Under this rule, pesticide manufacturers and labelers must pay license fee surcharges based on their annual gross sales of pesticide products in Wisconsin:

• For each product with annual gross sales less than $25,000, the surcharge is $5. This surcharge is added to the current basic license fee of $275 per product.

• For each product with annual gross sales between $25,000 and $75,000, the surcharge is $100. This surcharge is added to the current basic license fee of $790.

•For each product with annual gross sales greater than $75,000, the surcharge is 0.75% of gross sales. This surcharge is added to the current basic license fee of $2760 plus 0.2% of gross sales.

A manufacturer or labeler must pay the required surcharge for each license year ending December 31, based on sales for the 12 months ending September 30 of the preceding license year. This rule first applies to license applications for the year 2002. To obtain a license for the year 2002, an applicant must pay surcharges based on sales for the 12 months ending September 30, 2001.

Dealers and Distributors of Restricted-Use Pesticides; License Fee Surcharges

Under this rule, a dealer or distributor of restricted-use pesticides must pay an annual license fee surcharge for each business location. This surcharge adds $40 to the current annual license fee of $60 per business location. A dealer or distributor must pay the surcharge to obtain a license for each year ending December 31, beginning with the 2002 license year.

Under this rule, a pesticide commercial application business must pay an annual license fee surcharge for each business location. The surcharge adds $55 to a current annual license fee of $70 per business location. A pesticide application business must pay the surcharge in order to obtain a license for each license year ending December 31, beginning with the 2002 license year.

Under this rule, an individual commercial applicator of pesticides must pay an annual license fee surcharge of $20, which is added to the current annual license fee of $30. An individual commercial applicator must pay the surcharge in order to obtain a license for each license year ending December 31, beginning with the 2002 license year.

Based on currently pending ACCP claims and claim volumes normally submitted and reviewed in the last half of a fiscal year, the department estimates the balance in the ACCP fund will be approximately $2.7 million at the end of FY 2000/2001. This estimate anticipates that by June 2001, the department will be able to complete its review of the large backlog of existing cases generated by an October, 2000 deadline.

Based on written cost estimates or written cost approvals, and department knowledge of which projects have been completed, the department estimates ongoing annual expenditures by the industry of between $4.2 million and $4.7 million per year. Department records indicate that at least 90% of these costs will be submitted for reimbursements, and that 75% of submitted costs are paid out. The department anticipates an ongoing annual reimbursement demand of $3.1 million to $3.4 million.

This rule assumes the final version of this rule would be published either November 1, 2001 or December 1, 2001. Based on numbers of licenses issued and dollar values of nonhousehold pesticides sold, the department anticipates that this rule could generate $1,560,000 in annual surcharge fee revenues, beginning in FY 2001/2002. Publication after December 1, 2001 would not provide revenues during FY 2001/2002, since all affected licenses are issued during December.

Note: Separate from this rule, fertilizer license and tonnage revenue for the ACCP fund will first be collected during FY 2002/2003, providing an additional $500,000 annually to the ACCP Fund.

The proposed changes to ATCP 29, Wis. Adm. Code will have an effect on small businesses that sell or use pesticides in Wisconsin.

Currently all manufactures and labelers of pesticides used in agricultural crop production must register those pesticides and pay certain fees for those pesticides, with the fees based on the value of Wisconsin sales. Agricultural coops and farm centers that sell or apply pesticides must be licensed to do these activities. A portion of these fees, known as the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program (ACCP) surcharge, are used to clean up sites that have been contaminated by spills of pesticides and fertilizers. Most of the surcharge fees are passed to farmers through distributor imposed surcharges on the products.

The product and license surcharge fees have not been collect since December of 1997 because the balance of funds that were available in the ACCP fund exceeded the anticipated costs of cleaning up contaminated sites. This is no longer the case, and as a result, the proposed changes to ATCP 29, Wis. Adm. Code, reinstate the product and license surcharge fees.

Most manufacturers of pesticides and many manufacturers of fertilizers, as well as many agricultural coops and farm centers are not small businesses. Some smaller coops and farm centers are small businesses. Since most of these fees are passed on to farmers, the greatest impact should be at the farm level, most of which are small businesses.

The department estimates this rule will increase farm costs by $1,560,000 per year. Based on 30,000 farms, the department anticipates average per farm cost of about $52. Separate from this rule, increases in fertilizer tonnage will commence in July 2001, simultaneously adding $500,000 to the ACCP fund and $90,000 to the ACM fund.

There are no anticipated changes in recordkeeping, reporting, or other practices as a result of this rule.

The state of Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule revising s. Phar 6.06, relating to minimum equipment. The hearing will be held:

Statutory authority: ss. 15.08 (5) (b), 227.11 (2), 450.02 (3) (e) and 450.09 (3).

Statutes interpreted: s. 450.09 (3)

Currently, s. Phar 6.06 references equipment and standards that are out-of-date with current pharmacy practice. A problem has arisen in providing pharmacists guidance on acceptable equipment which is currently available which meets the intent of the board as comporting with good pharmacy practice. Modifying s. Phar 6.06 clarifies the standards for minimum equipment to be contained in the service area of a pharmacy. The modification to s. Phar 6.06 (1) (a) recognizes that an electronic as well as a torsion prescription balance is permitted, and the corresponding sensitivity for each. Section Phar 6.06 (1) (b) requires that an appropriate set of accurate weights be maintained for any mechanical torsion prescription balance used, according to the purpose of compounding. This modification acknowledges the wide range of types of compounding undertaken by pharmacists and allows discretion and professional judgment in the selection of weights appropriate to use. Section Phar 6.06 (1) (c) requires a range of single metric scale graduates capable of weighing 5 ml. to 100 ml. The reference to handbook 44 has been deleted as unnecessary. Section Phar 6.06 (1) (j) recognizes that statutes and rules may be made available via electronic means and therefore now allows for immediate accessibility to those statutes and rules as satisfying that portion of the rule.

Pamela Haack,

Department of Regulation and Licensing,

Office of Administrative Rules

1400 East Washington Avenue, Room 171

P.O. Box 8935

Madison, Wisconsin 53708 (608 266-0495