In 2001, Minn. Stats. §
626.951, provided for a statewide racial profiling study with voluntary participation by law enforcement agencies. Sixty-five jurisdictions participated, reporting 194,189 total stops. The 2003 report from this study analyzed one year of data collected from the sixty-five jurisdictions. The complete report is available at
http://archive.leg.state.mn.us/docs/2004/mandated/040200.pdf. According to the Minnesota study,
Law enforcement officers stopped Black, Latino, and American Indian drivers at greater rates than White drivers, searched Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians at greater rates than White drivers, and found contraband as a result of searches of Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians at lower rates than in searches of White drivers. . . . (2001 Report, p. 1)
The report includes the conclusion that the patterns of disparate treatment “. . . suggest a strong likelihood that racial/ethnic bias plays a role in traffic stop policies and practices in Minnesota."
Minnesota does not currently have a statewide law requiring law enforcement officers to collect data and prepare reports on the race of persons who are stopped or searched in a traffic stop. However, Minnesota does have a law that defines “racial profiling" and requires the chief law enforcement officer of every state and local law enforcement agency to enforce a written anti-racial profiling policy governing the conduct of officers engaged in stops of citizens. Minn. Stat. §
626.8471.
Iowa:
Iowa does not currently have a law requiring the police to collect traffic stop data that includes the race or ethnicity of vehicle operators or passengers. Between October 1, 2000 and March 3, 2002, the Iowa State Patrol collected traffic stop data from over 260,000 traffic stops. A report was prepared in April 2003, by the Iowa state Patrol and the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.
The 2003 Report, available at http://publications. iowa.gov/7228/1/Stop_Data.pdf, concluded, among other things, that,
Can we say whether or not ISP troopers are stopping, ticketing, searching or arresting people differently because of their race? The data in this report do not conclusively answer this question. They do give us an indication that Iowans are not more or less likely to be stopped by ISP troopers because of their race. . . .
The data in this report also do not definitively answer the question of whether or not the ISP troopers are influenced by a person's race or ethnicity when deciding whether to conduct a search or issue a warning vs. a formal sanction. The data do seem to indicate that race or ethnicity may have sometimes influenced decisions in these areas. However, such observations are only indications because a substantial number of cases had missing data and because the impact of numerous other variables that should affect such decisions is unknown (e.g. existence of outstanding warrants, severity of alleged traffic violations, visible contraband, incriminating driver or passenger behavior). (2003 Report p. 8)
Illinois:
Illinois began collecting traffic stop data and issuing annual reports on January 1, 2004. The Illinois law was substantially amended in 2008. A Racial Profiling Prevention and Data Oversight Board (Board) was created to oversee plans and strategies to eliminate racial profiling in Illinois.
The recent 2008 Illinois report based on data reported from 2,518,825 traffic stops, sought to answer two questions.
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To what extent, if any, does race influence an officer's decision to stop a vehicle?
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To what extent, if any, does race influence the disposition of the stop? Was a citation issued? Was the vehicle subject to a consent search?
The ratio of minority drivers stopped to the minority driving population has improved each year. That is, the percentage of minority divers stopped by the police is getting closer to the estimated driving population.
Law enforcement agencies continue to pay careful attention to this issue and many have introduced policies and procedures to correct deficiencies.
Our newest measures of post-stop performance — duration of stop — suggests that traffic stops of minority drivers consume about the same time as those for Caucasian drivers.
The number of consent searches in Illinois continues to decline, but minority drivers are still more likely to be consent searched than Caucasian drivers. Differential refusal rates do not appear to contribute to this difference.
Police officers conducting consent searches are far more likely to find contraband in a vehicle driven by a Caucasian driver than by a minority driver. While there has been a significant amount of attention devoted to this issue, there is little evidence at this point of substantial improvement. (2008 Report, p. 13)
The Illinois Act sunsets on July 1, 2010. The Illinois Board must recommend whether to continue the Illinois racial profiling study beyond July 1, 2010.
Michigan:
Michigan does not have a statewide law currently in effect requiring traffic stop data collection and analysis, although some local studies have been conducted in Michigan.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
OJA utilized an advisory committee and public listening sessions in developing proposed ch.
OJA 1.
OJA appointed a 17-member Traffic Stop Data collection Advisory Committee to advise the agency with respect to this rulemaking. The committee included representatives of law enforcement (police chiefs, county sheriff, the state patrol) a police association, legislators, community representatives, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources, the Office of the Public Defender and a civil liberties organization. The advisory committee met on September 28, 2009, October 14, 2009, November 18, 2009, December 17, 2009 and January 14, 2010. Presentations made to the committee include:
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The Illinois Traffic Stop Study: Alexander Weiss, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Research in Law and Justice.
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Data Elements — Jerry Jansen, Criminal Justice Consultant, OJA.
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Technology — Erin Egan, Citations & Withdrawals Section, Badger TraCS Program Manager, DOT, Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Funding – Kathy Cushman, Citations and Withdrawals Section, DOT Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Milwaukee Police Department Traffic Enforcement Policy and Data Analysis — Milwaukee Chief of Police Ed. Flynn.
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Fundamental Questions and Benchmarks and a Draft Data Analysis Report Outline — Kristi Waits, Program Director, OJA Strategic Analysis Center.
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Monitoring Stops for Biased Policing in Washington State — John R. Batiste, Chief of the Washington State Patrol.
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Data Collection and Community Partnerships — Noble Wray, Chief of Police, Madison Police Department.
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Local Law Enforcement Data Assessment (LLEDA), UW Report to BOTS — Joni Graves, Program Director, UW-Madison Transportation Information Center.
