The Department of Transportation finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety. The amendments are needed to assure that school bus operators can purchase school buses manufactured using the latest in construction technology and providing equal strength and safety. Currently, there are estimated to be 60 buses on order by operators. Without this emergency rule, these buses could not be used in Wisconsin when the school year begins in August 1997. Therefore, schools will start using alternative vehicles (production vans) because of the unavailability of the smaller school buses built to the safer school bus standards.

1997 Wis. Act 27, s. 9154 authorizes the department to promulgate rules for the administration of the personal loan program using the emergency rule procedures without providing evidence of the necessity of preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare.

By repealing and recreating ch. VA 12, Wis. Adm. Code, the department establishes the underwriting and other criteria necessary for the administration of the personal loan program. The personal loan program was authorized by the legislature and governor through the amendment of s 45.356, Stats., upon enactment of 1997 Wis. Act 27.

The Department of Workforce Development finds that an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:

In addition to raising the minimum wage to $4.75 per hour on October 1, 1996, and $5.15 per hour on September 1, 1997, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act provides for an “opportunity wage” of $4.25 per hour which may be paid by each new employer to a person under the age of 20 during the first 90 days of employment. The Department's permanent rules to raise the state minimum wage contained provisions creating an opportunity wage that are the same as those of the federal law.

On April 10, 1997, the State Senate Committee on Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions suspended the portions of CR 96-181 relating to the opportunity wage. The Department proceeded with formal adoption of the provisions of the rule that were not suspended; the permanent rule changes will become effective on June 1, 1997. On April 17, 1997, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) unanimously approved extension of the Department's emergency rule on minimum wage, which includes the provisions on the opportunity wage. The emergency rule extension lasts until June 27, 1997.

The respective votes of the two Legislative committees have caused uncertainty as to whether the provisions relating to the opportunity wage remain in effect through June 27, 1997, or expire on June 1, 1997. The JCRAR has met several times since the standing committee's suspension but its only action on this issue was to extend the emergency rule, which includes the opportunity wage provision. The legal interpretation from the Legislative Council as to the precedence of the emergency rule provision vs. the permanent rule provision has not been definitive.

It appears that the JCRAR will vote in June on the standing committee suspension of the opportunity wage provisions of the permanent rule. If the JCRAR does not concur in the standing committee's suspension, the Department will proceed to promulgate the opportunity wage provisions on a permanent basis. However, due to timelines required for promulgation of permanent rules, this provision would not likely take effect permanently until September 1, 1997. Thus, the delays in action coupled with interpretive uncertainty could result in a regulatory gap that would cause confusion amongst the state's employees and employers over the provisions in effect after June 1, 1997. The Department believes that such uncertainty throughout the state would be undesirable.

In absence of definitive legal opinion or action on the opportunity wage issue by the JCRAR, this emergency rule alleviates uncertainty as to whether the opportunity wage provisions are effective after June 1 by explicitly maintaining their effect. The Department will make every reasonable effort to comply with the JCRAR's intent once action is taken. If the JCRAR affirms the standing committee's suspension, the Department will immediately withdraw the provisions of this emergency rule. If the JCRAR does not affirm the standing committee's suspension, this emergency rule will prevent a gap in coverage of the opportunity wage between the date of JCRAR action in June and the effective date of permanent provisions on the opportunity wage.

This emergency rule also contains a provision that prohibits the displacement of an employee that occurs solely for the purpose of hiring an opportunity employee. This language is similar to a provision of the federal law and was included by the Department because the Senate Committee on Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions asked that the state rule also contain this provision. This language was originally submitted to the Senate Labor, Transportation and Financial Institutions Committee as a germane modification to CR-96-181 on March 31, 1997. It was the Department's intent to promulgate this provision as part of the permanent rule. However, this provision was inadvertently omitted from the final draft.

Chs. ATCP 10 and 11 - Relating to fish farming.

Description of policy issues:

Preliminary objectives:

Comply with s. 95.60, Stats., by doing all of the following:

❍ Establish criteria for importing live fish or fish eggs into Wisconsin.

