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.
Administration
emergency_rules EmR1321
EmR1321 — The Department of Administration hereby adopts an order to repeal
section Adm 2.14 (2) (vr) c.; to renumber and amend section
Adm 2.14 (2) (v) 9. a. and b.; to amend
sections Adm 2.02 (1) (a), 2.04 (1), 2.04 (2), (3), (5), and (7), 2.07 (2), 2.08 (1) and (1) (d), 2.11, 2.14 (2), (2) (v), (2) (vm) and (2) (vm) 5.; and to create
sections Adm 2.03 (3m), (3r) and (6m), 2.04 (1m), (2m), (2r), (2z), (9), and (10), and 2.14 (2) (vm) and (2) (vm) 5.
The statement of scope for this rule, SS
131-13, was approved by the Governor on October 8, 2013, and published in
Register No. 694 on October 31, 2013, and approved by Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch on November 13, 2013. This emergency rule was approved by the Governor on November 21, 2013.
Finding of Emergency
Since 1979 the legislature has vested the department of administration with the responsibility and authority to manage various state buildings and grounds, including those of the Wisconsin state capitol. S.
16.84 (1), Stats. Since 1979, the department has permitted the use of these buildings and grounds for the free discussion of public questions and other purposes, so long as such uses did not interfere with the prime uses of these facilities, or otherwise infringe on interests of the state. s.
16.845, Stats., and s.
Adm 2.04.
Each year, the Wisconsin state capitol police issue nearly 500 permits for the use of various state facilities. Permits are used for a variety of purposes, whether political, non-political, charitable, or commercial. Permits are issued regardless of political party, affiliation, or content. Permits are given to any person free of charge.
Occupation of the capitol rotunda and other areas has caused disruptions to the properly permitted events and normal government activities, including but not limited to, a Red Cross blood drive, a high school science exhibit, school group tours, general public tours, and legislative committee meetings and sessions. The state does not refuse permits for the lawful and safe use of state facilities by any person or persons, and the state cannot allow any person or persons to occupy the capitol in disregard of the rights of permit holders, public employees, or visitors. It is imperative that the department gain compliance in order to protect the public safety and welfare.
On October 24, 2013, a lawsuit was dismissed based upon a stipulation of and settlement agreement between the parties. The department is obligated under the settlement agreement to advance certain changes in procedure. The department seeks to fulfill its obligations in a timely manner, which is not possible without engaging in the emergency rule process.
Filed with LRB:
November 26, 2013
Publication Date:
November 27, 2013
Effective Dates:
November 27, 2013 through
April 25, 2014
Hearing Date:
February 21, 2014
Extension Through:
August 23, 2014
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
This emergency rule was approved by the Governor on March 13, 2014.
The blanket scope for this rule, SS
141-13, was approved by the Governor on October 30, 2013, published in register No. 695 on November 14, 2013, and approved by the Board of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection on December 10, 2013.
Finding of Emergency
Gypsy moth is an exotic, invasive pest that poses a serious risk to Wisconsin's forest, shade and commercial trees. The 2013 DATCP survey in Iowa County shows that current and projected GM populations in that county have reached the threshold level to trigger implementation of further regulatory measures. Since 2011, multiple trap sites in Iowa County have caught over 100 individual moths, with an average trap count of 28 in 2013 (a five-fold increase from 2011). The survey data indicate that reproducing populations of GM now exist at significant levels in Iowa County and that eradication is not feasible. This evidence supports the need for a quarantine to limit movement from this infestation. When APHIS declares a quarantine, DATCP has regulatory authority for import controls and quarantine for GM under s.
ATCP 21.10. It is anticipated that APHIS will declare a quarantine for Iowa County but that it will take six to eight weeks for APHIS to act. A six week delay until enactment of the federal quarantines leaves too much time for businesses or individuals to move potentially GM infested material out of this county to areas of Wisconsin or other states that are not infested with GM.
DATCP is adopting this rule as a temporary emergency rule, pending completion of federal quarantine regulations. DATCP does not anticipate completing a permanent rule.
Filed with LRB:
March 28, 2014
Publication Date:
March 31, 2014
Effective Dates:
March 31, 2014 through
August 27, 2014
Hearing Date:
April 29, 2014
Health Services
emergency_rules EmR1410
EmR1410 — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services hereby adopts emergency rules to renumber and amend
section DHS 115.05 (3); to amend
sections 115.01, 115.02, and 115.04 (intro.); and to create
section 115.04 (15) and (16), relating to screening newborns for congenital and metabolic disorders.
