Emergency rules now in effect
Under s. 227.24, Stats., state agencies may promulgate rules without complying with the usual rule-making procedures. Using this special procedure to issue emergency rules, an agency must find that either the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates its action in bypassing normal rule-making procedures.
Emergency rules are published in the official state newspaper, which is currently the Wisconsin State Journal. Emergency rules are in effect for 150 days and can be extended up to an additional 120 days with no single extension to exceed 60 days.
Occasionally the Legislature grants emergency rule authority to an agency with a longer effective period than 150 days or allows an agency to adopt an emergency rule without requiring a finding of emergency.
Extension of the effective period of an emergency rule is granted at the discretion of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules under s. 227.24 (2), Stats.
Notice of all emergency rules which are in effect must be printed in the Wisconsin Administrative Register. This notice will contain a brief description of the emergency rule, the agency finding of emergency or a statement of exemption from a finding of emergency, date of publication, the effective and expiration dates, any extension of the effective period of the emergency rule and information regarding public hearings on the emergency rule.
Copies of emergency rule orders can be obtained from the promulgating agency. The text of current emergency rules can be viewed at www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code.
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Rules adopted creating
s. ATCP 11.72 (15), (16), (17) and (18), relating to importing, selling, offering to sell, allowing public access to or disposal of prairie dogs or any mammal known to have been in contact with a prairie dog since April 1, 2003.
Finding of emergency
(1) During May and June 2003, at least 12 people in Wisconsin have developed illnesses within one to two weeks after the people have had contact with prairie dogs. Symptoms of the human illness include fever, cough, rash and swollen lymph nodes. Several of these people have needed to be hospitalized.
(2) Preliminary laboratory results indicate that the cause of the human illness is an orthopox virus that could be transmitted by prairie dogs. Some of the pet prairie dogs have exhibited signs of illness. There have been reports of other mammals that have come in contact with prairie dogs also exhibiting signs of illness.
(3) It is necessary to reduce the opportunities for human interaction with prairie dogs or other mammals that have been in contact with prairie dogs in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of Wisconsin residents. Therefore, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is adopting this emergency rule to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.
Publication Date:
June 12, 2003
Effective Date:
June 12, 2003
Expiration Date:
November 9, 2003
Hearing Date:
July 15, 2003
Chiropractic Examining Board
Rules adopted revising
ch. Chir 2, relating to passing and retaking the practical examination.
Finding of emergency
The Chiropractic Examining Board finds that preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare necessitates putting the rule amendments described into effect prior to the time the amendments would take effect if the agency complied with the notice, hearing and publication requirements established for rule-making in ch.
227, Stats. The facts warranting adoption of these rule amendments under s.
227.24, Stats., are as follows:
On December 19, 2002, the Chiropractic Examining Board adopted the national practical examination conducted by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners as the board's practical examination for determining clinical competence in Wisconsin. The board has determined that the national practical examination is a better measure of competence than was the state examination previously administered by the board and that the public health, safety and welfare warrant that the national practical examination be instituted immediately. The rule changes herein conform the terminology used in the board's rule with the textual description of the national practical examination and resolve doubts about the examination grades issued to applicants who complete the national practical examination.
The national practical examination describes the examination parts in different terms than are used in s.
Chir 3.02, although the national practical examination covers the practice areas described in the existing rule. The rule amendments to s.
Chir 2.03 (2) (intro.) resolve this difference.
This order deletes the reference in the board's current rule to passing “each part" of the examination. The national practical examination has one part and an applicant receives one grade for the part. In utilizing the national examination, the board approves the grading and grading procedures of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Grade review procedures in s. Chir 2.09 are superfluous and the rule is repealed. The rule requiring reexamination is modified to avoid confusion over examination parts. The board is proceeding with promulgating these rule changes through a proposed permanent rule-making order.
