AB641-ASA1-AA7,6,157
560.03
(9) Establish and operate a small business ombudsman clearinghouse
8for business and industry to facilitate the flow of information from other state and
9federal agencies, to assist state agencies in establishing methods to encourage the
10participation of small businesses in rule making under s. 227.114 (4) and to serve as
11ombudsman for small business stationary sources, as defined in s. 285.79 (1), in
12connection with the implementation of the federal clean air act,
42 USC 7401 to
137671q.
The department shall assign one full-time employee of the small business
14ombudsman clearinghouse to provide assistance to businesses as specified under s.
15560.42 (1m).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,6,1918
560.03
(19) Establish
a regulatory ombudsman center an office of regulatory
19assistance in the department to provide services as set forth in subch. III.".
AB641-ASA1-AA7,7,7
3560.301 Rules, policies, and standards for awarding grants and
4making loans. (intro.) The department
, in consultation with the board, shall
5promulgate rules that establish procedures, policies, and standards for
6implementing this subchapter and awarding grants and making loans under this
7subchapter. The rules shall include all of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,7,13
10560.304 Forward innovation fund. The department may award a grant or
11make a loan to an eligible recipient from the appropriations under s. 20.143 (1) (fi),
12(gm), and (io).
The department shall consult with the board prior to awarding a grant
13or making a loan under this section.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,7,2016
560.305
(1) (intro.) The department
, in cooperation with the board, shall
17encourage small businesses to apply for grants and loans under this subchapter by
18ensuring that there are no undue impediments to their participation and by actively
19encouraging small businesses to apply for grants and loans. The department shall
20do all of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,323
560.305
(3) The
board department shall develop a policy relating to obtaining
24reimbursement of grants and loans provided under this subchapter. The policy may
25provide that reimbursement shall be obtained through full repayment of the
1principal amount of the grant or loan plus interest, through receipt of a share of
2future profits from or an interest in a product or process, or through any other
3appropriate means.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,86
560.305
(4) The
board department shall require, as a condition of a grant or
7loan, that a recipient contribute to a project an amount that is not less than 25
8percent of the amount of the grant or loan.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,14
13office of REGULATORY
OMBUDSMAN
14
CENTER assistance
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,1717
560.41
(1c) "Agency" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (1e).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,1919
560.41
(1g) "Authority" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (2).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,2322
560.41
(1w) "
Center Office" means the
regulatory ombudsman center office of
23regulatory assistance in the department.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,8,2525
560.41
(1r) "Municipality" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (8).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,32
560.41
(2) "Permit" means any approval of
a regulatory an agency required as
3a condition of operating a business in this state.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,77
560.42
(1m) Assistance to businesses. The office shall do all of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,118
(a) Provide assistance with obtaining and maintaining permits and any
9licenses and approvals necessary for a business to operate in this state. To fulfill the
10requirements of this paragraph, the office shall do all of the following on behalf of
11businesses:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,1212
1. Explain requirements for obtaining permits.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,1313
2. Track the progress of applications for permits.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,1514
3. Help businesses comply with laws and rules applicable to businesses,
15including providing plain-language explanations of laws and rules.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,1716
(b) Serve as a liaison between businesses and agencies, authorities,
17municipalities, and local economic development organizations.
AB641-ASA1-AA7, s. 43mm
18Section 43mm. 560.42 (2) (a) and (b), (2m) (intro.), (2r), (3) and (4) of the
19statutes are amended to read:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,2420
560.42
(2) (a) The
center office shall assist any person requesting information
21on which permits are required for a particular business activity or on the application
22process, including criteria applied in making a determination on a permit
23application and the time period within which a determination will be made. This
24assistance may include any of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,9,25
11. Arranging a meeting between the person and the staff of the appropriate
2regulatory agency to enable the person to obtain information from the agency.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,43
2. Obtaining information and permit applications from the
regulatory agency
4and providing the information and appropriate permit applications to the person.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,75
(b) If a person receives assistance under this subsection and applies for a permit
6and if the person requests, the
center office shall monitor the status of the permit
7application and periodically report the status to the person.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,10
8(2m) Advocacy. (intro.) The
center office shall provide advocacy services
9before
regulatory agencies on behalf of permit applicants. These services shall
10include all of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,15
11(2r) Mediation and dispute resolution services. The
center office may provide
12mediation or other dispute resolution services to facilitate the resolution of a dispute
13between
a regulatory an agency and a person applying for a permit. The provision
14of mediation or other dispute resolution services under this subsection does not affect
15any right that the person may have to a contested hearing under ch. 227.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,20
16(3) Assistance by center office. (a) The
center office may charge for services
17provided under this subchapter. Any amount charged for services may not exceed
18the actual cost of the service provided, unless a specific charge for the service, or
19method of calculating the charge, is provided by law. All amounts received under this
20paragraph shall be deposited in the appropriation account under s. 20.143 (1) (gc).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,10,2321
(b) The
center office may refer to the appropriate
regulatory agency, without
22giving further assistance, any person seeking information or assistance on a permit
23under chs. 186, 215, 217, 220 to 224, 440 to 480 and 600 to 646.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,224
(c) Advice, assistance, mediation or other dispute resolution services or
25information rendered by the
center office under this subchapter does not relieve any
1person from the obligation to secure a required permit or satisfy a regulatory
2requirement.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,43
(d) The
center office shall not be liable for any consequences resulting from the
4failure of
a regulatory an agency to issue, or the failure of a person to seek, a permit.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,7
5(4) Promotion of assistance. (a) The
center office shall maintain and publicize
6the availability of a toll-free telephone line available to in-state and out-of-state
7callers to the
center office.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,108
(b) The
center office shall seek to explain, promote and publicize its services to
9the public and shall provide information on its services for inclusion in any public
10informational material on permits provided by
regulatory agencies.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,1211
(c) The
center office shall, in its efforts under pars. (a) and (b), clearly represent
12that its services are advisory, informational and facilitative only.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,1714
560.42
(5) Staffing and report. The office shall be staffed by at least 2
15full-time employees of the department. The office shall annually submit to the chief
16clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing
17committees under s. 13.172 (3) a report on the work of the office.
