Related rules or statutes
Chapter
ATCP 127, subchapter II, Wis. Adm. Code, which is promulgated under the authority of s.
100.20(2), Wis. Stats., regulates the sales practice of persons who solicit consumers over the telephone.
Rule content
This rule does all of the following:
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Changes the definition of “residential telephone customer" to “covered telephone customer" and defines this term to mean “an individual in this state who receives basic local exchange service or commercial mobile service from a telecommunications utility."
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Changes the definition of “nonresidential telephone customer" to “noncovered telephone customer" and defines this term to mean “a person, other than a covered customer, who receives telecommunications service from a telecommunications utility."
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Amends the definition of “telephone call" to include a voice communication “through the use of commercial mobile service."
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Clarifies that the definition of “telecommunications utility" includes a person who provides commercial mobile service.
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Renumbers the definitions and amends other parts of the rule to reflect changes in the definitions.
Comparison with federal regulations
Congress, the federal communications commission, and the federal trade commission have created a federal “No Call" list that includes cell phone numbers as well as land line numbers. The federal “No Call" regulations are not identical to Wisconsin regulations, and in some cases would allow calls that Wisconsin prohibits. However, the federal regulations do not preempt the more protective Wisconsin regulations.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
Surrounding states, including Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan have all adopted the federal “No Call" list as the state list. Indiana, like Wisconsin, maintains its own “No Call" list (the Indiana list, like the federal and Wisconsin lists, includes cell phone as well as land line numbers).
Small Business Impact
This rule will have few, if any, negative impacts on business. This rule simply updates the definitions and coverage of current rules to reflect law changes already enacted by the Legislature and implemented by DATCP.
To provide comments or concerns relating to small business, you may also contact DATCP's small business regulatory coordinator Keeley Moll at the address below, or by emailing to
keeley.moll@wi.gov; telephone at (608) 224-5039.
Fiscal Estimate
This rule will have no significant fiscal impact on DATCP or local units of government.
Agency Contact Person
Questions and comments related to this rule may be directed to:
Michelle Reinen, Program & Policy Analyst
Department of Agriculture, trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Phone: (608) 224-5160
Notice of Hearing
Commerce
Financial Resources for Businesses and Communities, Chs.
Comm 100—
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to section
560.033 of the Statutes, the Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing on emergency rules and proposed permanent rules to create Chapter
Comm 124, relating to the Forward Innovation Fund, and affecting small businesses.
Hearing Information
The public hearing will be held as follows:
Date and Time:
|
Location:
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May 26, 2010
Wednesday
At 9:00 a.m.
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Thompson Commerce Center
Third Floor, Room 3B
201 West Washington Avenue
Madison
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This hearing will be held in an accessible facility. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call Sam Rockweiler at (608) 266-0797 or at Contact Through Relay at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available upon a request from a person with a disability.
Submittal of Written Comments
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearing and present comments on the emergency rules and proposed permanent rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing, via e-mail. Persons submitting comments will not receive individual responses. The hearing record on this rulemaking will remain open until May 28, 2010, to permit submittal of written comments from persons who are unable to attend the hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at the hearing.
E-mail comments should be sent to
sam.rockweiler@wi.gov. If e-mail submittal is not possible, written comments may be submitted to Sam Rockweiler, Department of Commerce, Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services, P.O. Box 14427, Madison, WI 53708-0427.
Copies of Emergency Rules and Proposed Permanent Rules
The emergency rules and proposed permanent rules and an analysis of the rules are available on the Internet by entering “Comm 124" in the search engine at the following Web site:
https://health.wisconsin.gov/admrules/public/Home. Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Sam Rockweiler at the Department of Commerce, Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services, P.O. Box 14427, Madison, WI 53707, or at
sam.rockweiler@wi.gov, or at telephone (608) 266-0797, or at Contact Through Relay. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Commerce
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
Section
227.11 (2) (a) of the Statutes authorizes the Department to promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any Statute administered by the Department. Section
560.301 of the Statutes requires the Department to promulgate rules for administering the Forward Innovation Fund, as established under subchapter II of chapter 560 of the Statutes.
Related statute or rule
The Department has various rules for administering several economic development programs, but those rules do not specifically include the rule text in this order for providing grants and loans that will fund innovative proposals to strengthen inner cities; rural municipalities; entrepreneurship; and industrial, academic and artistic clusters.
Plain language analysis
Under
2009 Wisconsin Act 28, the Department's Minority Business Development Fund and Community-Based Economic Development Fund were merged into the Forward Innovation Fund – and the corresponding rules in this order are expected to foster innovative start-up, expansion or retention of minority businesses and businesses in economically distressed areas. The rules in this order also address grants and loans for other entities that undertake innovative projects for strengthening inner cities; rural municipalities; entrepreneurship; and industrial, academic and artistic clusters.
Comparison with federal regulations
The U.S. Commerce Department is creating an Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and launching a National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to promote high-growth entrepreneurship in America. The mission is to maximize the economic potential of new ideas by removing barriers to entrepreneurship, and to foster the development of high-growth and innovation-based businesses. The Office will drive policies that help entrepreneurs translate new ideas, products and services into economic growth. The Office will focus on the following areas:
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Encouraging entrepreneurs through education, training, and mentoring.
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Improving access to capital.
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Accelerating technology commercialization of federal research and development.
