Finding of Emergency
The Department of Health and Family Services finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public, health, safety and welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
2007 Wisconsin Act 20 eliminates entitlement to non-Medicaid eligibility for Family Care, which could result in some Family Care enrollees being determined ineligible and disenrolled from the program.
In addition, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has restricted the Family Care benefit for enrollees at the non-nursing home level of care.
Currently, under ss.
HFS 10.55 and
10.56, persons whose services are terminated may request a hearing and continuation of benefits during an appeal. Individuals who appeal the loss of non-Medicaid eligibility or reduction of services as a result of the restriction of the benefit for people eligible at the non-nursing home level of care will lose the appeal because the change in law and federal policy makes it clear that they are no longer entitled to those benefits. In addition, if benefits continued during an appeal, the individual would be responsible for repayment of the cost of continued services. Therefore, the right to appeal is of no real benefit.
HFS 10.56 (2) gives enrollees whose services are reduced or terminated the option to request continuation of services during a fair hearing, grievance, or Department review of the termination or reduction of services. For individuals appealing the loss of non-Medicaid eligibility, or termination or reduction of services as a result of the restriction of the benefit for people eligible at the non-nursing home level of care, continuation of services will be counter-productive to the welfare of the appellant, because the termination and reduction of benefits will have resulted from a change in law. The appellant will lose the appeal and as a result of the loss, be responsible for the cost of the continued services, which may be significant as costs could be in the thousands of dollars.
Under this emergency order, the Department is providing an exception to the right to a fair hearing and continuation of services during a fair hearing, grievance, or Department review when Family Care benefits are reduced or terminated by an act of the federal government or the state legislature and the individual whose benefits have been terminated or reduced does not dispute that he or she falls within the category of persons for whom the benefit was reduced or terminated. The Department has determined that appeals and continuation of benefits under these circumstances would be detrimental to the welfare of approximately 730 individuals and should be prevented.
Publication Date:
April 7, 2008
Effective Date:
April 7, 2008
Expiration Date:
September 4, 2008
Hearing Date:
May 12, 2008
Health and Family Services
Rules adopted revising
s. HFS 115.04, to include the condition known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and related conditions of immunodeficiency to the list of disorders and disorder types found under s.
HFS 115.04.
Finding of Emergency
The early identification of particular congenital and metabolic disorders that are harmful or fatal to persons with the disorders is critical to mitigating the negative effects of such disorders. Therefore, s.
253.13, Wis. Stats., requires that every infant born be subjected to blood tests for congenital and metabolic disorders, as specified in administrative rules promulgated by the Department; however, parents may refuse to have their infants screened for religious reasons. The Department has issued ch.
HFS 115, Screening of Newborns for Congenital and Metabolic Disorders, to administer this statutory requirement. Currently, s.
HFS 115.04 lists 13 congenital and metabolic disorders and types of disorders, for a total of 47 different disorders, for which the state hygiene laboratory must test newborn blood samples.
In determining whether to add or delete disorders from the list under s.
HFS 115.04, s.
HFS 115.06 directs the Department to seek the advice of persons with expertise and experience concerning congenital and metabolic disorders. For this purpose, the Department has established the Wisconsin Newborn Screening Umbrella Advisory Group. Section
HFS 115.06 also lists 6 criteria on which the Department must base its decision to add or delete disorders from s.
HFS 115.04. These criteria are as follows:
1. Characteristics of the specific disorder, including disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality.
2. The availability of effective therapy and potential for successful treatment.
3. Characteristics of the test, including sensitivity, specificity, feasibility for mass screening and cost.
4. The availability of mechanisms for determining the effectiveness of test procedures.
5. Characteristics of the screening program, including the ability to collect and analyze specimens reliably and promptly, the ability to report test results quickly and accurately and the existence of adequate follow-up and management programs.
The Department will immediately promulgate identical permanent rules to replace these emergency rules.
Publication Date:
December 27, 2007
Effective Date:
January 1, 2008
Expiration Date:
May 30, 2008
Hearing Date:
March 6, 2008
Natural Resources
Environmental Protection - General, Chs.
NR 100—
Finding of Emergency
The substantial increase in grant funding is a strong message from the Legislature that concern over the welfare of our public waters is growing, along with the expectation that these additional funds be put to work as soon as possible. The appropriation from which these funds are spent is a biennial appropriation, meaning that any unspent funds at the end of the biennium automatically lapse back to the Water Resources Account of the Conservation Fund. The timeline for permanent rule promulgation and the lack of staff to provide support to eligible sponsors may impede the Department's ability to fully and responsibly invest the authorized spending by the end of the biennium because of the current rule's limitations. An emergency rule will help to minimize or eliminate the amount of funds that are lapsed.
