SB 598

This bill makes various changes to the rule-making process with respect to

proposed administrative rules considered at the joint annual spring fish and wildlife

rule hearing of the Department of Natural Resources and county meeting of the

Wisconsin Conservation Congress (spring DNR-WCC meeting).

Gubernatorial approval and statements of scope for proposed rules

Current law requires a statement of scope of a proposed rule to be approved by

the governor and the individual or body that has policy-making powers for a state

agency before a state employee or official may perform any activity in connection

with the drafting of the proposed rule. Under this bill, for rules that are considered

at the spring DNR-WCC meeting, only the Natural Resources Board (board) is

required to approve a statement of scope before those activities may be performed.

Under current law, a state agency must prepare and obtain approval of a

revised statement of scope if, after a statement of scope is approved, the agency

changes the scope of the proposed rule in any meaningful or measurable way. Under

the bill, this requirement does not apply to rules that are considered at the spring

DNR-WCC meeting.

Under current law, a state agency must prepare and obtain approval of a

statement of scope for a proposed emergency rule in the same manner as a statement

of scope is prepared and approved for a nonemergency rule. Under the bill, a

statement of scope is not required for emergency rules considered at the spring

DNR-WCC meeting.

Current law requires a state agency to submit a proposed rule in final draft form

to the governor for approval before the rule may be submitted to the legislature for

review and to submit a proposed emergency rule in final draft form to the governor

for approval before the emergency rule may be filed with the Legislative Reference

Bureau for publication. The bill eliminates these requirements for gubernatorial

approval for rules that are considered at the spring DNR-WCC meeting.

Finally, the bill permits automatic approval of a statement of scope for rules

that are considered at the spring DNR-WCC meeting if the board does not

disapprove the statement of scope within 30 days after it is presented to the board,

or by the eleventh day after its publication in the Wisconsin Administrative Register,

whichever is later.

Economic impact analyses for proposed rules

When report must be prepared.

Current law requires each state agency to

prepare an economic impact analysis for all rules proposed by the agency. It also

requires the Department of Administration to issue a report on a proposed rule, and

the secretary of administration (secretary) to approve a proposed rule, if the

economic impact analysis indicates that a total of $20,000,000 or more in

implementation and compliance costs are reasonably expected to be incurred by or