The Act mandates the licensing of elevator contractors and installers. Under the Act no person may engage in the business of installing or servicing conveyances or working on a conveyance unless licensed as of June 1, 2007. These emergency rules are being adopted in order to provide the elevator industry the ability to comply with licensing aspects of the Act and continue working until permanent rules are implemented.

The Department of Commerce finds that an emergency exists within the state of Wisconsin and that adoption of an emergency rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is as follows.

1. An amusement ride fatality occurred in Wisconsin on July 14, 2007.

2. The department is in the processing of promulgating rule revisions under its Amusement Ride Code, chapter Comm 34 to address two issues that have come to light as a result of the accident investigation. The completion of this rule-making process and their enactment cannot occur prior to the beginning of the 2008 amusement ride season. The issuance of the emergency rules at this time is also necessary to allow amusement ride owners and operators sufficient time to acquire the necessary issuance.

3. The department believes that establishing liability insurance obligations for amusement ride owners and operators will promote safety.

These rules establish the criteria for administering a program that will (1) certify businesses as temporarily eligible for tax credits and exemptions for Internet equipment used in the broadband market, and (2) allocate up to $7,500,000 to these businesses for these tax credits and exemptions.

Pursuant to section 227.24 of the statutes, this rule is adopted as an emergency rule to take effect upon publication in the official state newspaper. In accordance with section 17 (1) (d) of 2005 Wisconsin Act 479, this rule will remain in effect until January 1, 2008, or until the Department reports its certifications and determinations under this rule to the Department of Revenue, whichever is sooner.

The rules specify who is eligible for the income and franchise tax credits and the sales and use tax exemptions in this program, for Internet equipment used in the broadband market. Eligible equipment is also specified, along with how to apply for the certifications and allocations. Parameters for allocating the authorized total of $7,500,000 are likewise specified. These parameters emphasize (1) efficiently initiating broadband Internet service in areas of Wisconsin that otherwise are not expected to soon receive this service, and (2) encouraging economic or community development. The rule chapter also describes the time-specific legislative oversight that is established in 2005 Act 479 for these allocations, and describes the follow-up reports that the Act requires from every person who receives a sales or use tax exemption under this chapter.

The Elections Board finds that under Section 180 of the non-statutory provisions of 2005 Wisconsin Act 451, in subsection (4), the Elections Board may promulgate emergency rules under s. 227.24, Stats., implementing s. 6.36 (6), Stats., as created by Wisconsin Act 451. Notwithstanding s. 227.24 (1) (c) and (2), Stats., emergency rules promulgated under subsection (4) remain in effect until the date on which permanent rules take effect. Notwithstanding s. 227.24 (1) (a) and (3), Stats., the Elections Board is not required to provide evidence that promulgating a rule under subsection (4) as an emergency rule is necessary for the preservation of public peace, health, safety, or welfare and is not required to provide a finding of emergency for a rule promulgated under subsection (4).

This amended rule interprets ss. 5.02 (14) and (17), 6.27, 6.275, 6.29, 6.33, 6.34, 6.35, 6.36, 6.40, 6.45, 6.46, 6.48, 6.50, 6.54, 6.55, 6.56, and 6.57, Stats. The rule requires that persons who request copies of information from the Statewide Voter registration System must pay, for each such copy, a charge calculated under the provisions of the rule.

At the present time, the Elections Board is limited, in the fee that it can charge for information provided by the Statewide Voter registration System, to the fee set by s. 19.35 (3), Stats.: “the actual, necessary, and direct cost of reproduction and transcription of the record." In order to recover both the cost of reproduction and the cost of maintaining the list at the state and local level, rather than having its charge be limited to the amount currently provided under the public records law, the Board needs an immediate rule reflecting both cost components required by the new statute.

Rule adopted amending s. ERC 10.08 (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5), relating to increased filing fees.

The Employment Relations Commission finds that an emergency exists and that the attached rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is as follows:

1. The Employment Relations Commission has a statutory responsibility in the private, municipal and state sectors for timely and peaceful resolution of collective bargaining disputes and for serving as an expeditious and impartial labor relations tribunal.

2. 2003 Wisconsin Act 33 eliminated $400,000 in General Program Revenue (GPR) and 4.0 GPR supported positions from the Commission's 2003-2005 budget and increased the number of Program Revenue (PR) filing fee supported positions by 2.0, from 3.0 to 5.0. The same legislation also abolished the Personnel Commission and transferred certain of that agency's former responsibilities to the Employment Relations Commission, without additional staff or funding.

3. The 2005-07 budget maintained the same reduced GPR funding and position levels and the additional PR positions as authorized in 2003 Wisconsin Act 33. The Governor's proposed budget for 2007-09 maintains the same number of GPR and PR funded positions as the previous two budgets.

4. In order to support the 5.0 PR positions provided in the state budgets since 2003, the Employment Relations Commission doubled its filing fees in August, 2003. Despite that increase, filing fee income has averaged $381,359 over the past four fiscal years, an amount that was approximately $130,350 less each year than the average budget-authorized PR position expenditures for those same years. As a result the Commission's PR fund balance has been reduced to a level that is wholly insufficient to meet current PR expenditures.

5. Unless the emergency rule making procedures of s. 227.24, Stats., are utilized by the Employment Relations Commission to provide the increased filing fee revenue needed to support the 5.0 positions provided in the PR portion of the Commission's budget, the Commission's ability to provide timely and expeditious dispute resolution services will be significantly harmed.

Rules adopted revising s. HFS 115.04, to include the condition known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and related conditions of immunodeficiency to the list of disorders and disorder types found under s. HFS 115.04.

