Rules Published with this Register and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses
The following administrative rule orders have been adopted and published in the February 29, 2008, Wisconsin Administrative Register. Copies of these rules are sent to subscribers of the complete Wisconsin Administrative Code and also to the subscribers of the specific affected Code.
For subscription information, contact Document Sales at (608) 266-3358.
Cemetery Board
A rule-making order repealing chs.
RL 50 and
51, and creating chs.
CB 1 and
2, relating to the regulation of cemetery authorities, cemetery salespersons, and cemetery preneed sellers. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
These rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s.
227.114 (1), Stats.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Commerce
A rule-making order revising chs.
Comm 5,
7,
10,
14,
16,
18,
61 to
65,
75 and
82, creating ch.
Comm 66 and repealing chs.
Comm 9 and
70, relating to the Fire Prevention Code, the Wisconsin Commercial Building Code, and related codes. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The requirements of the Fire Prevention Code and the Commercial Building Code impact all businesses, regardless of size, utilizing public buildings and places of employment in Wisconsin. The codes impact a variety of businesses, including small businesses, particularly those businesses that design, build, or maintain commercial buildings; provide or produce building materials or components; own commercial buildings; or occupy commercial buildings. It is indeterminable how many small businesses may be impacted by the rules in some manner.
The potential effects of the codes occur on two basic levels, administrative and technical. The codes dictate certain administrative procedural requirements that are to be followed in order to acquire various approvals. For the most part, the codes establish numerous technical standards that are to be adhered to when designing, constructing, using, operating or maintaining a commercial building in order to protect public health, safety and welfare.
The proposed rule revisions do not substantially modify the current administrative requirements of the Fire Prevention Code or the Commercial Building Code. Therefore, this type of impact on small businesses will not substantially change.
How the codes' technical standards may impact small businesses is dependent upon many variables. The proposed revisions for the Commercial Building Code do not apply retroactively to existing buildings. The proposed revisions would apply when a new building or modification to an existing building is proposed. The various advisory councils did not identify major economic concerns with the proposed technical revisions updating the Fire Prevention Code or the Commercial Building Code to the latest national model codes as amended in this proposal.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
The Assembly Committee on Housing pursuant to s.
227.19 (4) (d) 6., Stats., objected in part to the proposed rules relating to automatic fire sprinkler protection for residential occupancies.
Commerce
A rule-making order revising chs.
Comm 5 and
82, relating to the assessment of forfeitures for violating plumbing licensing requirements, the installation of tracer wire for locating non-metallic underground pipe, and affecting small businesses. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Section
145.02, Stats., grants the Department of Commerce general authority for protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public by establishing reasonable and effective standards for plumbing including the licensing of individuals to install plumbing. Section
145.06, Stats., specifies when and what types of plumbing licenses are needed for various plumbing activities. Section
145.12 (5), Stats., as affected by
2005 Wisconsin Act 182, allows the Department to directly assess forfeitures to individuals who violate the licensing provisions of s.
145.06, Stats. Section
182.0175 (2r), Stats., as affected by
2005 Wisconsin Act 425 requires the installation of tracer wire or some equally-effective means of locating non-metallic underground sewer and water laterals.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Commerce
A rule-making order revising ch.
Comm 34, relating to amusement rides and affecting small businesses. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The rules under the Amusement Ride Code, chapter Comm 34, are intended to facilitate and promote the statutory objective of protecting the safety of amusement ride patrons. The rules establish field attachment or connection redundancy provisions for amusement rides where passengers donning harnesses are elevated. The rules also require amusement ride owners and operators to obtain liability insurance for their operations.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Health and Family Services
A rule-making order revising ch.
HFS 144, relating to the statewide immunization program and affecting small business. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Day care centers are organized as small businesses [about 95% of the 2,485 group (9 or more children) day care centers in the state are small businesses, as are all of the 3,122 family (4-8 children) day care centers]. Day care centers will experience some increase in workload in tracking compliance with the requirement for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), reporting compliance to the Department, and in referring noncompliant students to the district attorney or corporation counsel for enforcement action. It is not known how much workload will increase or its impact, if any, on costs. However, since 85% of children in Wisconsin have already received PCV, the vast majority of day care center students will be compliant with the requirement when it takes effect and will not require warning letters from day care centers or enforcement action by district attorneys. Additionally, the tracking and reporting burden on day care centers will be mitigated by requiring fewer than the maximum number of doses of PCV. Day care centers for many years have been checking for compliance with required immunizations for school entry. They are part of the system for protecting children against diseases that are preventable through administration of approved vaccines.
Day care centers are the only small businesses that the proposed rules will affect. Pursuant to the foregoing analysis, the Department believes that these rules will not have a significant economic impact on day care centers.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Health and Family Services
A rule-making order revising ch.
HFS 145, relating to communicable disease list revisions and reporting communicable diseases, and affecting small business. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rulemaking is unlikely to have a significant
economic impact on the private sector generally, and any health care facilities or laboratories that may meet the definition of small business in s.
227.114 (1), Stats., in particular. It includes no fees, failure to comply with the rulemaking carries no penalties and communicable disease reporting mechanisms are already in place. Usual costs to the private sector include completing and mailing communicable disease case report forms, or keying-in and transmitting data electronically, to local health departments or the Department. These tasks are frequently performed by the infection control practitioner or clerical staff. Since the largest laboratories will be reporting automatically through electronic laboratory reporting, there will be minimal impact on these laboratories. Requests from the State Epidemiologist or the Local Health Officer for negative test results to justify release from isolation or quarantine are anticipated to be infrequent, as are requests from the State Epidemiologist that specimens to be forwarded to a public health laboratory for confirmatory or investigation purposes.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Transportation
A rule-making order revising ch.
Trans 129, relating to motorcycle courses. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The rule will have minimal effect upon small businesses.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Veterans Affairs
A rule-making order revising ch.
VA 2, relating to the tuition reimbursement program. Effective 3-1-08.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The rule will have no effect upon small businesses.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
