Finding of Emergency
The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Board finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of facts constituting the emergency is:
1999 Wis. Act 9 (the 2000-2001 biennial budget bill) took effect on October 29, 1999. That act created ss. 20.292(1)(ep) and 38.305, Stats. An annual appropriation of $6,600,000 GPR in the second fiscal year of the 2000-2001 biennium was established. These funds are to be awarded by the WTCS Board as grants to students who are attending a Wisconsin technical college on a full-time basis and who are enrolled in a vocational diploma or associate degree program.
The Act requires the WTCS Board to promulgate rules to implement and administer the awarding of these grants. The Board has begun the permanent rule making process for establishing administrative rules for these student grants, but cannot complete the required public hearing and review of these rules prior the start of the upcoming school year, which begins on July 1, 2000. Moreover, prospective students evaluate their educational options, including costs, as early as February preceding their graduation from high school. Therefore, for the TOP Grant program to be implemented and the funds distributed to each technical college district, and in turn to each eligible student, in time for the upcoming school year, emergency administrative rules must be established immediately.
Publication Date:
February 1, 2000
Effective Date:
February 1, 2000
Expiration Date:
June 30, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Transportation
Rules adopted revising ch. Trans 4, relating to requiring the use of a fully allocated cost methodology when evaluating bids solicited for transit service in a competitive process.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
Chapter Trans 4 establishes the Department's administrative interpretation of s. 85.20, Stats. and prescribes administrative policies and procedures for implementing the state urban public transit operating assistance program authorized under s. 85.20, Stats. 1999 Wis. Act 9, section 9150(2bm), requires the Department to adopt an emergency rule to amend Chapter Trans 4 by adding a section that requires that cost proposals submitted by a publicly owned transit system in response to a request for proposals issued by a public body for the procurement of transit services to be funded under the state urban transit operating assistance program must include an analysis of fully allocated costs. The analysis must include all of the publicly owned system's costs, including operating subsidies and capital grants. This analysis shall be the basis for evaluating costs when ranking proposals.
Pursuant to 1999 Wis. Act 9, section 9150(2bm)(b), the Department is not required to provide evidence that the rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare, and is not required to provide a finding of emergency.
Publication Date:
December 12, 1999
Effective Date:
December 12, 1999
Expiration Date:
See 1999 Wis. Act 9, section 9150 (2bm)
Hearing Date:
February 14, 2000
EMERGENCY RULES NOW IN EFFECT
Workforce Development
(Prevailing Wage Rates, Ch. DWD 290-294)
A rule was adopted revising s. DWD 290.155, relating to the annual adjustment of thresholds for application of the prevailing wage rates for state or local public works projects.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Workforce Development finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. A statement of facts constituting the emergency is:
The Department of Workforce Development is acting under its statutory authority to annually adjust thresholds for the application of prevailing wage laws on state or local public works projects. The thresholds are adjusted in accordance with any change in construction costs since the last adjustment. The last adjustment was by emergency rule in January 1999 based on construction costs in December 1998. The Department uses the construction cost index in the December issue of the Engineering News-Record, a national construction trade publication, to determine the change in construction costs over the previous year. The current construction cost index indicates a 2.3% increase in construction costs over the previous year. This increase in construction costs results in an increase in the threshold for application of the prevailing wage laws from $33,000 to $34,000 for single-trade projects and from $164,000 to $168,000 for multi-trade projects.
If these new thresholds are not put into effect by emergency rule, the old thresholds will remain effective for approximately six months, until the conclusion of the permanent rule-making process. Between January 1, 2000, and July 1, 2000, a single-trade project with a minimum estimated project cost of more than $33,000 but less than $34,000 or a multi-trade project with an estimated cost of more than $164,000 but less than $168,000 would not be exempt from the prevailing wage laws, as they would be if the emergency rule were promulgated. The threshold adjustments for application of the prevailing wage laws are based on national construction cost statistics and are unlikely to be changed by the permanent rule-making process. The Department is proceeding with this emergency rule to avoid imposing an additional administrative burden on local governments and state agencies.
Publication Date:
December 29, 1999
Effective Date:
January 1, 2000
Expiration Date:
May 30, 2000
Hearing Date:
February 28, 2000
Statements of Scope of Proposed Rules
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Subject:
Ch. ATCP 30 - Relating to pesticide product restrictions; atrazine pesticides.
Description of policy issues:
Preliminary objectives:
The preliminary objectives are to:
1) Regulate the use of atrazine pesticides to protect groundwater and assure compliance with Wisconsin's Groundwater Law;
2) Update current rule to reflect groundwater-sampling results obtained during the past year; and
3) Renumber and reorganize current rule, as necessary.
Preliminary policy analysis:
Under the Wisconsin Groundwater Law, ch. 160, Stats., the Department must regulate the use of pesticides to assure compliance with groundwater standards established by the Department of Natural Resources under ch. NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code. DNR has established a groundwater enforcement standard of 3 µg/liter for atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites.
Under s. 160.25, Stats., the Department must prohibit atrazine uses that result in groundwater contamination levels that violate the DNR enforcement standard. The Department must prohibit atrazine use in the area where the groundwater contamination has occurred unless the Department determines to a reasonable certainty, based on the greater weight of credible evidence, that alternative measures will achieve compliance with the DNR enforcement standard.
