SB409-AA4,2,15 14office of REGULATORY OMBUDSMAN
15 CENTER
assistance
SB409-AA4, s. 43d 16Section 43d. 560.41 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 560.41 (1n).
SB409-AA4, s. 43e 17Section 43e. 560.41 (1c) of the statutes is created to read:
SB409-AA4,2,1818 560.41 (1c) "Agency" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (1e).
SB409-AA4, s. 43f 19Section 43f. 560.41 (1g) of the statutes is created to read:
SB409-AA4,2,2020 560.41 (1g) "Authority" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (2).
SB409-AA4, s. 43g 21Section 43g. 560.41 (1m) of the statutes, as affected by 2009 Wisconsin Act 28,
22is renumbered 560.41 (1w) and amended to read:
SB409-AA4,2,2423 560.41 (1w) "Center Office" means the regulatory ombudsman center office of
24regulatory assistance
in the department.
SB409-AA4, s. 43h
1Section 43h. 560.41 (1r) of the statutes is created to read:
SB409-AA4,3,22 560.41 (1r) "Municipality" has the meaning given in s. 16.70 (8).
SB409-AA4, s. 43j 3Section 43j. 560.41 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB409-AA4,3,54 560.41 (2) "Permit" means any approval of a regulatory an agency required as
5a condition of operating a business in this state.
SB409-AA4, s. 43L 6Section 43L. 560.41 (3) of the statutes is repealed.
SB409-AA4, s. 43n 7Section 43n. 560.42 (1) of the statutes is repealed.
SB409-AA4, s. 43p 8Section 43p. 560.42 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB409-AA4,3,99 560.42 (1m) Assistance to businesses. The office shall do all of the following:
SB409-AA4,3,1310 (a) Provide assistance with obtaining and maintaining permits and any
11licenses and approvals necessary for a business to operate in this state. To fulfill the
12requirements of this paragraph, the office shall do all of the following on behalf of
13businesses:
SB409-AA4,3,1414 1. Explain requirements for obtaining permits.
SB409-AA4,3,1515 2. Track the progress of applications for permits.
SB409-AA4,3,1716 3. Help businesses comply with laws and rules applicable to businesses,
17including providing plain-language explanations of laws and rules.
SB409-AA4,3,1918 (b) Serve as a liaison between businesses and agencies, authorities,
19municipalities, and local economic development organizations.
SB409-AA4, s. 43r 20Section 43r. 560.42 (2) (a) and (b), (2m) (intro.), (2r), (3) and (4) of the statutes
21are amended to read:
SB409-AA4,4,222 560.42 (2) (a) The center office shall assist any person requesting information
23on which permits are required for a particular business activity or on the application
24process, including criteria applied in making a determination on a permit

1application and the time period within which a determination will be made. This
2assistance may include any of the following:
SB409-AA4,4,43 1. Arranging a meeting between the person and the staff of the appropriate
4regulatory agency to enable the person to obtain information from the agency.
SB409-AA4,4,65 2. Obtaining information and permit applications from the regulatory agency
6and providing the information and appropriate permit applications to the person.
SB409-AA4,4,97 (b) If a person receives assistance under this subsection and applies for a permit
8and if the person requests, the center office shall monitor the status of the permit
9application and periodically report the status to the person.
SB409-AA4,4,12 10(2m) Advocacy. (intro.) The center office shall provide advocacy services
11before regulatory agencies on behalf of permit applicants. These services shall
12include all of the following:
SB409-AA4,4,17 13(2r) Mediation and dispute resolution services. The center office may provide
14mediation or other dispute resolution services to facilitate the resolution of a dispute
15between a regulatory an agency and a person applying for a permit. The provision
16of mediation or other dispute resolution services under this subsection does not affect
17any right that the person may have to a contested hearing under ch. 227.
SB409-AA4,4,22 18(3) Assistance by center office. (a) The center office may charge for services
19provided under this subchapter. Any amount charged for services may not exceed
20the actual cost of the service provided, unless a specific charge for the service, or
21method of calculating the charge, is provided by law. All amounts received under this
22paragraph shall be deposited in the appropriation account under s. 20.143 (1) (gc).
SB409-AA4,4,2523 (b) The center office may refer to the appropriate regulatory agency, without
24giving further assistance, any person seeking information or assistance on a permit
25under chs. 186, 215, 217, 220 to 224, 440 to 480 and 600 to 646.