Publication Date:
April 7, 2008
Effective Date:
July 1, 2008
Expiration Date:
November 28, 2008
Public Instruction (4)
1.
A rule is adopted creating
ch. PI 33, relating to grants for nursing services.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Public Instruction finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The school nursing grant program under s.
115.28 (47), Stats., was created under
2007 Wisconsin Act 20. The Act became effective October 27, 2007, and appropriated $250,000 annually beginning in the 2007-08 school year. In order for school districts to develop applications and for the department to review the applications and grant awards in time for the program to operate in the second semester of the school year, rules must be in place as soon as possible to establish application criteria and procedures.
Publication Date:
November 24, 2007
Effective Date:
November 24, 2007
Expiration Date:
April 22, 2008
Hearing Date:
February 21, 2008
Extension Through:
June 20, 2008
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Public Instruction finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The STEM program under s.
115.28 (46), Stats., was created under
2007 Wisconsin Act 20. The Act became effective October 27, 2007, and appropriated $61,500 annually beginning in the 2007-08 school year. In order for school districts to develop applications and for the department to review the applications and grant awards in time for the program to operate in the second semester of the school year, rules must be in place as soon as possible to establish application criteria and procedures.
Publication Date:
January 30, 2008
Effective Date:
January 30, 2008
Expiration Date:
June 28, 2008
Hearing Dates:
March 18 and 21, 2008
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Public Instruction finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The 4-year-old kindergarten grant program under s.
115.445, Stats., was created under
2007 Wisconsin Act 20. The Act became effective October 27, 2007, and appropriated $3 million annually beginning in the 2008-09 school year. In order for school districts to develop application criteria and procedures in time for the program to operate in the upcoming school year, rules must be in place as soon as possible.
Publication Date:
February 25, 2008
Effective Date:
February 25, 2008
Expiration Date:
July 24, 2008
Hearing Date:
April 17, 2008
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Public Instruction finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. The facts constituting the emergency are as follows:
The new provisions modifying the grants for the national teacher certification program under
2007 Wisconsin Act 20, the biennial budget bill, took effect October 27, 2007. In order to establish the new application criteria and procedures to award grants to eligible applicants in the 2007-08 school year, emergency rules must be in place as soon as possible.
Publication Date:
May 17, 2008
Effective Date:
May 17, 2008
Expiration Date:
October 14, 2008
Regulation and Licensing
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Regulation and Licensing finds that preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates putting the rule amendments into effect prior to the time the amendments would take if the agency complied with the notice, hearing and publication requirements established for rule-making in ch.
227, Stats. The facts warranting adoption of these rule amendments under s.
227.24, Stats., are as follows:
The department reviewed a proposed draft of a modified form of the residential real estate listing contract, WB-1, which contained inserted text that appeared to be or could be construed to be approved by the department. The modified form was forwarded to the department as an example of work product that was purportedly to be the subject of a continuing education class demonstrating the allowed means to modify an approved form. The modified form was shown to industry stakeholders, the department's council on forms, and the Real Estate Board, for review and comment. All parties agreed that the modified form was, or could be, construed to be misleading based upon its formatting that the modified text was approved by the department, when in actuality, it was not. This potential for consumer confusion was agreed to be a cause for immediate rule-making to prevent modification of forms such as WB-1 in the manner submitted.
Publication Date:
April 16, 2008
Effective Date:
April 16, 2008
Expiration Date:
September 13, 2008
Hearing Date:
June 26, 2008
Transportation
Rule adopted creating
ch. Trans 178, relating to the Unified Carrier Registration System.
Analysis
This chapter establishes in the Wisconsin Administrative Code the fees to be charged under the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) system, and establishes a method for counting the number of vehicles so that an entity knows whether it is required to register under UCR and, if so, which fee bracket applies to the entity.
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
The Legislature, by Section 2927, as created by
2007 Wis. Act 20, provides an exemption from a finding of emergency for the adoption of the rule.
Publication Date:
December 19, 2007
Effective Date:
December 19, 2007
Expiration Date:
See Section 2927, 2007 Wis.
Act 20
Hearing Date:
March 5, 2008
Workforce Development (3)