❍ Establish a procedure and fee for annual registration of fish farms.

❍ Establish recordkeeping requirements for persons who operate a fish farm.

❍ Identify standards for fish farming facilities.

❍ Specify labeling requirements for farm raised fish sold in commerce.

❍ Establish fish health standards, and procedures for certifying that the standards are met.

❍ Specify the qualifications required for a person who is not a veterinarian to issue fish health certificates.

❍ Specify diseases which affect salmon and establish procedures to assure that salmon and salmon eggs are free of those diseases.

Preliminary policy analysis:

Under s. 95.60, Stats., created by 1997 Wis. Act 27, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection must promulgate rules related to each of the preliminary objectives identified above. The Department must promulgate those rules in order to comply with the statute.

Policy alternatives:

There is no alternative. The statute requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to address each of the identified objectives by rule.

Statutory authority:

The Department proposes to develop these rules under authority of ss. 93.07 (1) and 95.60, Stats. The rules would interpret s. 95.60, Stats.

Staff time required:

The Department estimates that it will use approximately 1.25 FTE staff time to develop this rule. This includes research, drafting, preparing related documents, holding public hearings, coordinating advisory council discussions, and communicating with affected persons and groups. The Department will assign existing staff to develop this rule.

Ch. ATCP 30 - Relating to atrazine pesticides; use restrictions.

Description of policy issues:

Preliminary objectives:

Regulate the use of atrazine herbicides to protect groundwater and assure compliance with Wisconsin's Groundwater Law. Update current rule to reflect groundwater sampling results obtained during the past year. Renumber and reorganize current rule, as necessary.

Preliminary policy analysis:

Under the Wisconsin Groundwater Law, ch. 160, Stats., the Department must regulate the use of pesticides to assure compliance with groundwater standards established by the Department of Natural Resources under ch. NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code. DNR has established a groundwater enforcement standard of 3 µg/liter for atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites.

Under s. 160.25, Stats., the Department must prohibit atrazine uses that result in groundwater contamination levels which violate the DNR enforcement standard. The Department must prohibit atrazine use in the area where the groundwater contamination has occurred unless the Department determines to a reasonable certainty, based on the greater weight of credible evidence, that alternative measures will achieve compliance with the DNR enforcement standard.

Current rules under ch. ATCP 30 prohibit the use of atrazine in 96 designated areas (approximately 1,200,000 acres), including large portions of the Lower Wisconsin River Valley, Dane County and Columbia County. The current rules also restrict atrazine use rates and handling practices on a statewide basis. The statewide restrictions are designed to minimize the potential for groundwater contamination, as required under s. 160.25, Stats.

Over the next year, the Department anticipates identifying additional wells containing atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites at and above the current DNR enforcement standard. In order to comply with the Groundwater Law, the Department must take further action to prohibit or regulate atrazine use in the areas where these wells are located. The Department proposes to amend ch. ATCP 30 to add or repeal prohibition areas or take other appropriate regulatory action in response to the new groundwater findings.

Policy alternatives:

No Change. If the Department takes no action, the current version of the ch. ATCP 30 atrazine rule (promulgated in April, 1998) would continue to apply. However, the Department would take no new regulatory action in response to new groundwater findings obtained this year. This would not adequately protect groundwater in the newly-discovered contaminated areas, nor would it meet the Department's obligations under the Groundwater Law. Conversely, the Department would be unable to repeal the current restrictions on atrazine use where indicated by groundwater findings.

Statutory authority:

The Department proposes to revise ch. ATCP 30, Wis. Adm. Code, under authority of ss. 93.07, 94.69, and 160.19 through 160.25, Stats.

Staff time required:

The Department estimates that it will use approximately 0.6 FTE staff to develop this rule. This includes investigation, drafting, preparing related documents, coordinating advisory committee meetings, holding public hearings and communicating with affected persons and groups. The Department will use existing staff to develop this rule.

Chs. ATCP 2, 45, 50 and 118 (Jus 2) - Relating to technical rule changes.

Description of policy issues:

Preliminary objectives: