Wisconsin Legislature: 185,105

v. Allowing nursing students to provide allowable nursing services.

w. Allowing parents to be paid caregivers for their minor children in the Children's Long-Term Supports program when providing a service that would otherwise have been performed and paid for by a provider.

x. Allowing for qualified individuals to provide training to unpaid caregivers.

y. Waiving choice of provider requirements.

z. Waiving the managed care network adequacy requirements under 42 CFR 438.68 and 438.207.

za. Waiving requirements to complete initial and required periodic credentialing of network providers.

zb. Adding a verbal and electronic method to signing required documents.

zc. Allowing the option to conduct evaluations, assessments, and person-centered service planning meetings virtually or remotely in lieu of face-to-face meetings.

zd. Allowing the lessening of prior approval or authorization requirements.

ze. Allowing for data entry of incidents into the incident reporting system outside of typical timeframes.

zf. Waiving the requirement to distribute member-centered plans to essential providers.

zg. Allowing the department of health services to draw federal financing match for payments, such as hardship or supplemental payments, to stabilize and retain providers who suffer extreme disruptions to their standard business model or revenue streams as a result of the 2019 novel coronavirus.

zh. Allowing the department of health services to waive participant liability for room and board when temporarily sheltered at noncertified facilities.

zi. Allowing payment for home and community-based waiver services that are not documented in the recipient's plan.

zj. Allowing managed care enrollees to proceed almost immediately to a state fair hearing without having a managed care plan resolve the appeal first by permitting the department of health services to modify the timeline for managed care plans to resolve appeals to one day so the impacted appeals satisfy the exhaustion requirements and give enrollees more time to request a fair hearing.

zk. Waiving public notice requirements that would otherwise be applicable to waiver changes.

zl. Modifying the tribal consultation timelines to allow for consultation at the next future tribal health directors meeting.

zm. Waiving timelines for reports, required surveys, and notifications.

zn. Allowing the extension of the certification period of level-of-care screeners.

zo. Allowing the waiver of requirements related to home and community-based settings on a case by case basis in order to ensure the health, safety and welfare of affected beneficiaries under 42 CFR 441.301 (c) (4).

zp. Applying any provisions under this paragraph automatically to the concurrent 1915 (b) waiver.

zq. Allowing the waiver enrollment or eligibility changes based on a completed functional screen resulting in a change in level-of-care.

zr. Allowing for continued enrollment in the Children's Long-Term Supports program past the ages of 18 and 21.

zs. Allowing the suspension of involuntary disenrollment.

(b) The department of health services may implement any of the items specified in par. (a ) only on a temporary basis to address the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic for which the public health emergency described in par. (a) is declared, and any extension or renewal of the items in par. (a) shall comply with s. 20.940 and, if applicable, s. 49.45 (2t).

(11) Audit of programs and expenditures. Beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021, the legislative audit bureau shall use risk-based criteria to review selected programs affected by this act and selected expenditures made with funds authorized by this act and report the results of its reviews at least quarterly to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature and to the joint legislative audit committee.

(13) Communications limitations under campaign finance law. Section 11.1205 (1) does not apply to communications made during, or within 30 days after termination of, the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, if the communications relate to the public health emergency.

(14) Authority to waive interest and penalties for general fund and transportation fund taxes. For any person who fails to remit a covered tax or fee by the date required by law, the secretary of revenue may waive, on a case-by-case basis, any penalty or interest that accrues during the applicable period if the date required by law for the remittance is during the applicable period and the secretary determines that the person's failure is due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For purposes of this subsection, “applicable period” means the period covered by the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, and “covered tax or fee” means a tax that is deposited or expected to be deposited into the general fund or a tax or fee that is deposited or expected to be deposited into the transportation fund.

(15) Autopsies and cremation of bodies of persons who died of COVID-19.

