Rule-Making Notices
Notice of Hearing
Corrections
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to section
227.11 (2), Stats., and interpreting s.
301.48 (4), Stats., the Department of Corrections will hold public hearings to consider:
•
Emergency rule DOC 332.20, relating to establishing a reimbursement fee to offset the costs of monitoring persons subject to global positioning system tracking or passive positioning system tracking; and
•
Proposed permanent rule DOC 332.20, relating to establishing a reimbursement fee to offset the costs of monitoring persons subject to global positioning system tracking or passive positioning system tracking.
Hearing Information
Date & Time Location
December 11, 2008 Conference Room 116
10:00 a.m. State Office Building
819 North 6th Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
December 11, 2008 St. Croix Conference Room —
2:30 p.m. First Floor
Department of Administration
101 East Wilson Street
Madison, Wisconsin
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and present comments on the proposed rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing. Written comments on the proposed rule will be accepted into the record and receive the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing if they are received by Friday, December 19, 2008. Written comments should be addressed to: Kathryn R. Anderson, DOC, P.O. Box 7925, Madison, WI 53707-7925, or by email kathryn.anderson@ wisconsin.gov.
The public hearing sites are accessible to people with disabilities. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please contact Kathryn Anderson, DOC, P.O. Box 7925, Madison, WI 53707-7925, email kathryn.anderson@ wisconsin.gov, telephone (608) 240-5049 by December 4, 2008.
Under the authority vested in the Department of Corrections by s.
227.11 (2), Stats., the Department of Corrections hereby promulgates an emergency rule relating to establishing a reimbursement fee to offset the costs of monitoring persons subject to global positioning system tracking or passive positioning system tracking.
Finding of Emergency
The department of corrections finds that an emergency exists and that rules included in this order are necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
Under
2005 WI Act 431, section
8, the legislature requires certain persons who have been convicted of a serious child sex offense, who have been found not guilty of a serious child sex offense by reason of mental disease or mental defect, or who are the subject of notification under s.
301.46 (2m) (am), Stats., to be placed on lifetime tracking under a global positioning system (GPS) or a passive positioning system (PPS). The legislature also authorized the department to establish a rule to require persons who are subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking to pay the cost of tracking.
If the rule is not created promptly and immediately, the department will not be able to collect the fees which are to be used to offset the costs of the tracking program, which could result in a lessening of tracking due to budget limitations.
The purpose of the emergency rule is to require all persons who are subject to tracking to pay the tracking fee which is used to offset the costs of the tracking program. The permanent rule process has been started. However, the permanent rule process will take approximately nine months to complete. Emergency rules are necessary to respond promptly to the collection of tracking fees while permanent rules are being developed.
Analysis Prepared by Department of Corrections
Statute interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
Under s.
301.48, Stats., the department of corrections is responsible for the program of tracking by global positioning system or passive positioning system the location of persons who have committed a serious child sex offense.
Plain language analysis
The rule establishes a fee to recover the costs of tracking a person subject to global positioning system (GPS) tracking or passive positioning system (PPS) tracking under §
301.48, Stats., based on the person's ability to pay. The department has established a tracking fee which is based on the gross household monthly income and the person's ability to pay. The fee structure is similar to the one used by the department for assessing monthly supervision fees under §
DOC 328.045, Wis. Adm. Code. Specifically, for persons who have a gross household monthly income of less than $800.00, there is no monthly fee; for persons who have a gross household monthly income from $800.00 to $1,500.99, the monthly fee is $50.00; for persons who have a gross household monthly income from $1,501.00 to $2,400.00, the monthly fee is $120.00; and for persons who have a gross household monthly income greater than $2,400.00, the monthly fee is $240.00.
Persons subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking are required to produce financial information about their gross household income, including financial institution statements, wage statements, and tax returns. The department will use this financial information to determine the appropriate fee. If a person fails to provide the requested documentation, the department may assess a fee up to and including the full cost of tracking the person.
The department will review the tracking fee determination at least annually. Each time the department performs a review, it may request financial information.
The department has set forth the tracking fee structure in a table which will be published as part of the rule. The department recognizes that the table may need to be revised periodically. In the proposed rule the department will publish adjustments to the table in the Wisconsin Administrative Register if the adjustments constitute less than a ten (10) percent increase. If the increase is ten (10) percent or greater, the department will promulgate an administrative rule to make the necessary adjustments.
The department will establish procedures for notifying persons subject to the tracking fee of the procedures relating to the assessment and collection of fees. The department will record all tracking fees which are paid and provide the person making the payment a record of the payment.
The department has identified methods it can use to collect tracking fees in the case that a person fails to make payments when required to do so. For example, if the person is on probation, parole, or extended supervision, the methods include counseling, wage assignment and steps which might affect the level of supervision. If the person is not on community supervision, the methods include wage assignment, use of a collection agency, and tax refund intercept.
Text of Emergency Rule
DOC 332.20 Tracking fee. (1)
Applicability. A person who is subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking under s.
301.48, Stats. shall be charged a fee to offset the costs of the tracking, based on the person's ability to pay.
(2) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Global positioning system tracking" or “GPS tracking" has the meaning given in s.
301.48 (1) (b), Stats.
(b) “Passive positioning system tracking" or “PPS tracking" has the meaning given in s.
301.48 (1) (dm), Stats.
(c) “Tracking cost" means the monthly cost for tracking a person subject to GPS tracking or PPS tracking.
(d) “Tracking fee" means the fee which a person who is subject to either GPS tracking or PPS tracking is required to pay to offset the costs of tracking.
(3) Tracking fee. (a) A person who is subject to either GPS tracking or PPS tracking shall pay the tracking fee in accordance with procedures established by the department.
(b) The department shall set a tracking fee for a person who is subject to either GPS tracking or PPS tracking, based on the person's ability to pay, and shall do all of the following:
1. Determine the person's ability to pay the tracking fee. The department will base the determination on the person's documented monthly gross household income. The department may require the person to produce financial documentation to establish household income, including tax returns, financial institution account statements, and wage information.
a. The department will review the determination of the person's ability to pay the tracking fee at least annually. The department may require production of financial information for each review.
b. If a person fails to provide the requested financial documentation, the department may assess the person a tracking fee up to and including the full tracking cost.
2. Charge a tracking fee in accordance with the following table:
Table DOC 332.20
Income Category
|
Tracking Fee
|
<$800.00
|
$00.00
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$800.00 - $1500.99
|
$50.00
|
$1501.00 - $2400.00
|
$120.00
|
>$2400.00
|
$240.00
|
a. The department shall publish adjustments to Table DOC 332.20 in the Wisconsin administrative register.
b. If the department proposes to make adjustment to the tracking fee by ten (10) percent or more, the department shall promulgate an administrative rule to make the adjustments. The department will not issue an emergency rule to implement the adjustments under this subsection before providing advance public notice of at least one month.
