed changes to DOT, which will reply within a certain time frame approving or denying the changes. The Department recognizes that the vehicle manufacturing industry now offers “manufacturer certified used vehicle programs," which carry certain warranties; and current ch.
Trans 139 does not sufficiently accommodate new industry practices. However, the Department proposal retains DOT authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, an adequate disclosure to the consumer of warranty provisions if they differ from mandatory language in ch.
Trans 139.
Analysis and supporting documentation used to determine effect on small businesses
The Department bases the determination of effect on small businesses on comments, questions, and petitions and requests for regulation changes that the Department has received from motor vehicle dealers and their trade association, rental and leasing companies.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Most provisions are already in Department policy. For those that are not currently in policy, the proposals will ease regulatory requirements and costs on motor vehicle dealers and vehicle rental and leasing companies. The Department enforces statute and rules through periodic auditing of motor vehicle records, inspection of motor vehicle dealership facilities, and investigation of consumer complaints. The Department's Regulatory Review Coordinator may be contacted by e-mail at
ralph.sanders@dot.state.wi.us, or by calling (414) 438-4585.
Fiscal Estimate
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on the liabilities or revenues of any county, city, village, town, school district, vocational, technical and adult education district, sewerage district, or federally-recognized tribes or bands.
Anticipated costs incurred by private sector
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on state or private sector revenues or liabilities.
Notice of Hearing
