Emergency rules now in effect
Under s. 227.24, Stats., state agencies may promulgate rules without complying with the usual rule-making procedures. Using this special procedure to issue emergency rules, an agency must find that either the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates its action in bypassing normal rule-making procedures.
Emergency rules are published in the official state newspaper, which is currently the Wisconsin State Journal. Emergency rules are in effect for 150 days and can be extended up to an additional 120 days with no single extension to exceed 60 days.
Occasionally the Legislature grants emergency rule authority to an agency with a longer effective period than 150 days or allows an agency to adopt an emergency rule without requiring a finding of emergency.
Extension of the effective period of an emergency rule is granted at the discretion of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules under s. 227.24 (2), Stats.
Notice of all emergency rules which are in effect must be printed in the Wisconsin Administrative Register. This notice will contain a brief description of the emergency rule, the agency finding of emergency or a statement of exemption from a finding of emergency, date of publication, the effective and expiration dates, any extension of the effective period of the emergency rule and information regarding public hearings on the emergency rule.
Copies of emergency rule orders can be obtained from the promulgating agency. The text of current emergency rules can be viewed at www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code.
Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Rules adopted creating
ch. ATCP 112, relating to credit report security freezes.
Finding of Emergency
(1) The Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection (“DATCP") will administer s.
100.54, Stats. as of January 1, 2007. DATCP is required under s.
100.54 (12), Stats. to adopt rules related to identification required of consumers requesting credit report security freezes.
(2) As of January 1, 2007, s.
100.54, Stats. will be in effect, however without an emergency rule the statute will be unclear regarding what constitutes proper identification for purposes of creating a security freeze, temporarily releasing a security freeze or permanently removing a security freeze from a consumer credit report.
(3) DATCP is adopting this emergency rule for the sole purpose of allowing consumers to clearly place a security freeze on their consumer credit report while the permanent rulemaking process is completed.
Publication Date:
January 19, 2007
Effective Date:
January 19, 2007
Expiration Date:
June 18, 2007
Hearing Date:
February 12, 2007
Commerce
(Financial Resources for Businesses and Communities, Chs.
Comm 104-
131)
Rules adopted creating
ch. Comm 135, relating to tax credits and exemptions for internet equipment used in the broadband market.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
These rules establish the criteria for administering a program that will (1) certify businesses as temporarily eligible for tax credits and exemptions for Internet equipment used in the broadband market, and (2) allocate up to $7,500,000 to these businesses for these tax credits and exemptions.
Pursuant to section
227.24 of the statutes, this rule is adopted as an emergency rule to take effect upon publication
in the official state newspaper. In accordance with section
17 (1) (d) of
2005 Wisconsin Act 479, this rule will remain in effect until January 1, 2008, or until the Department reports its certifications and determinations under this rule to the Department of Revenue, whichever is sooner.
The rules specify who is eligible for the income and franchise tax credits and the sales and use tax exemptions in this program, for Internet equipment used in the broadband market. Eligible equipment is also specified, along with how to apply for the certifications and allocations. Parameters for allocating the authorized total of $7,500,000 are likewise specified. These parameters emphasize (1) efficiently initiating broadband Internet service in areas of Wisconsin that otherwise are not expected to soon receive this service, and (2) encouraging economic or community development. The rule chapter also describes the time-specific legislative oversight that is established in
2005 Act 479 for these allocations, and describes the follow-up reports that the Act requires from every person who receives a sales or use tax exemption under this chapter.
Publication Date:
February 20, 2007
Effective Date:
February 20, 2007
Hearing Date:
March 26, 2007
Dentistry Examining Board
Rules were adopted amending
ch. DE 11, relating to better identifying the different levels of anesthesia, including nitrous oxide, anxiolysis, conscious sedation-enteral, conscious sedation-parenteral, deep sedation, and general anesthesia, and the requirements for each level.
Finding of Emergency
The board finds that failure to delay the effective date of
CR04-095, from January 1, 2007, to July 1, 2007, will create a danger to the public health, safety and welfare. The extra six months are needed to allow the implementation of the rule to occur and to ensure the continued use of conscious sedation for dental patients.