Current rules under ch. ATCP 30 prohibit the use of atrazine in 101 designated areas (approximately 1,200,000 acres), including large portions of the Lower Wisconsin River Valley, Dane County and Columbia County. The current rules also restrict atrazine use rates and handling practices on a statewide basis. The statewide restrictions are designed to minimize the potential for groundwater contamination, as required under s. 160.25, Stats.
Over the next year, the Department may identify additional wells containing atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites at and above the current DNR enforcement standard. In order to comply with the Groundwater Law, the Department must take further action to prohibit or regulate atrazine use in the areas where these wells are located. The Department proposes to amend ch. ATCP 30 to add or repeal prohibition areas or take other appropriate regulatory action in response to any new groundwater findings.
Policy alternatives:
No change. If the Department takes no action on this proposed rulemaking, the Board approved final draft of the ch. ATCP 30 Pesticide Product Restrictions (to be promulgated in March 2000) will apply. However, the Department would take no new regulatory action in response to new groundwater findings obtained this year. This would not adequately protect groundwater in the newly-discovered contaminated areas, nor would it meet the Department's obligations under the Groundwater Law. Conversely, the Department would be unable to repeal the current restrictions on atrazine use where indicated by groundwater findings.
Statutory authority:
The Department proposes to revise ch. ATCP 30, Wis. Adm. Code, under authority of ss. 93.07, 94.69, and 160.19 through 160.25, Stats.
Staff time required:
The Department estimates that it will use approximately 0.6 FTE staff to develop this rule. This includes investigation; drafting, preparing related documents, coordinating advisory committee meetings, holding public hearings and communicating with affected persons and groups. The Department will use existing staff to develop this rule.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Subject:
Ch. ATCP 136 - Relating to mobile air conditioners; reclaiming and recycling refrigerant.
Description of policy issues:
Preliminary objectives:
The preliminary objectives are to:
1) Increase existing annual registration fees to a level sufficient to cover the Department's costs to conduct necessary inspections and maintain current level of regulatory compliance activities.
2) Amend the rule to:
a. Delete obsolete provisions;
b. Harmonize state and federal laws related to refrigerants used in mobile air conditioners; and
c. Clarify the existing rule to make it easier to understand and follow.
Preliminary policy analysis:
DATCP enforces the state law and administrative rules that regulate the sale and use of refrigerants and refrigerant substitutes used in mobile air conditioners and trailer refrigeration equipment. The program is a part of the state's interagency effort to reduce the emission of refrigerant gases responsible for depletion of stratospheric ozone and global warming. DATCP's program complements the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the regulations promulgated by the EPA under that law.
In enforcing the law, DATCP licenses and inspects businesses which install, service or repair motor vehicle air conditioners and trailer refrigeration equipment. The Department currently licenses 3,179 businesses and performs an average of 1,400 inspections each year. The Department's inspections ensure that the businesses are using approved refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment; that the technicians who service air conditioning systems are properly trained and certified by Department-approved programs; and that all sales or purchases of refrigerants comply with applicable standards for safety and environmental protection.
The current annual business registration fee is $80. This fee has not been changed since DATCP began administering the program in 1992. Without a fee increase, the program projects that it will incur a budget deficit by calendar year 2001.
The rule also needs to be amended to remove obsolete provisions; to make the rule consistent with recent state and federal statutory and regulatory changes (1997 Wis. Act 165 and 40 CFR Part 82); to clarify certain provisions regarding the sales and use of refrigerant substitutes; and to clarify the Department's authority under ss. 100.18 and 100.20, Stats., regarding fraudulent representations and unfair trade practices in connection with refrigerant sales.
Policy alternatives:
Do nothing. The program will begin operating with a negative balance on or before March 2001, the beginning of the 2001 licensing year. This will require the Department to reduce the number of inspections, educational outreach and regulatory compliance activities. However, even if services are reduced substantially, the rule will continue to include obsolete language and may conflict with current federal standards. Failure to update the current rule may also erode protection for consumers, since it will be more difficult for businesses to understand the rule and determine which procedures they must follow.
Statutory authority:
The Department proposes to develop this rule under authority of ss. 93.07 (1), 100.20 (2), 100.45 (5) and (5e), Stats.
Staff time required:
The Department estimates that it will use approximately 0.4 FTE staff time to develop this rule. This includes researching, drafting, preparing related documents and holding public hearings. The Department will assign existing staff to develop this rule.
Commerce
(Tramways, Lifts and Tows, Ch. Comm 33)
Subject:
Ch. Comm 33 - Relating to tramways, lifts and tows.
Description of policy issues:
Description of the objective of the rule:
The objective of the rule is to update ch. Comm 33 to current national standards.
Description of existing policies relevant to the rule and of new policies proposed to be included in the rule and an analysis of policy alternatives:
Chapter Comm 33 establishes minimum technical standards for the safe design, construction, installation, operation, inspection and maintenance of aerial tramways, aerial lifts, surface lifts and rope tows. The chapter incorporates by reference a 1992 national standard issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and it includes several provisions in addition to the ANSI standard. This rule project will update the chapter and it will evaluate adopting by reference the current edition of the ANSI standard for passenger tramways.
The alternative of not revising the chapter would result in the administrative code not being up-to-date with current national standards.
Statutory authority for the rule:
The statutory authority is contained in sections 101.02 (15) (h) to (j), 101.17 and 101.19 (1) (b), Stats.
