Emergency Rules Now in Effect
Under s. 227.24, Stats., state agencies may promulgate rules without complying with the usual rule-making procedures. Using this special procedure to issue emergency rules, an agency must find that either the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates its action in bypassing normal rule-making procedures.
Emergency rules are published in the official state newspaper, which is currently the Wisconsin State Journal. Emergency rules are in effect for 150 days and can be extended up to an additional 120 days with no single extension to exceed 60 days.
Occasionally the Legislature grants emergency rule authority to an agency with a longer effective period than 150 days or allows an agency to adopt an emergency rule without requiring a finding of emergency.
Extension of the effective period of an emergency rule is granted at the discretion of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules under s. 227.24 (2), Stats.
Notice of all emergency rules which are in effect must be printed in the Wisconsin Administrative Register. This notice will contain a brief description of the emergency rule, the agency finding of emergency or a statement of exemption from a finding of emergency, date of publication, the effective and expiration dates, any extension of the effective period of the emergency rule and information regarding public hearings on the emergency rule.
Copies of emergency rule orders can be obtained from the promulgating agency. The text of current emergency rules can be viewed at www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code.
Beginning with rules filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau in 2008, the Legislative Reference Bureau will assign a number to each emergency rule filed, for the purpose of internal tracking and reference. The number will be in the following form: EmR0801. The first 2 digits indicate the year of filing and the last 2 digits indicate the chronological order of filing during the year.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
This emergency rule was approved by the governor on July 14, 2011.
The statement of scope for this rule, SS
002-11, was approved by the governor on July 14, 2011, published in
Register 667, on July 31, 2011, and approved by The Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on August 12, 2011.
Finding of Emergency
In Wisconsin, grain dealers (persons who purchase grain from producers), grain warehouse keepers (persons who store grain that is owned by others), milk contractors (persons who purchase milk from producers, and vegetable contractors (persons who purchase vegetables from producers for use in processing), must obtain a license to do these activities and are collectively referred to as “contractors". Most contractors are “contributing contractors", which means they must pay annual assessments into the Wisconsin Agricultural Producer Security Fund. This fund is designed to help partially reimburse producers in the event that a contractor defaults on payment to producers. The annual assessments are calculated based on the total dollar value of commodities purchased or stored, the length of time that the contractor has participated in the fund, and certain financial ratios from the contractor's balance sheet.
All else equal, a contractor who purchases small amounts will pay lower assessments than one who purchases large amounts. All else equal, a contractor who is in a conservative financial position will pay lower assessments than one who carries higher levels of liabilities relative to their assets or equity. All else equal, a contractor who has participated in the fund for more than five years will pay lower assessments than one who has participated for less than five years. The annual assessment, calculated from the factors discussed above, vary considerably from one contractor to another. An annual assessment may be as low as $100, or as high as several hundred thousand dollars.
The grain dealer and grain warehouse keeper license years begin on September 1 of each year. At that point, DATCP calculates the assessment for the new license year that will be due in four quarterly payments over the course of that year. Calculations are based on purchase data and financial statement data for the grain dealer or grain warehouse keeper's most recently completed fiscal year and annual financial statement.
For the license years that will begin on September 1, 2011, a very unusual combination of business financing and recent high commodity prices has lead to unusually high assessment calculations for one grain company. In fact, if the existing rule remains unmodified, there will be one individual elevator that will be charged over $1.2 million in assessments (for both grain dealer and grain warehouse combined). This is roughly four times greater than the previous highest annual assessment and roughly six times higher than the second highest annual assessment in the grain (dealer and warehouse combined) producer security fund program. Further, this potential assessment for next license year is more than double the highest assessment that has ever occurred in the milk contractor portion of the fund. This is significant because the dollar amount of a large milk contractor's annual purchase of milk tends to be much higher the dollar amount of a large grain dealer's annual purchase (or store) of grain.
In the majority of cases, the assessment calculation formulas reasonably charge contractors for the overall risk that they pose to the fund in the event that they should default on amounts owed to producers. However, at least in the short term, this is not true for this one elevator. DATCP will analyze whether or not it is appropriate for this emergency rule to also be promulgated as a permanent rule, and if so, begin a separate rulemaking process at a later date.
This temporary emergency rule is necessary to protect the welfare of the many hundreds of grain farmers who do business with this grain elevator, and to help prevent major disruptions in the grain industry.
Publication Date:
September 2, 2011
Effective Dates:
September 2, 2011 through
January 29, 2012
Hearing Date:
October 5, 2011
Children and Families (2)
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
Section
14m (b) of
2009 Wisconsin Act 335 provides that the department is not required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under s.
48.625 (1g), Stats., as an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and is not required to provide a finding of emergency.
Section 14m (b) also provides that notwithstanding s.
227.24 (1) (c) and
(2), Stats., an emergency rule promulgated under s.
48.625 (1g), Stats., remains in effect until the permanent rules promulgated under s.
48.625 (1g), Stats., take effect.