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Analysis Software for Local Analysis — Greg Ridgeway, Ph.D. Director, RAND Corporation.
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Benchmarks — Lorie Fridell, Ph.D., University of South Florida, Department of Criminology.
Listening Sessions were held by the Advisory Committee and OJA from 4 and 7 PM on November 11, 2009 (La Crosse), November 12, 2009 (Green Bay), November 18 (Milwaukee), December 1, 2009 (Rice Lake, Superior, Crandon and Keshena), and December 12, 2009 (Kenosha/Racine). At the sessions the committee and OJA heard from citizens who commented about the issue of racial profiling and traffic stops and about the traffic stop data collection project mandated by
2009 Wisconsin Act 28.
Small Business Impact
This rule does not have a significant effect on small business.
Fiscal Estimate
State fiscal effect
Increase costs, program revenue.
Local government fiscal effect
No fiscal effect.
Private sector fiscal effect
No fiscal effect.
A copy of the full fiscal estimate may be obtained from the agency contact person listed below, upon request.
Agency Contact Person
Dennis Schuh, Program Director
Office of Justice Assistance
1 S. Pinckney Street, Suite 615
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-7682
Notice of Hearing
Natural Resources
Fish, Game, etc., Chs. NR 1—
Hearing Information
The hearing will be held on:
Video conference participation will be available at:
April 14, 2010 The Pyle Center
Wednesday 702 Langdon St.
at 10:00 a.m. Madison
Room 211
Communication Art Center (CAC)
UW-Stevens Point, 1101 Reserve St.
Stevens Point
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of information material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call Kathy Nelson (608) 266-3545 with specific information on your request at least 10 days before the date of the scheduled hearing.
Copies of Proposed Rule and Submission of Written Comments
The proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at the following Internet site:
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov. A personal copy of the proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be obtained from Ms. Nelson.
Written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted via U.S. mail to Ms. Kathy Nelson FR/4 Bureau of Forest Management, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Comments may be submitted until April 30, 2010.
Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings.
Analysis Prepared by Department of Natural Resources
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Sections
77.06 (2) and
77.91 (1), Wis. Stats. directs the department to establish stumpage rates on an annual basis for use in determining the severance and yield taxes assessed when timber is harvested from lands designated as forest crop land and managed forest land. New rates shall take effect on November 1 each year. Section
77.82 gives implicit authority to the department to create rules for processing petitions.
Summary of proposed rule
The proposed rule:
1.
Revises the annual stumpage rates for the period between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011 as required in ss.
77.06(2) and
77.91(1), Stats. The average change from the current rate is a 3% decrease in sawtimber, a 4% decrease for pulpwood, a 3% decrease for mixed products, and a 1% increase in piece products.
2. Creates an exemption for payment to f forest crop law termination taxes if land ownership changes have occurred after the original landowner received notification of forest crop law expiration and new landowner certifies intent to enter into the managed forest law program.
3. Clarifies the requirements for additions to existing managed forest law lands.
4. Amends the certified plan writer reporting requirements for plan preparation costs and requirements for making an offer to landowners for management plan writing services. Amend the department billing requirements when invoicing landowner for plan preparation fees.
5. Amends the stocking requirements for management of plantations.
Annual Stumpage Rate Adjustment:
For purposes of the Forest Crop Law (FCL) and the Managed Forest Law (MFL), this rule repeals NR 46.30(2)(a) to (g) and recreates NR 46.30(2)(a) to (h) to revise annual stumpage values used to calculate severance and yield taxes due on timber cut during the period from November 1, 2010 through October 31, 2011. One new stumpage table is created to represent stumpage values used to calculate severance and yield taxes on timber if the timber sold by weight (tons) includes both pulpwood and fine woody material. Thirteen separate zones reflect varying stumpage values for different species and products across the state.
Timber prices have steadily fallen throughout the past year, although overall prices did not fall as significantly as what was observed one year earlier. The average statewide prices for sawlogs decreased 3%, with a range of a 13% increase to a 34% decrease. The average statewide prices for pulpwood decreased 4%, with a range of a 16% increase to a 20% decrease. Prices for mixed products (mixture of sawlogs and pulpwood for red pine, white pine and spruce) have dropped 3%, with a range of a 32% increase and a 21% decrease. Piece products (posts, poles and Christmas trees) had a 1% increase in prices, with some market zones having an increase in prices of 4% to a 1% decrease.
While the statewide stumpage rates largely decreased, there are fluctuations between market zones and individual prices. Of all total 630 prices calculated, 149 (24%) increased, 198 (31%) decreased and 283 (45%) stayed the same.
The severance and yield tax collected in CY 2009 was $1,284,934. This value is 26% lower than it was in CY 2008. Timber harvest volumes are down since CY 2008 by the following amounts:
Timber Product
|
% Change
|
Cordwood
|
Down 17%
|
Fuelwood
|
Up 97%
|
Sawlogs
|
Down 20%
|
Mixed Product
|
Up 106%
|
Piece Products
|
Down 2%
|
If the same amount of timber is harvested in 2011 as was harvested in 2009, local municipalities will receive a decrease in the yield and severance tax payments by an estimated $1,500. Estimates are based on the average change in rates for private land timber sales across species and zone for each product type (cordwood, sawtimber and mixed), the volumes reported and paid for in CY 2009, and the assumption that the volume and the ratio of the cordwood and sawtimber will remain the same. Actual impact for a county and municipality will vary by the number of harvests completed and the actual species and products cut.
