Scope statements
Commerce
Subject
Objective of the rule. The proposed rules would implement the provisions of
2005 Wisconsin Act 483 that relate to accreditation of film productions, for the purposes of obtaining tax credits as created by that Act.
Policy Analysis
The Department currently has no involvement in accrediting film productions. The proposed rules are expected to address (1) applications for accreditation, (2) determining the viability of plans for commercially distributing finished productions, and (3) determining the amount of expenditures that are directly used to produce an accredited production. The proposed rules may also address Departmental certification for any investment credit claimed by a film production company for expenses relating to establishing the company in Wisconsin. The alternative of not promulgating rules for accrediting film productions would conflict with a directive in section
21m of
2005 Act 483, which requires this promulgation in consultation with the Department of Revenue.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
The staff time needed to develop the rules is expected to range from 200 to 500 hours, depending upon the associated complexity. This includes research, rule drafting, and processing the rules through public hearings, legislative review, and adoption. There are no other resources necessary to promulgate the rules.
Entities affected by the rule
The proposed rules may affect entities that incur expenses relating to film production services or to establishing a film production company.
Comparison with federal regulations
An Internet-based search for “film production tax credit" in the Code of Federal Regulations and in the 2005 and 2006 volumes of the Federal Register did not identify any existing or proposed federal regulation that addresses this subject.
Natural Resources
Subject
Objective of the rule. The Department proposes revision of the private forestry policy to require referral of all timber sale requests from private landowners to cooperating foresters. DNR foresters would not provide timber harvest set up assistance to private landowners, regardless of the size of the forest tract, unless help is not reasonably available from private enterprise cooperators. By limiting DNR forester assistance on private lands, they may direct further efforts to DNR's lands and addressing the allowable cut as provided for in
2005 Act 166.
Policy Analysis
Under the rule adopted in 1989, department foresters were allowed to set up private timber sales that did not exceed 20 acres of sawtimber or 40 acres of pulpwood within certain timing or frequency limitations for an individual landowner. Sales larger than those limitations could be set up by department foresters only if service was not reasonably available from cooperators.
Growing demand for private forestry assistance from existing department staff has required the department to focus on the highest priority forestry services in our niche. Workload issues prompted the department to institute an interim policy in 2001 to refer all private timber sale requests. Since the private sector has the capacity and financial incentive to service timber sale set up requests, it is more efficient for the department to make referrals. The trial policy has opened up new opportunities for small businesses and improved relations between DNR and Cooperating Foresters. Data indicate that more landowners are using the services of professional foresters for timber sale establishment than before the interim policy was adopted. Stakeholders appear to be ready for a rule change that adopts the interim policy. DNR foresters will continue to be involved in timber sale guidance (as opposed to set up and marketing), providing advice about whether a harvest is needed and how to implement it.
Statutory authority
Statutes Interpreted: §
26.35 and
28.07, Wis. Stats.
Staff time required
Department staff will need approximately 26 hours for this rule development, not including time and travel for public hearings.
Comparison with federal regulations
None.
Entities affected by the rule
Groups likely to be affected or interested include private woodland owners, cooperating foresters and forest industry.
Natural Resources
Subject
Objective of the rule. The Department proposes creation of section
NR 1.25, Wis. Administrative Code, to authorize contracting with private cooperating foresters for services to establish state land timber harvests, with payment coming from the timber sale proceeds. The rule would identify timber sale related tasks that could be contracted and other activities that would remain the responsibility of the department to assure consistency and to protect land for the purposes for which it was acquired. The rule would define a method for calculating the portion of timber sale revenue that would be paid for the timber harvest services. Section
NR 1.21 (2) (e) would also be revised to make the educational requirements for cooperating foresters consistent with those for department foresters under s.
28.045 (1), Wis. Stats.
Policy Analysis
Section
28.025, Wis. Stats., created by of
2005 Act 166, directs the department to establish an annual allowable timber harvest for state forest lands and to prepare a biennial report on conformance with the established harvest goals. Timber harvesting can be a critical tool for maintaining the health of forests or for achieving the purposes for which the state acquired the land. The primary purpose for the law is to assure that adequate resources are available for the state to be a good land steward.