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Strengthening interagency collaboration and coordination.
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Providing data, research and technical resources for entrepreneurs.
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Exploring policy incentives to support entrepreneurs and investors.
The Minority Business Development Agency in the U.S. Commerce Department has recently allocated $900,000 to seven minority business centers across the country to increase minority business access to contracting opportunities under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The funding will allow each center to hire at least one business development specialist to focus exclusively on ARRA to ensure minority businesses have access to federal, state and local contracting opportunities that are expected to create jobs, jumpstart growth and rebuild the economy.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
None of the adjacent states were found to have rules that are likewise primarily directed at innovatively fostering business and community investment, job creation and retention, workforce development, and diversification of the state's economy, particularly in economically distressed areas and through minority businesses. However, the following programs in the adjacent states for enhancing community-based economic development and minority businesses appear to address some of the activities that are expected to occur under these proposed rules, for achieving this objective.
Michigan:
Michigan helps minority-owned businesses access State purchasing contracts by requiring bidders on State construction contracts to submit an equal-employment- opportunity plan. This plan describes in detail the equal-employment-opportunity efforts that the potential contract recipient has engaged in.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority Board oversees several community and faith-based grant programs that focus on rural housing and economic development, housing counseling, community reinvestment, and Community Development Block Grants.
Minnesota:
Minnesota supports minority and inner-city business development through a Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan program. The program helps women, low-income individuals, and minority entrepreneurs and business owners operate successful businesses, particularly in economically distressed areas. The SBA makes direct loans to eligible intermediary lenders who then make short-term loans to start-up, newly established, and growing small-business concerns. The loans can range from a few hundred dollars to $35,000. The SBA also makes grants to eligible intermediary lenders for providing marketing, management, and technical assistance to their borrowers.
Minnesota also assists economic-development efforts of a certain size in a specific area through a Certified Development Company loan program that provides joint federal and private-sector financing to small businesses – which creates jobs, increases the local tax base, and expands business-ownership opportunities. Long-term fixed-asset financing is provided by a Certified Development Company in conjunction with a second loan from a commercial lender.
Iowa:
Iowa does not appear to have a business-development program for minority-owned businesses, other than a certification program that is similar to Wisconsin's. However, Iowa has a grant program that is designed to assist low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs and microenterprises. A microenterprise is defined as a start-up, home-based or self-employed business which has five or fewer employees and which encounters barriers to obtaining business development assistance or to securing financing from conventional lending sources. Microenterprise development programs differ from traditional small business development programs by focusing on low- to moderate-income and low-wealth individuals, and on economically distressed communities and neighborhoods.
Iowa's community-based economic development programs range from Community Development Block Grant programs and Neighborhood Stabilization Grants to initiatives that support energy efficiency and conservation. They provide technical assistance and grant-writing workshops to assist communities in securing federal grants. Like Wisconsin, Iowa has a Mainstreet/Downtown program that funds renewal efforts for aged buildings and infrastructure.
Illinois:
The Illinois Business Enterprise Program promotes economic development for diverse businesses – such as those owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities – and awarded nearly $400 million to BEP-certified firms in 2009. The Illinois BEP-certification program operates very similarly to the Wisconsin minority-business certification program. The primary intent is to connect minority-business owners with State procurement opportunities, although in Illinois, State agencies and universities are encouraged to spend at least 19 percent of their procurement budgets with BEP-certified companies.
Illinois also has an Office of Urban Assistance that addresses the pressing economic needs of residents, businesses and stakeholders in the State's urban areas. The Office oversees an Employment Opportunities Grant Program; and implements new strategies such as an Urban Weatherization Initiative and an innovative, community-based Illinois Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The Office is also responsible for (1) incentivizing new industrial enterprises to locate in the urban areas of Illinois, thereby stimulating local economies and creating jobs; (2) gathering and providing information on revitalization efforts in urban areas to public and private entities; (3) recommending and formulating policies that result in the reconstruction of urban economies; and (4) recommending urban economic policies to the General Assembly and Governor relating to a wide variety of topics including housing, urban youth unemployment, and business incubators.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
The data and methodology for developing these rules were derived from and consisted of (1) applying the corresponding provisions in
2009 Wisconsin Act 28; (2) incorporating applicable best practices the Department has developed in administering similar programs for economic development and business development; and (3) reviewing Internet-based sources of related federal, state, and private-sector information.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business
The primary document that was used to determine the effect of the rules on small business was
2009 Wisconsin Act 28. The proposed rules and the applicable portion of this Act apply their private-sector requirements only to entities that choose to pursue a corresponding grant or loan. No economic impact report was prepared.
Small Business Impact
The rules are expected to result in only beneficial effects on small business because the rules only address grants and loans for entities that undertake innovative projects for strengthening inner cities; rural municipalities; entrepreneurship; and industrial, academic and artistic clusters.
Initial regulatory flexibility analysis
Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.
Businesses choosing to pursue grants and loans for undertaking innovative projects for strengthening inner cities; rural municipalities; entrepreneurship; and industrial, academic and artistic clusters.
Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.
An application form prescribed by the Department must be completed and submitted to the Department. Grants and loans that are awarded may be issued in conjunction with contracts that require periodic reporting of the ensuing performance.
Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.
No new professional skills are necessary for compliance with the rules.
Rules have a significant economic impact on small businesses?
No
Small business regulatory coordinator
