Objective of the rule. The objective of the rule is to create chapter Comm 130 in response to 2003 Wisconsin Act 99. This act directs the Department of Commerce to promulgate rules for the certification of manufacturing businesses as eligible to claim certain tax credits.

Existing Policies. There are no existing policies for the certification of manufacturing businesses for eligibility to claim certain tax credits.

New Policies. The rule will certify manufacturing businesses as eligible to claim tax credits under section 71.07 (3t), 71.28 (3t) or 71.47 (3t), Stats.

Policy Alternatives. The alternative of not promulgating the rule would result in failure to comply with 2003 Wisconsin Act 99.

Section 560.28, Stats., as created by 2003 Wisconsin Act 99.

The Department estimates that it will take approximately 200 hours to develop this rule. This time includes meeting with affected industry groups, then drafting the rule and processing the rule through public hearings, legislative review and adoption. The Department will assign existing staff to develop the rule. There are no other resources necessary to develop the rule.

The rule will affect manufacturing businesses that use fuel and electricity for manufacturing tangible personal property in Wisconsin.

There are no existing or proposed federal regulations that address or impact the activities to be regulated by this rule.

Rules of procedure of the Labor and Industry Review Commission. Administrative Code Reference: ch. LIRC 1-4.

Objective of the rule. The commission proposes to update and reorganize ch. LIRC 1-4 to clarify provisions relating to when, where and how petitions for commission review may be filed, to create a provision allowing petitions for review to be filed electronically through the commission's website in Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation cases, and to clarify provisions relating to use of hearing transcripts, synopses and summaries of evidence, and audio recordings of hearing by the commission in conducting its review.

The commission reviews and decides appeals of decisions of administrative law judges of the Department of Workforce Development in cases arising under Wisconsin's unemployment insurance, workers compensation, employment discrimination and public accommodations discrimination laws. The commission's rules govern practice and procedure in such appeals.

Cases are appealed to the commission by filing a petition for review. Changes in available technologies, and in practice in the DWD divisions with respect to receipt and processing of petitions, have led the commission to conclude that it would be beneficial to update and clarify the provisions of its rules of practice governing when, where and how petitions for commission review may be filed. This will include adding a provision allowing petitions to be filed electronically in certain cases. The intended purpose of these changes is to make those provisions easier to understand, to make it easier to file petitions, and to reduce the occurrence of disputes about whether a petition has been properly filed.

The commission reviews cases based on the record made in the administrative proceedings below. The record may be in one or more of several forms (tape audio recording, digital audio recording, court reporter's notes, summary or synopsis of testimony, verbatim transcript). Changes in technologies used to preserve the record, and changes in practice in the DWD divisions with respect to record, have led the commission to conclude that it would be beneficial to update and clarify the provisions of its rules of practice governing how the record may be submitted for the commission's use in its review, what form of record the commission will use in particular cases, and how and on what terms copies of the record will be made available to the parties and others. The intended purpose of these changes is to make those provisions easier to understand, to ensure that the best record is used by the commission in its review, and to ensure that all parties have fair and equal access to copies of the record used by the commission in reviewing their cases.

Section 103.04 (2).

The commission estimates that it will take 40 hours of staff time to promulgate the proposed changes to ch. LIRC 1-4.

The entities affected by the proposed rules are parties to contested cases which are appealed to the commission.

There are no federal regulations governing procedure before the commission.

Objective of the rule. The objective of the proposed rules is to close commercial clamming on the Mississippi River.

The Department is beginning the administrative process to close commercial clamming on the Mississippi River.

Wisconsin's Commercially harvestable native freshwater mussel stocks are in significant decline, especially in zebra mussel-infested waterbodies. Although commercial demand has weakened since 1997, reinstatement of commercial harvest will accelerate ongoing declines in stocks.

Surveys done since 1998 in historically harvested river reaches have demonstrated extreme reductions in population densities and the near absence of recruitment. These losses have primarily been attributed to the negative effects of colonization by the non-indigenous zebra mussel, which first appeared in Wisconsin in 1990. These recent stock reductions are in addition to documented reductions since 1980 from commercial over-harvest and various die-off events.

Management objectives for commercial mussel stocks in the Mississippi River are to return population densities and recruitment to 1980 levels. These levels are documented in WDNR surveys done from 1976 – 1980. Population declines are based on WDNR, U. S. Fish and Wildlife and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers surveys done virtually every year since 1976.

Sections 29.537 (8) (a), and 227.11, Stats.

Approximately 150 hours will be needed by the Department to develop these rules.

These proposed regulation changes would affect and are of interest to potential commercial clammers.

There are no federal regulations regarding commercial clamming regulations. That authority is given to the State.