The department owns more land than it can effectively manage with existing staff. Since it is not practical to add enough state employees to address all the timber harvest needs, the Legislature directed creation of a program to utilize private enterprise foresters and to pay for the foresters' services from a “portion of the proceeds received from each timber sale". The rules timetable established in
2005 Act 166 requires adoption of an emergency rule in the short term, followed by the permanent rule making process.
The statute instructs the department to develop a timber sale contracting program with private “cooperating foresters". Chapter
NR 1.213, Wis. Adm. Code, defines the cooperating forester program as consulting and industrial foresters who agree to provide services consistent with DNR forestry standards. Cooperating foresters must also meet professional education requirements established in the rule. Revision of s.
NR 1.21 (2) (e) would make the educational requirements for department and cooperating foresters uniform.
Parties likely to be interested in the policy include the department bureaus managing forest land, users of the land, forest industry, and private cooperating foresters. The rule should reassure stakeholders that timber harvests will be consistent with master plans and all other department policies for sustainability. Better implementation of allowable cuts will improve the supply of timber from state land, to the satisfaction of forest industry. Although cooperators will benefit from new business opportunities created by contracting state forest timber sale assistance, it will take time for cooperators to add personnel to meet public land demands in addition to an expanded role writing Managed Forest Law plans on private land. The program will impact the workload of department finance specialists who will need to develop appropriate accounting procedures to pay for forestry services from timber sale revenue across many land management bureaus. The rule will likely increase revenue to the conservation fund since it will enable implementation of more timber harvests within constraints of property master plans, although the potential revenue will be partially offset by the costs to pay for services from cooperating foresters.
Statutory authority
Staff time required
Department staff will need approximately 70 hours for this rule development, not including time and travel for public hearings.
Comparison with federal regulations
There are no specific federal rules affecting state contracting for timber sale services. The US Forest Service does, however, have a similar program. The department will consider Forest Service policies for ideas that might be useful for our program.
Entities affected by the rule
Parties likely to be interested in the policy include all the department bureaus managing forest land, users of the land, forest industry, and private cooperating foresters. Groups that will want to participate in this process include Wisconsin Council on Forestry, Wisconsin Consulting Foresters, Wisconsin Cooperating Foresters, Wisconsin Paper Council and environmental NGOs.
Natural Resources
Subject
Amendments to ch.
NR46 to address the annual adjustments of timber stumpage values used in the administration of the Managed Forest Law (MFL) and Forest Crop Law (FCL), include provisions of
2005 Wisconsin Act 299 and other administrative changes relating to the MFL.
Policy Analysis
The issues will be addressed.
Annual Stumpage Value Adjustments – no change in current policy.
The department is required to assess the value of cut wood products from FCL and MFL lands based on the current stumpage value schedules. Stumpage values are determined each year by surveying industry, private forestry consultants and DNR field staff on the prices obtained the previous year for wood products by species, product type, and zone. These values are recalculated annually using a weighted three-year average and published in NR 46.30. The stumpage value tables are used to determine severance and yield tax for participants in the Forest Tax Law programs. It is important to adjust these values annually so that landowners are not paying too much or too little in yield/severance tax. The monies collected are distributed to the municipalities within which the land is located to help offset reduced property taxes collected from these lands.
Modification of Catastrophic Loss provisions in NR 46 – change in current policy.
When timber is harvested from MFL and FCL lands as a result of a catastrophic event (e.g., fire, tornado, hale storm, etc) the value assessed for the wood and used to calculate the yield/severance tax assessed may be reduced by 30%. To be eligible for the reduction the catastrophic loss must involve 30% of the merchantable timber on 10 or more contiguous acres and must resulting a reduction of 30% or more in stumpage value. The actual loss in value can be more than 30% but the reduction of values assessed for calculating the yield/severance tax is limited to 30%. Landowners who have suffered a greater loss have raised the issue and asked the department to review this policy.
2005 Wis. Act 299 changed one of the eligibility requirements for land enrolled in the MFL program. Past eligibility was based on a minimum of 10 contiguous acres
per municipality (city, town or village).
2005 Wisconsin Act 299 eliminated the municipality requirement so that the contiguous land may be in more than one municipality. Current policy requires a separate petition for each municipality. This must be addressed in light of the changes made through
2005 Wis. Act 299.
Comparison with federal regulations
