Scope Statements
Health Services
Subject
Repeals Chapter
DHS 117, relating to fees for copies of health care provider records; Chapter
DHS 160, relating to the registration of sanitarians; and Chapter
DHS 253, relating to child support cooperation for food stamps; and revises Chapter
DHS 172, relating to the safety, maintenance and operation of public pools and water attractions.
Objective of the Rule
Policy Analysis
The legislature, under
2009 Act 28, established a fee schedule for medical record copies under ch.
146, Stats., which replaces the medical record copy fee schedule established by the department under ch.
DHS 117. The department will promulgate an order to repeal the entire ch.
DHS 117.
The legislature, under
2005 Act 25, transferred authority to regulate sanitarians to the department of regulation and licensing (DRL). DRL subsequently promulgated chs.
RL 174-
177 to regulate sanitarians. The department's rules for sanitarians are under ch.
DHS 160. The department will promulgate an order to repeal the entire ch.
DHS 160.
The legislature, under
2007 Act 20, repealed s. 49.79 (2) (a), Stats., the child support cooperation requirement for food stamp eligibility. The department's rules for implementing these requirements are under ch.
DHS 253. The department will promulgate an order to repeal the entire ch.
DHS 253.
The department of commerce repealed and recreated ch. Comm 90 (
Clearinghouse Rule 08-056) which resulted in the renumbering of various sections that chapter. Chapter
DHS 172 includes cross-references to a number of sections under ch.
Comm 90. The department will promulgate an order to update cross-references in ch.
DHS 172 and to clean up any non-substantive grammar or other errors.
Statutory Authority
Chapter 227.11 (2) (a), Stats.
Comparison with Federal Regulations
Not applicable. The changes considered under this Statement of Scope are to conform to state law or administrative code.
Entities Affected by the Rule
Medical records providers and requestors, public pool and water attraction owners and operators, the department of workforce development, department of regulation and licensing, sanitarians, and county agencies. It should be noted that the department is repealing chs.
117,
160, and
253 to conform to current state law. These repeals should have no effect on entities. The department's intended modifications to ch.
DHS 172 should not have an effect on entities.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
Staff time to develop the proposed rules is approximately 20 hours. No other resources will be used.
Contact Information
Rosie Greer
Office of Legal Counsel
Phone: (608) 266-1279
Hearings and Appeals
Subject
Revises Chapter
HA 2, relating to practice and procedure before the Division of Hearings and Appeals in corrections administrative hearings relating to revocation of community supervision.
Objective of the Rule
1. Change the definition of the term “client" to “offender" to conform to current practice in corrections administrative hearings before DHA.
2. Allow for issuance and receipt of documents by electronic mail.
3. Allow for subpoenas to be issued by agents employed by the Department of Corrections.
4. Specify the evidence to be considered at the hearing;
5. Specify the rights of an offender at the hearing;
6. Specify the identity information of a witness that may be withheld from the offender under certain conditions;
7. Allow for hearings to be conducted by telephone or video conference;
8. Delete outdated statutory references;
9. Allow for appeals to be dismissed if the opposing party does not receive a timely copy of the appeal;
10. Delete outdated amount charged for transcripts
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
There is a no federal law on the specific issues addressed in the proposed rules.
Entities Affected by the Rule
The entities affected by the proposed rules are the Department of Corrections, persons on community supervision in the state of Wisconsin who are subject to revocation of their supervision, public defenders and the public.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
400 hours
Contact Information
Diane Norman, Assistant Administrator
Division of Hearings and Appeals
Phone: (608) 266-7668
Justice Assistance
Subject
Creates a new chapter relating to traffic stop information collection and analysis.
Objective of the Rule
Implement
2009 Wisconsin Act 28 directive to collect “all information relating to the traffic stop that is required to be collected under rules" promulgated by Office of Justice Assistance (OJA). Generally, the information to be collected is related to the race of individuals in a vehicle stopped by a law enforcement officer in the state of Wisconsin.
Policy Analysis
The Governor and Legislature have mandated an examination of the issue of whether racial minorities are disproportionately stopped by law enforcement officers in the course of driving on the state's streets and roads. The issue has arisen in several different contexts including community concerns and national reports about Wisconsin's overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system and federal priorities for federal highway funds that include prohibiting racial profiling in traffic enforcement.
In the past decade, two gubernatorial bodies were appointed to examine issues described as “racial profiling" and “racial disparities" in Wisconsin's criminal justice system. Both groups reviewed existing research, received citizen and law enforcement testimony and recommended collecting data on traffic stops as one means of determining the extent to which people of different races receive different treatment. Over this period, there also have been several bills introduced to mandate that data be collected and analyzed with regard to the race of individuals involved in traffic stops. No legislation was enacted until the 2009-11 budget.
Public policy issues include the impact of perceived disparate treatment of minorities on citizens' quality of life, the fundamental fairness in the administration of justice and the potential workload impact of additional data collection on limited law enforcement resources.
2009 Wisconsin Act 28 directs that administrative rules are to cover the type of data to collect, the circumstances under which the data is collected, the format in which law enforcement must submit the data and the types of analyses OJA will conduct of the data.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
There is no known federal law requiring the collection and analysis of data about the racial characteristics of individuals involved in traffic stops. However, the federal government has provided incentive funds to encourage states to enact laws prohibiting racial profiling in the enforcement of traffic laws on what are termed “Federal-aid" highways. In short, the federal government will make money available to states who either enact or take steps toward enacting legislation to prohibit racial profiling in traffic stops and collect and analyze data related to traffic stops.
The federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)23 USC s.1906(2005) sets national priorities for public safety on nationally funded highways. In Wisconsin, those are interstate and numbered state highways. Section 1906 of SAFETEA-LU provides incentive funding to encourage states to enact and enforce a law that prohibits the use of racial profiling in highway law enforcement and to maintain and allow public inspection of statistical information for each motor vehicle stop in the state regarding the race and ethnicity of the driver and any passengers. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Safety (BOTS) received FFY2008 1906 Racial Profiling Incentive Grant funds from the National Highway Safety Administration and has applied for FFY2009 funds. Funds are to be used for collecting and maintaining data on traffic stops; evaluation of the data; and developing and implementing programs, including training, to reduce the occurrence of racial profiling.
Entities Affected by the Rule
2009 Wisconsin Act 28 requires all law enforcement agencies that make traffic stops to collect and submit data. Community organizations, advocacy groups and individual citizens are interested in racial justice issues.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
At a minimum, we estimate approximately 1000 hours of agency and DOA staff time will be needed to promulgate the rules.
Contact Information
Dennis Schuh, Program Director