SB409-AA4,5,4
1(c) Advice, assistance, mediation or other dispute resolution services or
2information rendered by the center office under this subchapter does not relieve any
3person from the obligation to secure a required permit or satisfy a regulatory
4requirement.
SB409-AA4,5,65 (d) The center office shall not be liable for any consequences resulting from the
6failure of a regulatory an agency to issue, or the failure of a person to seek, a permit.
SB409-AA4,5,9 7(4) Promotion of assistance. (a) The center office shall maintain and publicize
8the availability of a toll-free telephone line available to in-state and out-of-state
9callers to the center office.
SB409-AA4,5,1210 (b) The center office shall seek to explain, promote and publicize its services to
11the public and shall provide information on its services for inclusion in any public
12informational material on permits provided by regulatory agencies.
SB409-AA4,5,1413 (c) The center office shall, in its efforts under pars. (a) and (b), clearly represent
14that its services are advisory, informational and facilitative only.
SB409-AA4, s. 43s 15Section 43s. 560.42 (5) of the statutes is created to read:
SB409-AA4,5,1916 560.42 (5) Staffing and report. The office shall be staffed by at least 2
17full-time employees of the department. The office shall annually submit to the chief
18clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing
19committees under s. 13.172 (3) a report on the work of the office.
SB409-AA4, s. 43t 20Section 43t. 560.43 (title), (1) (intro.), (a), (b), (c), (g) and (2) of the statutes are
21amended to read:
SB409-AA4,5,23 22560.43 (title) Responsibilities of regulatory agencies. (1) Interagency
23cooperation.
(intro.) Each regulatory agency shall:
SB409-AA4,6,3
1(a) Designate a staff person to coordinate regulatory agency cooperation with
2center office staff, provide information to center office staff on the permit process and
3direct center office staff to appropriate staff within the regulatory agency.
SB409-AA4,6,64 (b) Cooperate with center office staff and respond promptly to requests for
5assistance in expediting and requests for information on the permit process under
6s. 560.42.
SB409-AA4,6,87 (c) Include material provided by the center office under s. 560.42 (4) in any
8public informational material on permits that it provides.
SB409-AA4,6,109 (g) Provide to the center office written notification of a change to a permit, along
10with a copy of the new or revised permit, before the effective date of the change.
SB409-AA4,6,14 11(2) Preapplication meetings. Each regulatory agency shall provide an
12opportunity for a preapplication meeting with its staff to any person interested in
13applying for a permit upon request by the person or the center office, and shall
14comply with the following requirements:
SB409-AA4,6,1615 (a) The regulatory agency shall conduct preapplication meetings in an informal
16manner.
SB409-AA4,6,2017 (b) In any preapplication meeting, the regulatory agency shall identify all
18permits required by the regulating agency for a business activity, describe the steps
19and identify the time period for each step in the permit process and identify potential
20problems in the process.
SB409-AA4,6,2221 (d) The regulatory agency shall invite participation by center office staff in
22preapplication meetings when appropriate.
SB409-AA4,6,2423 (e) The regulatory agency shall publicize the availability of preapplication
24meetings to persons contacting them about permits.
SB409-AA4, s. 43v 25Section 43v. 560.44 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB409-AA4,7,3
1560.44 (1) Ombudsman. (intro.) The center office shall act as an ombudsman
2for brownfields redevelopment projects. As ombudsman, the center office shall do all
3of the following:
SB409-AA4, s. 43x 4Section 43x. 560.44 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB409-AA4,7,85 560.44 (2) Administration of brownfields programs. The center office shall
6assist in administering the grant program under s. 560.13 and in administering
7grants and loans under s. 560.138 that are made for brownfields remediation
8projects.".
SB409-AA4,7,10 94. Page 27, line 9: delete " Regulatory ombudsman center" and substitute
10"Office of regulatory assistance".
SB409-AA4,7,12 115. Page 27, line 13: after "positions" insert "in the department by 1.0 GPR
12position".
SB409-AA4,7,14 136. Page 27, line 13: after "for the" insert "purpose of performing the
14responsibilities assigned to the office of".
SB409-AA4,7,16 157. Page 27, line 14: delete "ombudsman center by 1.0 GPR position" and
16substitute "assistance under this act".
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