Publication Date:
June 28, 2003
Effective Date:
June 28, 2003
Expiration Date:
November 25, 2003
Commerce
(Financial Resources for Bus. and Communities, Chs. Comm 105-128)
Rules were adopted revising
ch. Comm 108, relating to the use of rapid response funds in economically depressed areas of Wisconsin to preserve economic development.
Finding of emergency
The Department of Commerce finds that an emergency exists and that the adoption of the rule included in this order is necessary for the immediate preservation of public health, safety and welfare.
Analysis of Rules
Statute Interpreted: s.
560.04, Stats.
Pursuant to s.
560.04, Stats., the Department of Commerce (Commerce), as a part of its comprehensive duties involving community development and economic development, administers federal funds in the form of grants to eligible communities related to economic development. Under current rules, the maximum amount of funds that may be awarded to a community is $1 million per calendar year and the maximum amount that a business may borrow from a local government under the economic development program is also $1 million during any 5-year period. The timing and dollar limitations specified in the rules are barriers to providing a comprehensive and rapid response to changing economic conditions in a community.
Given the uncertainty inherent in today's marketplace, Commerce would like to maximize the use of federal community development block grant funds to positively impact local economies. Under the rules, as currently structured, Commerce's ability to respond rapidly to actual or potential plant closings or relocations in a specific geographical region is limited. The following emergency rule will allow Commerce to respond more rapidly to changing economic conditions.
This rule provides Commerce, working collaboratively with local communities, the ability to quickly respond to changing economic conditions due to potential plant closings, business relocations, layoffs, and other economic factors that could negatively affect the economic conditions in the community and state.
Publication Date:
March 22, 2003
Effective Date:
March 22, 2003
Expiration Date:
August 19, 2003
Hearing Date:
June 16, 2003
Employee Trust Funds
Finding of emergency
The Department of Employee Trust Funds, Employee Trust Fund Board, Teachers Retirement Board and Wisconsin Retirement Board find that an emergency exists and that an administrative rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:
Without emergency rule-making it will not be possible to avoid short-term harm to individual WRS annuitants who will already bear the effects of the market downturn though a zero percent fixed annuity dividend and a double-digit negative variable change.
The first annuity dividends actually affected by the 2002 rule-making (CR #02-049) are the dividends otherwise payable on March 1, 2003. Projections indicate that the fixed division dividend will likely be 0%, largely because of the effect of three years of market declines. The annual change to variable division annuities, which is more volatile because it reflects only the past year's market performance, will be negative and in the range of -26% to -30%. This means that the portion of an annuitant's annuity payable from the fixed division will not increase during 2003, while, if the annuitant receives a portion of his or her annuity from the variable annuity division, that portion of the annuity will be markedly reduced. Annuitants are concerned about the short-term effect of cuts to their annuities being made effective a month earlier this year than was the case in previous years.
The change from April 1 to March 1 was initiated with the best of intentions, primarily to get the additional money from dividend increases into the hands of annuitants as quickly as possible. In retrospect, the timing is unfortunate. When drafting of the rule began in early 2002, the year-end market earnings were unknown and a third consecutive year of market losses could not be predicted. The continued deterioration of investment returns in the latter part of 2002 has magnified the adverse, short-term effect of this change in the timing of dividends; that is, the size of the negative variable adjustment is larger.
Publication Date:
February 27, 2003
Effective Date:
February 28, 2003
Expiration Date:
July 28, 2003
Hearing Date:
August 8, 2003
Financial Institutions - Securities
Rules adopted revising
ch. DFI-Sec 4, relating to conforming Wisconsin's Securities Law rules concerning broker-dealer books and records to federally-mandated standards under the Securities Exchange Act.
Finding of emergency
The Division of Securities of the Department of Financial Institutions for the State of Wisconsin 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 follows:
Congress in its passage of the National Securities Markets Improvement Act (“NSMIA") in 1996 prohibited state securities regulators from establishing or enforcing under their state securities laws or rules, record-keeping requirements for securities broker-dealers that are inconsistent with, or not required by, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC").
