Standards for Specific Commodities
NIST has published specific method-of-sale standards for certain commodities (these standards typically address consumer protection or fair competition issues that have arisen in connection with those particular commodities). This rule incorporates current NIST standards for the following commodities (subject, in some cases, to exceptions required by Wisconsin law):
Food products
• Meat, poultry, fish and seafood.
• Dairy products.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Butter, margarine and like spreads.
• Flour, corn meal and like products.
• Pickles and pickle relish.
Non-food products
• Fence wire.
• Coatings.
• Fireplace and stove wood.
• Peat and peat moss.
• Prefabricated utility buildings.
• Roofing and roofing material.
• Sealants.
• Sod and turf.
• Softwood lumber.
• Carpet.
• Hardwood lumber (retail)
• Polyethylene products.
• Insulation.
• Precious metals.
• Mulch.
• Liquefied petroleum gas.
• Liquid oxygen for respiration.
• Animal bedding.
• Wiping cloths.
• Baler twine.
• Potpourri.
• Communication paper.
• Bulk sand, rock, gravel and stone.
General Standards
This rule incorporates the following general NIST standards (or makes DATCP rules more consistent with those NIST standards):
• Price declarations for food commodities sold from bulk by weight (must be shown per whole unit, not fractional unit, of weight).
• Price presentation (showing fractions of a cent).
• Combination quantity declarations.
• Vending machine labeling.
• Railroad car tare weights.
Comparison with federal regulations
States have the primary responsibility for regulating methods of sale of commodities. The federal government (NIST) has published model method-of-sale standards, to promote effective state regulation and interstate uniformity. But those standards are not legally binding unless adopted by the states.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
All surrounding states have adopted the NIST standards that DATCP proposes to adopt in this rule.
Standards incorporated by reference
This rule incorporates, by reference, standards contained in
NIST Handbook 130 (2009 edition), published by the national institute of standards and technology, United States department of commerce. Pursuant to s.
227.21, Stats., DATCP has requested permission from the Wisconsin Department of Justice to incorporate the standards by reference in this rule. Copies of the standards will be kept on file with DATCP and the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
This rule is based on standards published by NIST, and are based on NIST data and analytical methodologies.
Small Business Impact
This rule will benefit businesses that sell commodities in more than one state, because it incorporates many of the NIST model standards and thus makes Wisconsin standards more consistent with standards used in 45 other states. This rule also reorganizes and clarifies current rules, so they will be easier to read and understand.
This rule adds some new standards to current rules. However, those standards are based on NIST standards with which most affected businesses are already complying. This rule will not have any significant adverse impact on small business or other affected businesses.
Fiscal Estimate
This rule will have no significant fiscal impact on DATCP or local units of government.
Notice of Hearing
Children and Families
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
49.138 and
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., the Department of Children and Families proposes to hold a public hearing to consider emergency rules revising Chapter
DCF 120, relating to emergency assistance for needy families.
Hearing Information
June 11, 2009
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MADISON
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Thursday
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GEF 1 Building
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1:30 p.m.
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201 E. Washington Avenue Room H204
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Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and will be afforded the opportunity to make an oral presentation of their positions. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their facts, views, and suggested rewording in writing.
If you have special needs or circumstances regarding communication or accessibility at the hearing, please call (608) 267-9403 at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as ASL interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio format will be made available on request to the fullest extent possible.
Copies of Proposed Rule and Submission of Written Comments
Copies of the emergency rule are available at http:// adminrules.wisconsin.gov. This site allows you to view documents associated with this rule's promulgation, register to receive email notification whenever the Department posts new information about this rulemaking order, and submit comments and view comments by others during the public comment period. You may receive a paper copy of the rule or fiscal estimate by contacting:
Elaine Pridgen — Office of Legal Counsel
Department of Children and Families
201 E. Washington Avenue
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 267-9403
Written comments on the proposed rules received at the above address, email, or through the http://adminrules. wisconsin.gov web site no later than June 19, 2009, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Children and Families
Statutory authority
Statutes interpreted
Related statutes or rules
Explanation of agency authority
Section
49.138, Stats., provides that the Department shall implement a program of emergency assistance to needy persons in cases of fire, flood, natural disaster, homelessness or impending homelessness, or energy crisis. There are 6 criteria under which a family may be considered to be homeless or to be facing impending homelessness. One of these criteria is if the family is without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
The Department shall establish the maximum amount of aid to be granted, except for cases of energy crisis, per family member.
Summary of the rule
Eligibility for tenants facing impending homelessness because of a foreclosure action
Under the current rule on Emergency Assistance, a group in rental housing that is facing impending homelessness because of a foreclosure action against their landlord is not eligible for assistance to obtain a new permanent living accommodation. To be eligible for Emergency Assistance for impending homelessness a group must be experiencing a financial crisis that makes it very difficult to make a rent payment, mortgage payment, or property tax payment and have been notified that they will be required to leave their current housing if they do not make that payment immediately.
In 2008, foreclosure filings in Wisconsin were 62% higher than in 2007 and were 249% higher than in 2006. The Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that investor-owned one- to four-family rental properties account for nearly 20% of all foreclosures nationally. Despite the fact that low income families generally know that Emergency Assistance is not available for renters losing their housing due to a foreclosure action against the owner, at least 18 families in this situation have applied for Emergency Assistance at Milwaukee W-2 agencies in recent months.
Renters of properties in foreclosure can be even more vulnerable to homelessness than owners because tenants often have limited notice of the foreclosure and few resources to allow them to obtain replacement housing quickly. Until the recent enactment of s.
846.35 Stats., as created by
2009 Wisconsin Act 2, there was no requirement of notice to tenants in foreclosure of residential rental property. Section
846.35, Stats., provides that the plaintiff in an action for foreclosure of residential rental property must notify the tenant at filing of the action, when judgment is entered, and when the hearing to confirm the sale of the property has been scheduled. In addition, a tenant may retain possession of the rental unit for up to 2 months after the end of the month in which the sale of the property is confirmed. These new protections for tenants apply to foreclosure actions that are commenced on or after March 5, 2009. The timeline for a foreclosure action can vary widely with the redemption period ranging from 3 to 12 months. Tenants facing removal from foreclosed properties for at least the next 4 months will clearly not be covered by s.
846.35, Stats.
This emergency rule provides that a group in rental housing that is facing impending homelessness because of a foreclosure action against their landlord will be eligible for Emergency Assistance to obtain a new permanent living accommodation. To be eligible for assistance, the group must have received written or oral notice that they will be removed from their rental housing because of a foreclosure action against the owner, the removal of the group from the rental housing is scheduled to occur within 30 days, and the group needs emergency assistance to obtain a permanent living accommodation. The Wisconsin Works agency will verify eligibility.
Payment amounts for types of need other than energy crisis
Section
49.138, Stats., provides that the Department shall establish the maximum amount of aid to be granted, except for cases of energy crisis, per family member. Under the current rule, the payment amount for cases of need due to fire, flood, natural disaster, homelessness, and impending homelessness is the lowest of the following:
•
The total of the maximum payment amount per group member multiplied by the number of members of the Emergency Assistance group.