The early identification of particular congenital and metabolic disorders that are harmful or fatal to persons with the disorders is critical to mitigating the negative effects of such disorders. Therefore, s. 253.13, Wis. Stats., requires that every infant born be subjected to blood tests for congenital and metabolic disorders, as specified in administrative rules promulgated by the Department; however, parents may refuse to have their infants screened for religious reasons. The Department has issued ch. HFS 115, Screening of Newborns for Congenital and Metabolic Disorders, to administer this statutory requirement. Currently, s. HFS 115.04 lists 13 congenital and metabolic disorders and types of disorders, for a total of 47 different disorders, for which the state hygiene laboratory must test newborn blood samples.

In determining whether to add or delete disorders from the list under s. HFS 115.04, s. HFS 115.06 directs the Department to seek the advice of persons with expertise and experience concerning congenital and metabolic disorders. For this purpose, the Department has established the Wisconsin Newborn Screening Umbrella Advisory Group. Section HFS 115.06 also lists 6 criteria on which the Department must base its decision to add or delete disorders from s. HFS 115.04. These criteria are as follows:

1.   Characteristics of the specific disorder, including disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

2.   The availability of effective therapy and potential for successful treatment.

3.   Characteristics of the test, including sensitivity, specificity, feasibility for mass screening and cost.

4.   The availability of mechanisms for determining the effectiveness of test procedures.

5.   Characteristics of the screening program, including the ability to collect and analyze specimens reliably and promptly, the ability to report test results quickly and accurately and the existence of adequate follow-up and management programs.

6.   The expected benefits to children and society in relation to the risks and costs associated with the testing for the specific condition.

In consideration of these criteria, the Wisconsin Newborn Screening Advisory Umbrella Advisory Group has recently recommended the Department add the condition known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and related conditions of immunodeficiency to the 13 disorders and types of disorders currently screened for and listed in s. HFS 115.04. Persons with SCID are extremely vulnerable to infections, to the degree that the condition is universally fatal without treatment within the first year of life. With an estimated prevalence of 1 in 66,000, and a Wisconsin annual birth rate around 71,000, the failure to screen for SCID could result in the death of 1-2 infants in the state every year.

The Advisory Group also recommended the Department begin screening newborns for SCID and related conditions of immunodeficiency as soon as possible. Before the screening can begin, the Department needs to add these conditions to the list in s. HFS 115.04. Therefore, it is proposed to put an emergency rule in effect first, to be followed by an identical proposed permanent rule to replace the emergency rule.

The Department will immediately promulgate identical permanent rules to replace these emergency rules.

The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s. 227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public welfare. The federal government and state legislature have delegated to the appropriate agencies rule-making authority to control the hunting of migratory birds. The State of Wisconsin must comply with federal regulations in the establishment of migratory bird hunting seasons and conditions. Federal regulations are not made available to this state until mid-August of each year. This order is designed to bring the state hunting regulations to conformity with the federal regulations. Normal rule-making procedures will not allow the establishment of these changes by September 1. Failure to modify our rules will result in the failure to provide hunting opportunity and continuation of rules which conflict with federal regulations.

The Department of Natural Resources finds that an emergency exists and rules are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare. A statement of facts constituting the emergency is:

The World Health Organization for Animal Health (OIE) lists Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) as a "notifiable" disease, meaning that outbreaks must be reported immediately. On May 11, the Department received notice that freshwater drum collected from Little Lake Butte des Morts (part of the Lake Winnebago system) were infected with the VHS virus. On May 23, May 24, and June 1, respectively, the Department learned that brown trout from Lake Michigan, smallmouth bass from Sturgeon Bay, and lake whitefish from Lake Michigan had tested positive for the virus.

Earlier, VHS had been discovered in the Great Lakes, and was known to be moving from the lower lakes (Ontario and Erie), where it has already caused large-scale fish kills, via Huron, where it has been present since 2005, to the upper lakes (Michigan and Superior). Lake Michigan is connected to the Mississippi River by the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and Illinois River, allowing fish and fish diseases to reach the Mississippi drainage basin. Information obtained pursuant to an emergency rule that took effect May 17 revealed that 88 bait dealers harvest live wild minnows from a large number of state waters, including waters that are near or connected to the Mississippi river, the Lake Winnebago system, Green Bay and Lakes Michigan and Superior.

Twenty-seven species of Wisconsin fish have been identified as susceptible by the OIE or USDA APHIS, including most of our most important recreational and commercial species. It is expected the USDA APHIS will soon expand its emergency order limiting the interstate transportation of these species to apply to all fish species. The VHS virus can be transported from infected areas to areas where it is not yet present via live fish, fish eggs, refrigerated or frozen dead fish, or water where infected fish have been present. The presence of VHS virus in Wisconsin is therefore a threat to the public health or safety or to the environment.

The emergency rule procedure, pursuant to s. 227.24, Stats., is necessary and justified in establishing rules to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The Wisconsin Legislature enacted 2003 Wisconsin Act 118 to streamline the regulatory process for activities in public trust waters. The state has an affirmative duty to administer the law in a manner consistent with the public trust responsibilities of the State of Wisconsin under Article IX, Section I of the Wisconsin Constitution.

Act 118 identifies certain activities that may be undertaken under a general permit. There are no statutory general permits standards that require decontamination of equipment for invasive species and viruses. Without emergency rules to create new general permit standards, any condition imposed would be limited to individual permits only with an automatic 30-day public notice. The required 30-day comment period will unnecessarily delay projects that otherwise could go ahead with prescribed conditions established in a general permit. To carry out the intention of Act 118 to speed decision-making but not diminish the public trust in state waters, these emergency rules are required to establish general permits standards to be in effect for the 2007 summer season, with specific standards that require decontamination of equipment for invasive species and viruses.