1400 E. Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 8935
Madison, WI 53708
Tobacco Control Board
Rule Submittal Date
On December 7, 2000, the Department of Health and Family Services submitted a proposed rule to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse on behalf of the Tobacco Control Board.
Analysis
The health and fiscal impact of tobacco use are well documented. In Wisconsin alone, 7,800 deaths occur each year from tobacco-related disease. In addition, Wisconsin government, residents and health care providers pay over $1.3 billion annually for health care costs associated with tobacco use.
While tobacco's effects are in individuals' futures; immediate action is required to reverse the recent trend toward rising youth addiction and resulting long-term negative health effects of tobacco use. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 3,000 youths begin smoking every day in the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there has been 19 percent increase in high school tobacco use since 1993, with over 38 percent of high school youth smoking a cigarette in the last month. This increase in youth tobacco use is particularly threatening since over 90 percent of current smokers began smoking before the age of 18. Of the current 1 million smokers in Wisconsin, half will die from tobacco-related diseases such as emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
In addition, tobacco use among specific populations continues to present an ongoing threat to the health of Wisconsin citizens. Wisconsin has a rate of tobacco use among pregnant women that is 30 percent higher than the national average. In addition, the national smoking rate among African-American youth doubled from 14 percent in 1993 to 28 percent in 1997. Finally, the 48% smoking rate of Medicaid recipients is twice the rate of the general population.
The ongoing and emerging health impacts and costs associated with tobacco use necessitate the immediate implementation of the comprehensive initiative to address tobacco use in Wisconsin.
The Board proposes creating chapter TCB 1 relating to the Board's administering and awarding grants for tobacco control and establishing criteria for recipients of the grants. The rule will establish criteria, procedures, requirements and conditions for the award of project grants from the appropriation under s. 20.436 (1) (tc), Stats., to organizations that operate or propose to operate programs reducing tobacco use by preventing tobacco use, promoting tobacco use cessation, and eliminating environmental tobacco smoke.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
Public hearings are scheduled for January 10, 2001.
Contact Information
If you have questions, please contact:
David Gundersen
Executive Director
Tobacco Control Board
Telephone: (608) 267-0944
Workforce Development
Rule Submittal Date
On December 14, 2000, the Department of Workforce Development submitted a proposed rule to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
The proposed rule affects s. DWD 14.24 relating to stale electronic food stamp accounts.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
A public hearing is required and will be held on January 19, 2001. The organizational unit responsible for the promulgation of the proposed rules is the DWD Division of Economic Support.
Contact Information
If you have questions, please contact:
Elaine Pridgen
Telephone: (608) 267-9403
Workforce Development
Rule Submittal Date
On December 14, 2000, the Department of Workforce Development submitted a proposed rule to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
The proposed rule amends s. DWD 80.67 relating to worker's compensation insurer name change or reorganization.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
A public hearing is required and will be held on January 19, 2001. The organizational unit responsible for the promulgation of the proposed rules is the DWD Division of Worker's Compensation.
Contact Information
If you have substantive questions, please contact:
Richard D. Smith, Director
Bureau of Legal Services
Worker's Compensation Division
Telephone: (608) 267-6704
All other questions, please contact:
Sharon Fellows, Administrative Assistant
Worker's Compensation Division
Telephone: (608) 266-2041
Rule-making notices
Notice of Hearing
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule relating to fees required of agent cities and counties that license and inspect retail food establishments. The hearing will be held at the time and place shown below. The public is invited to attend the hearing and make comments on the proposed rule. Following the public hearing, the hearing record will remain open until January 26, 2001, for additional written comments.
A copy of this rule may be obtained free of charge, from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, or by calling (608) 224-4700. Copies will also be available at the public hearing.
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by Monday, January 13, 2001, either in writing to Debbie Mazanec, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, (608) 224-4712, or by contacting the message relay system (TTY) at (608) 266-4399 to forward your call to the department at (608) 224-5058. Handicap access is available at the hearing.
One hearing is scheduled:
Wednesday, January 17, 2001, 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Prairie Oak State Office Building, Room 472
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison WI 53718
Handicapped accessible
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Statutory authority: ss. 93.07 (1), 97.41 (2) and 97.41 (5)
Statute interpreted: s. 97.41 (5)
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (“DATCP") licenses and inspects retail food establishments under s. 97.30, Stats. Under s. 97.41, Stats., DATCP may enter into an agreement with a city or county, under which the city or county licenses and inspects retail food establishments as DATCP's local agent. DATCP monitors, trains and assists the local agent. From the license fees it collects, the local agent must pay DATCP an annual fee to cover DATCP's costs. DATCP sets the fee by rule.