Publication Date:
September 2, 2010
Effective Dates:
September 2, 2010 through
the date permanent rules
become effective
Hearing Date:
October 21, 2010
emergency_rules EmR1106
2. EmR1106 — Rule adopted to revise
Chapters DCF 52, 54, and 57, relating to regulation of rates charged by residential care centers for children and youth, child-placing agencies, and group homes.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Children and Families finds that an emergency exists and that the attached rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. A statement of facts constituting the emergency is:
2009 Wisconsin Act 28 directed the department to implement rate regulation effective January 1, 2011. Implementation was delayed and this rule is phasing-in rate regulation at the earliest feasible date.
Publication Date:
April 18, 2011
Effective Dates:
April 18, 2011 through
September 16, 2011
Hearing Date:
May 18, 2011
Extension Through:
October 14, 2011
Employment Relations Commission
These emergency rules were approved by the Governor on September 13, 2011.
The statement of scope for this rule, SS
004-11, was approved by the governor on July 20, 2011, published in
Register 667, on July 31, 2011, and approved by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission as required by s.
227.135 (2) on August 15, 2011.
Finding of Emergency
Publication Date:
September 15, 2011
Effective Dates:
September 15, 2011 thru
February 12, 2012
Government Accountability Board
Finding of Emergency
The Government Accountability Board amends s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b), Wis. Adm. Code, relating to the definition of the term “political purpose." Section
GAB 1.28 as a whole continues to clarify the definition of “political purposes" found in s.
11.01 (16) (a) 1., Stats., but repeals the second sentence of s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b) which prescribes communications presumptively susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate.
This amendment to s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b) is to the rule that was published on July 31, 2010 and effective on August 1, 2010, following a lengthy two year period of drafting, internal review and study, public comment, Legislative review, and consideration of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Within the context of ch.
11, Stats, s.
GAB 1.28 provides direction to persons intending to engage in activities for political purposes with respect to triggering registering and reporting obligations under campaign financing statutes and regulations. In addition, the rule provides more information for the public so that it may have a more complete understanding as to who is supporting or opposing which candidate or cause and to what extent, whether directly or indirectly.
Pursuant to s.
227.24, Stats., the Government Accountability Board finds an emergency exists as a result of pending litigation against the Board and two decisions by the United States Supreme Court:
Federal Election Commission (FEC) v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (WRTL II),
550 U.S. 549 (2007) and
Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. ___, (No. 08-205) (January 21, 2010). Following the effective date of the August 1, 2010 rule, three lawsuits were filed seeking a declaration that the rule was unconstitutional and beyond the Board's statutory authority: one in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, one in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and one in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On August 13, 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily enjoined enforcement of the August 1, 2010 rule, pending further order by the Court.
In the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, the parties previously executed a joint stipulation asking the Court to permanently enjoin application and enforcement of the second sentence of s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b). On October 13, 2010, the Court issued an Opinion and Order denying that injunction request. In denying the injunction, the Court noted that “G.A.B. has within its own power the ability to refrain from enforcing, or removing altogether, the offending sentence from a regulation G.A.B. itself created" and emphasized that “removing the language — for example, by G.A.B. issuing an emergency rule — would be far more `simple and expeditious' than asking a federal court to permanently enjoin enforcement of the offending regulation."
Wisconsin Club for Growth, Inc. v. Myse, No. 10-CV-427, slip op. at 2 (W.D. Wis. Oct. 13, 2010). The Court further noted that staying the case would give the Board time to resolve some or all of the pending issues through further rulemaking.
Id., slip op. at 14.
In addition, the Board, through its litigation counsel, has represented to the Wisconsin Supreme Court that it does not intend to defend the validity of the second sentence of s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b) and that it would stipulate to the entry of an order by that Court permanently enjoining the application or enforcement of that sentence.
This amendment brings s.
GAB 1.28 (3) (b) into conformity with the above stipulation, with the representations that have been made to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and with the suggestions made in the October 13, 2010, Opinion and Order of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The Board finds that the immediate adoption of this amendment will preserve the public peace and welfare by providing a simple and expeditious clarification of the meaning of s.
GAB 1.28 for litigants, for the regulated community, and for the general public and by doing so in advance of the 2011 Spring Election and any other future elections.
Publication Date:
January 7, 2011
Effective Dates:
January 7, 2011 through
June 5, 2011
Extension Through:
October 3, 2011
Hearing Date:
February 16, 2011
Natural Resources (6)
Fish, Game, etc., Chs.
NR 1—
Exemption From Finding of Emergency
Section
227.24 (1) (a), Stats., authorizes state agencies to promulgate a rule as an emergency rule without complying with the notice, hearing and publication requirements under ch.
227, Stats., if preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates putting the rule into effect prior to the time it would take effect if the agency complied with the procedures. However, s.
23.22 (2t) (a), Stats., authorizes the department to promulgate emergency rules to identify, classify, or control an invasive species without having to provide evidence that an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of public peace, health, safety, or welfare or to provide a finding of emergency.
In addition, such emergency rules may remain in effect until whichever of the following occurs first: the first day of the 25th month beginning after the effective date of the emergency rule, the effective date of the repeal of the emergency rule, or the date on which the permanent rule identifying, classifying, or controlling the invasive species, promulgated under s. 23.22 (2) (b) 6., Stats., takes effect.
Publication Date:
September 29, 2010
Effective Dates:
September 29, 2010 through See bold text above
Hearing Date:
October 25 to 29, 2010