Publication Date:
December 21, 2006
Effective Date:
December 29, 2006
Expiration Date:
May 28, 2007
Hearing Date:
January 31, 2007
Health and Family Services
(Community Services, Chs.
HFS 30—)
Rules adopted revising
ch. HFS 51, relating to the adoption of children to include preadoption training requirements that will apply to private adoptions, international adoption, and adoptions of children with special needs and affecting small businesses.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Health and Family Services finds that an emergency exists and that rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
On April 10, 2006, the Wisconsin State Legislature enacted
2005 Wisconsin Act 293, which amended s.
48.84, Stats., to require first-time adoptive parents to receive preadoption training before a child may be placed for adoption by a court pursuant to s.
48.833, Stats., or before a prospective adoptive parent may petition for placement of a child for adoption under s.
48.837, Stats., or before a proposed adoptive parent may bring a child into Wisconsin for an international adoption under s.
48.839, Stats. The Act further requires the Department to promulgate rules that establish the number of hours and topics covered in the training of first-time adoptive parents. The training must cover issues that may confront adoptive parents in general and that may confront adoptive parents of special needs or international children.
The Act requires the rules to be effective April 1, 2007. Because the rules apply not only to the Department which administers the special needs adoption program with the assistance of private agencies under contract with the Department, and with the cooperation of county human and social service agencies, but also to private agencies that handle domestic adoptions and international adoptions, the Department has invested a significant amount of time gathering information from agencies regarding what training is currently provided to preadoptive parents. The Department conducted written and follow-up telephone surveys with private agencies to determine what content was currently being taught, and the format used for training. The Department's Adoption Services Committee met over several months to determine the curriculum for special needs adoption, the competencies that would be required for all training programs, the number of hours and the documentation that would be required in the training. In addition, the Department reviewed the proposed Hague Convention (federal) training requirements for proposed adoptive parents of international children to assure that Wisconsin's training requirements for first-time pre-adoptive parents would meet or exceed those requirements.
As a result of this extensive collaboration with stakeholders, development of the proposed training requirements has been unusually long and now requires the training requirements to be implemented as an emergency rule in order to meet the legislated date of April 1, 2007, the date adoptive parents must begin receiving preadoptive training.
This emergency rules are substantially similar to the proposed permanent rules except in the hours of training required. Under the emergency order, adoption agencies are required to provide adoptive parents with 2 hours of orientation and 10 hours of training. The proposed permanent rule requires adoption agencies to provide 2 hours of orientation and 16 hours of training. Stakeholder agencies have indicated that the additional 5 months under the emergency rule will allow them to prepare all proposed adoptive parents to meet the orientation and training requirements under the proposed permanent rules.
Publication Date:
March 31, 2007
Effective Date:
April 1, 2007
Expiration Date:
August 29, 2007
Hearing Date:
April 27, 2007
Insurance
Rules adopted revising
s. Ins 6.77, relating to underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage in umbrella and commercial policies.
Finding of Emergency
The Commissioner of Insurance finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. Facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
These changes will modify the rule in light of the recent Supreme Court decisions,
Rebernick v American Family Mutual Ins Company, 2006 WI 27 and
Rocker v USAA Casualty Ins Company,
2006 WI 26. In Rebernick, the court held that s.
632.32 (4m), Stats, applies to personal umbrella policies. In Rocker, the court held that s.
632.32 (6) (a), Stats, applies to commercial general liability policies and commercial umbrella policies. These interpretations are inconsistent with current insurer practices and OCI's expectation of what would be covered in these types of policies.
Compliance with this interpretation would create significant, if not impossible compliance problems for insurers. Many insurers who write umbrella coverage do not write and are not even licensed to write automobile coverage. A second, difficult issue is that the limits for umbrella coverages are generally very high, $1,000,000. It is unclear how an umbrella policy would reconcile these limits with the underlying auto policy and underinsured motorist coverage. For this reason, OCI had previously by rule exempted umbrella policies from the similar requirements of the uninsured motorist coverages in s.
632.32, Stats. For similar reasons, the same revision is being made for commercial liability policies.
Publication Date:
September 29, 2006
Effective Date:
September 29, 2006
Expiration Date:
February 26, 2007
Hearing Date:
December 11, 2006
