Rules Published with this Register and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses
The following administrative rule orders have been adopted and published in the October 31, 2010, 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.
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Administration
The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) adopts the order to create Chapter
Adm 24 relating to debarment, suspension and ineligibility of DOA contractors. Effective date 1-1-11.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule is intended to address potential issues encountered by DOA's Division of State Facilities as it manages building contracts for the State of Wisconsin. The small businesses involved would be expected to include small building contractors and their subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as developers and other firms involved in the design and construction of state facilities.
DOA lacks salary and other necessary data to estimate the comparable costs incurred by private sector contractors in defending themselves during these proceedings. However, the staff time involved would be approximately the same as that required of the DOA staff attorney and staff. Differences in cost would be a function of the billing rate of the private sector legal counsel.
Based upon limited information from the DOT, and upon DOA's experience with problematic contractors, it is anticipated that no more than 6 suspensions or debarments will occur annually, making the impact on small businesses as a class negligible. The impact will be felt only on individual contractors, and then only due to their own contractual and legal behavior. In all cases, DOA will fund the cost of fact-finding hearings with no provision to recover those costs from the contractors involved.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
No comments were reported.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(DATCP # 09-R-03)
Revises Chapter
ATCP 1, relating to Administrative Orders and Contested Cases. Effective 1-1-11.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule will have little, if any, impact on business. This rule updates and clarifies, but does not substantially alter, current rules. This rule will not have any significant impact on business, beyond what already exists under current statutes and rules. Existing impacts have been few and minor.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
On April 15, 2010, DATCP transmitted the above rule for legislative review. The rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education and to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection. Neither the Senate committee nor the Assembly committee held a hearing or took any action on the rule.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(DATCP # 10-R-04)
Revises Chapter
ATCP 53, relating to agricultural enterprise areas. Effective 1-1-11.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule, by itself, does not have any direct impact on farmers or other business owners. The designation of an AEA does not control or restrict land use. However, farm owners in the designated AEAs are eligible to enter into voluntary 15-year farmland preservation agreements with DATCP. That enables them to claim farmland preservation tax credits under s.
71.613, Stats.
Participating farmers may claim a significant tax credit benefit for the 15-year term of their agreement ($5 per acre per year, or $10 per acre per year if the land is also covered by a certified farmland preservation zoning ordinance). The AEA designation may also help reassure farmers and investors that the affected area will remain in agricultural use. The AEA designation may encourage, and help focus, agricultural investment and development.
Farmers who choose to enter into farmland preservation agreements (in order to qualify for tax credits) may incur some costs to keep their land in agricultural use for 15 years, and to comply with state soil and water conservation requirements. Some of these farmers may already be complying with conservation standards. In any case, the decision to enter into a farmland preservation agreement is voluntary. The cost of compliance for participating (if any) may be outweighed by the tax credit benefit.
Many of the farmers who will benefit from this rule are “small businesses." This rule will have a positive effect on those small businesses. This rule will impose no new mandates on small business (farmland preservation agreements are entirely voluntary). This rule is not subject to the small business delayed effective date under s.
227.22(2)(e), Stats.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
Under s.
91.84(2), Stats, DATCP was granted the authority to adopt this rule using the procedure under s.
227.24, Stats. As a result, DATCP was not required to transmit the above rule for legislative review.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(DATCP # 09-R-08)
Revises Chapter
ATCP 92, relating to weights and measures regulation, licensing and fees. Effective 1-1-11.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule modifies current DATCP weights and measures rules. Among other things, this rule implements
2009 Wis. Act 28 (biennial budget act). Act 28 changed state weights and measures laws, including laws related to vehicle scales, weights and measures service companies, vehicle tank meters and liquefied petroleum (LP) gas meters. Act 28 created new license requirements, and authorized DATCP to establish certain license fees and surcharges by rule. Act 28 also authorized DATCP to charge reinspection fees to help pay for reinspections made necessary by weights and measures law violations. The rule does the following:
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Creates new license fee categories and increases the annual fees for weights and measures inspections of licensed retail food establishments (it does not change
food safety inspection fees or license categories).
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Increases the annual fee for a vehicle scale operator license and establishes a fee for a permit to install or relocate a vehicle scale (neither fee applies to livestock scales other than vehicle scales).
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Updates and clarifies current requirements for annual testing of vehicle scales and livestock scales and reporting test results to DATCP. The rule establishes a vehicle scale operator license surcharge for an operator who fails to comply with the annual reporting requirements (does not apply to operators of livestock scales other than vehicle scales).
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Establishes a fee to process a request, by a vehicle scale operator or livestock scale operator, for a variance from an applicable scale construction standards (this rule does not change current construction standards).
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Increases current annual license fees for weights and measures service companies and the current examination fee for certification of an individual weights and measures technician (5-year certification). The examination fee may be paid by the weights and measures service company that employs the technician.
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Implements statutory licensing requirements and establishes annual license fees for operators of LP gas meters. This rule establishes a license fee surcharge for an applicant who is found to have operated an LP gas meter without a license during the previous year. In addition, it establishes basic annual testing and test reporting requirements related to LP gas meters.
•
Implements statutory licensing requirements and establishes annual license fees for vehicle tank meter operators. In addition, it establishes basic annual testing and test reporting requirements related to vehicle tank meters. This rule establishes a license fee surcharge for an applicant who is found to have operated a vehicle tank meter without a license during the previous year or who has failed to comply with the basic testing and test reporting requirements during the previous year.
• Establishes reinspection fees to cover DATCP reinspection costs incurred because of law violations found on an initial inspection of a weight or measure (including a scale or other weighing or measuring device).
DATCP has not incorporated a small business enforcement policy in this rule. This rule will affect businesses that operate or service weights and measures in Wisconsin, most of which are small businesses. Many affected business will pay higher fees, or will pay fees for the first time. However, the fee increases are not expected to have a major impact on overall business costs. Fees for each business category are proportionate to weights and measures program costs for that business category, and cover only a portion of program costs. DATCP will seek voluntary compliance.
Summary of Comments by Legislative Review Committees
On April 21, 2010, DATCP transmitted the above rule for legislative review. The rule was assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education and to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection. The Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection held a hearing on May 18, 2010 and an executive session June 22, 2010 where they voted to send the rule back for modifications to the fee increases. On June 28, 2010 DATCP agreed to consider modifications to the rule. The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education held a public hearing on July 28, 2010 and took no action. Beginning July 16, 2010 DATCP started meeting with key industry stakeholders to discuss modifications to the fee increases. On September 14, 2010 DATCP delivered a modified rule to both the assigned Senate and Assembly Committees for review. Neither committee held any hearings or took any action on this modified rule.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
(DATCP # 09-R-11)
Revises Chapter
ATCP 127, relating to the addition of cell phone numbers to the Wisconsin No Call law. Effective 1-1-11.
Summary of Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The “No Call" law authorizes DATCP to create a list of telephone numbers of Wisconsin residents who do not want to receive telemarketing calls. When first enacted, the “No Call" law only authorized DATCP to include residential “land line" numbers on the “No Call" list. Since DATCP adopted the current rules, the legislature changed the statutory definition of persons covered by the No Call law to include individuals who are provided commercial mobile service by a telephone utility. This rule updates and clarifies current rule coverage to include individuals who are provided commercial mobile service to the persons who may add their telephone numbers to the No Call list. 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."