AB641-ASA1-AA7, s. 43o
18Section 43o. 560.43 (title), (1) (intro.), (a), (b), (c) and (g) and (2) of the statutes
19are amended to read:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,21
20560.43 (title)
Responsibilities of regulatory agencies. (1) Interagency
21cooperation. (intro.) Each
regulatory agency shall:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,11,2422
(a) Designate a staff person to coordinate
regulatory agency cooperation with
23center office staff, provide information to
center office staff on the permit process and
24direct
center office staff to appropriate staff within the
regulatory agency.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,3
1(b) Cooperate with
center office staff and respond promptly to requests for
2assistance in expediting and requests for information on the permit process under
3s. 560.42.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,54
(c) Include material provided by the
center office under s. 560.42 (4) in any
5public informational material on permits that it provides.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,76
(g) Provide to the
center office written notification of a change to a permit, along
7with a copy of the new or revised permit, before the effective date of the change.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,11
8(2) Preapplication meetings. Each
regulatory agency shall provide an
9opportunity for a preapplication meeting with its staff to any person interested in
10applying for a permit upon request by the person or the
center office, and shall
11comply with the following requirements:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,1312
(a) The
regulatory agency shall conduct preapplication meetings in an informal
13manner.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,1714
(b) In any preapplication meeting, the
regulatory agency shall identify all
15permits required by the
regulating agency for a business activity, describe the steps
16and identify the time period for each step in the permit process and identify potential
17problems in the process.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,1918
(d) The
regulatory agency shall invite participation by
center office staff in
19preapplication meetings when appropriate.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,2120
(e) The
regulatory agency shall publicize the availability of preapplication
21meetings to persons contacting them about permits.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,12,2523
560.44
(1) Ombudsman. (intro.) The
center office shall act as an ombudsman
24for brownfields redevelopment projects. As ombudsman, the
center office shall do all
25of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,13,52
560.44
(2) Administration of brownfields programs. The
center office shall
3assist in administering the grant program under s. 560.13 and in administering
4grants and loans under s. 560.138 that are made for brownfields remediation
5projects.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,13,12
9560.602 Policies and standards for awarding grants and loans. (intro.)
10The department
, with the approval of the board, shall promulgate rules to establish
11policies and standards for awarding grants and loans under this subchapter. The
12rules shall include all of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,13,1614
560.605
(1) (intro.) Upon receipt of an application by an eligible recipient, the
15board department may consider any of the following in determining whether to
16award a grant or loan under s. 560.61:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,13,1918
560.605
(2m) (intro.) When considering whether a project will be located in a
19targeted area, the
board department may consider any of the following:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,13,2221
560.605
(2m) (h) Any other factor the
board department considers to be an
22appropriate indicator of a targeted area.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,14,224
560.605
(7) (intro.) The
board department shall award not less than 35 percent
25of the total amount of grants and loans made under this subchapter to businesses in
1distressed areas. In this paragraph, "distressed area" means an area to which any
2of the following apply:
AB641-ASA1-AA7,14,54
560.605
(7) (f) As determined by the
board department, the area is affected by
5another factor that indicates the area is a distressed area.
AB641-ASA1-AA7,14,9
7560.61 Wisconsin development fund.
At the request of the board, the The 8department may make a grant or loan to an eligible recipient from the appropriations
9under s. 20.143 (1) (c) and (ie).
AB641-ASA1-AA7,14,1411
560.68
(2) The department
, in cooperation with the board, shall actively
12encourage small businesses to apply for grants and loans under this subchapter by
13ensuring that there are no undue impediments to their participation and by assisting
14small businesses in preparing grant and loan applications.