Under current rules, a local agent must pay DATCP an annual fee for each locally licensed retail food establishment that is equal to 20% of the license fee DATCP would charge if DATCP licensed the establishment directly. Effective February 1, 1998, DATCP increased license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses. The fee increase resulted, in part, from a legislative budget change that required DATCP to recover 60% (rather than 50%) of its food safety program costs from license fees. The fee change approximately doubled DATCP's license fees, increasing the maximum retail food license fee from $210 to $450 and the minimum fee from $42 to $90.
As an indirect consequence of DATCP's 1998 license fee increase, local agents were also required to pay increased fees to DATCP beginning with the license year ending June 30, 2000. Because local agents were required to pay 20% of the increased license fee amounts, their fee obligations to DATCP effectively doubled. This projected fee increase exceeded DATCP's needs and burdened local agents.
DATCP adopted an emergency rule to ease this fee burden for the license year ending June 30, 2000. The emergency rule temporarily reduced the local agents' percentage fee payment from 20% to 10%. This rule “permanently reduces the local agents' percentage fee payment from 20% to 10%.
Fiscal Estimate
DATCP licenses and inspects retail food establishments under s. 97.30, Stats. Under s. 97.41, Stats., DATCP may enter into an agreement with a city or county, under which the city or county licenses and inspects retail food establishments for DATCP. DATCP monitors and assists the agent city or county. From the license fees that it collects, an agent city or county must pay DATCP an annual fee to cover DATCP's cost. Under current rules, an agent city or county must pay DATCP an annual fee for each retail food establishment that is equal to 20% of the license fee that DATCP would charge if DATCP licensed the establishment directly. This percentage rate has been in effect since the agent program was established.
DATCP, by rule, establishes state license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses directly. An agent city or county may charge a license fee that differs from the state license fee established by DATCP.
Effective February 1, 1998, DATCP by rule increased license fees for retail food establishments that it licenses. The fee increase was caused, in part, by a legislative budget change that required DATCP to recover 60% (rather than 50%) of its program costs from license fees. The fee change approximately doubled DATCP license fees, increasing the maximum retail food license fee from $210 to $450 and the minimum fee from $42 to $90.
DATCP's 1998 license fee increase incidentally increases the annual fees that agent cities are required to pay to DATCP, beginning with the license year ending June 30, 2000. As a result of DATCP's license fee increase, agent cities and counties are required to pay DATCP 20% of the increased license fee amounts. This effectively doubles city and county fee payments to DATCP and may impose a serious financial burden on city and county governments. The increased fee payments also would exceed the amounts needed to cover DATCP costs under agent city and agent county agreements.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The modifications to s. ATCP 74.08(1), Wis. Adm. Code (Retail Food Establishment; Local Government Regulation) will help small businesses. There are 23 agents and approximately 3,600 retail food establishments that are part of the department's agent retail food establishment licensing and inspection program. Chapter ATCP 74, Wis. Adm. Code, gives the city and county governments jurisdiction to license and inspect these establishments. The cities and counties also have the right to charge their own fees based on the costs of their programs.
Section ATCP 74.08 (1), Wis. Adm. Code requires the local governments to pay the department a 20% reimbursement based on the fees charged in s. ATCP 75.015 (2m) Wis. Adm. Code. When the department increases its fees, this causes the local governments to increase their fees. Those actions increase the fees charged to the retail food establishments.
The proposed change to s. ATCP 74.08 (1) Wis. Adm. Code, will lower the required reimbursement rate for the retail agent program from 20% to 10% of the fees charged in s. ATCP 75.015 (2m). This will eliminate the increase in reimbursement costs for the local governments, which resulted from the department's last increase in license fees. This will, in turn, reduce the need for county and local governments to increase license fees for retail food establishments.
Notice of Hearing
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
The state of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule (proposed ch. ATCP 161, subch. III, Wis. Adm. Code) relating to annual grants to ethanol producers. The hearing will be held:
Wednesday, January 24, 2001, 1:30 p.m.