This emergency rule was approved by the Governor on June 27, 2014.
The statement of scope for this rule, SS
057-14, was approved by the Governor on June 5, 2014, published in
Register 702, on June 14, 2014, and approved by Secretary Rhoades on June 25, 2014.
Finding of Emergency
The Department of Health 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:
1. Section
253.13 (1), Stats., requires attending physicians and nurses licensed under s.
441.15, Stats., to cause every infant born in each hospital or maternity home, prior to the infant's discharge to be subjected to tests for congenital and metabolic disorders, as specified in rules promulgated by the department. If the infant is born elsewhere than in a hospital or maternity home, the attending physician, nurse licensed under s.
441.15, Stats., or birth attendant who attended the birth shall cause the infant, within one week of birth, to be subjected to these tests.
2. Section
DHS 115.04 lists the disorders for which newborns must be tested under s.
253.13 (1), Stats.
3. Critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) is described as those congenital cardiac malformations in which surgical or catheter-based therapy is necessary within the first months of life. There are 12 lesions commonly considered as CCHD. In some circumstances, infants with CCHD may be asymptomatic and have a normal physical examination prior to routine hospital discharge or completion of home birth care. Unrecognized CCHD can result in death or disability shortly after hospital discharge.
4. Death due to unrecognized CCHD from 2002 to 2006 occurred in 1:38,397 Wisconsin births and death or re-hospitalization occurred in 1:24,684 Wisconsin births before two weeks of age. The median age at death due to unrecognized CCHD was 4.5 days.
5. Pulse oximetry, a point of care testing, is the recognized screening method for CCHD.
6. Prior to
2013 Wisconsin Act 135, adding pulse oximetry screening for CCHD to the mandatory panel was not permitted because testing for congenital and metabolic disorders under s.
235.13 (1), Stats. (2011-12), was explicitly limited to blood testing. Section
253.13 (1), Stats., as amended by
2013 Wisconsin Act 135, now allows testing for congenital and metabolic disorders using other screening methods including blood testing.
7. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) tests newborns for organic acidemias (OA), a group of inherited disorders that lead to an abnormal buildup of particular acids, known as organic acids, in the body.
8. Abnormal levels of organic acids in the blood (organic acidemia), urine (organic aciduria), and tissues can be toxic and can cause serious health problems. A baby affected with an OA is usually well at birth and for the first few days of life. The usual clinical presentation is that of toxic encephalopathy and includes vomiting, poor feeding, neurologic symptoms such as seizures and abnormal tone, and lethargy progressing to coma. Outcome is improved by diagnosis and treatment in the first ten days of life.
9. Propionic acidemia and methylmalonic acidemia are two types of organic acidemias. In propionic academia and methylmalonic acidemia, the body is unable to process certain parts of proteins and lipids (fats) properly. In most cases, the features of propionic acidemia become apparent within a few days after birth. Propionic acidemia affects about 1 in 100,000 people in the United States. The effects of methylmalonic acidemia, which usually appear in early infancy, vary from mild to life-threatening. Without treatment, this disorder can lead to coma and death in some cases. This condition occurs in an estimated 1 in 50,000 to 100,000 people.
10. Though OA was determined to have met the criteria under s.
DHS 115.06 for being added to the list of congenital and metabolic disorders for which WSLH must test the blood samples of newborns, the conditions were inadvertently omitted from the list of conditions in s.
DHS 115.04 during subsequent revisions.
11. The process for promulgating permanent rules may take 24 months to complete, or longer if the department is unable to submit the permanent rules to the legislature prior to its last general business floor period in 2016.
Filed with LRB:
June 27, 2014
Publication Date:
July 3, 2014
Effective Dates:
July 3, 2014 through
November 29, 2014
Hearing Date:
August 15, 2014
Insurance
emergency_rules EmR1408
EmR1408 — The Commissioner of Insurance proposes an order to amend section
Ins 17.01 (3); and to repeal and recreate section. Ins 17.28 (6), Wis. Admin. Code, relating to the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund Annual Fund and mediation panel fees, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014 and affecting small business.
This emergency rule was approved by the Governor on June 12, 2014.