(a) Definition. In this subsection, “COVID-19” means an infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

(b) Viewing of a corpse to be cremated following death from COVID-19. Notwithstanding s. 979.10 (1) (b), for the duration of the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, if any physician, coroner, or medical examiner has signed the death certificate of a deceased person and listed COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death, a coroner or medical examiner shall issue a cremation permit to cremate the corpse of that deceased person without viewing the corpse.

(c) Time for cremation of a person who has died of COVID-19. Notwithstanding s. 979.10 (1) (a) (intro.), for the duration of the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, if a physician, coroner, or medical examiner has signed the death certificate of a deceased person and listed COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death, a coroner or medical examiner shall issue, within 48 hours after the time of death, a cremation permit for the cremation of a corpse of a deceased person.

(d) Examination of the body of an inmate who has died of COVID-19. Notwithstanding s. 979.025, for the duration of the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, if an individual who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 dies while he or she is in the legal custody of the department of corrections and confined to a correctional facility located in this state, the coroner or medical examiner may perform a limited examination of the deceased individual instead of a full autopsy, which may include an external examination of the body of the deceased individual, a review of the deceased individual's medical records, or a review of the deceased individual's radiographs.

(e) Requiring electronic signature on death certificates with 48 hours if death is caused by COVID-19. Notwithstanding s. 69.18 or any other requirements to the contrary, during the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, if the underlying cause of a death is determined to be COVID-19, the person required to sign the death certificate shall provide an electronic signature on the death certificate within 48 hours after the death occurs.

(16) Credential renewal during COVID-19 emergency.

(a) Definition. In this subsection, “emergency period” means the period covered by the state of emergency related to public health declared by the governor on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72, and for the 60 days following the date that the state of emergency is terminated.

(b) Emergency medical services renewals. Notwithstanding s. 256.15 (6) (b) and (c), (8) (c) and (cm), and (10), during the emergency period, the department of health services may not require an ambulance service provider, emergency medical services practitioner, or emergency medical responder that holds a license, training permit, or certificate under s. 256.15 that has not been suspended or revoked to renew that license, training permit, or certificate or impose renewal requirements, such as continuing education, on an ambulance service provider, emergency medical services practitioner, or emergency medical responder that holds a license, training permit, or certificate under s. 256.15. A renewal that occurs after the emergency period is not considered a late renewal if the application to renew the credential is received before the next applicable renewal date. The department of health services may, for that next applicable renewal date, provide an exemption from or reduction of continuing education or other conditions for renewal.

(17) Child Care and Development Fund block grant funds. The federal Child Care and Development Fund block grant funds received under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, P.L. 116-136, shall be credited to the appropriations under s. 20.437 (1) (mc) and (md). No moneys credited under this subsection may be encumbered or expended except as provided under s. 16.54 (2) (a) 2.

(18) Eligibility for local fair aids. Notwithstanding s. 93.23 (1) (c), each agricultural society, board, or association that received aid under s. 93.23 in 1950 shall continue to remain eligible for aid if a fair operated by the society, board, or association is not held during 2020 because of the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72.

(19) Applications for heating assistance. Households may apply for heating assistance under s. 16.27 (4) (a) at any time during calendar year 2020.

(20) Pay-for-performance; health information exchange. The department of health services shall develop for the Medical Assistance program a payment system based on performance to incentivize participation in health information data sharing to facilitate better patient care, reduced costs, and easier access to patient information. The department shall establish performance metrics for the payment system under this subsection that satisfy all of the following:

(a) The metric shall include participation by providers in a health information exchange at a minimum level of patient record access.

(b) The payment under the payment system shall increase as the participation level in the health information exchange increases.

(d) For purposes of this payment system, the department shall seek any available federal moneys, including any moneys available for this purpose under the the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, P.L. 116-136, to assist small, rural providers with the costs of information technology setup to participate in the health information exchange.

(21) Pupil assessments; public health emergency exception for the 2019-20 school year. Sections 115.7915 (5) (b) and (6) (j), 118.30 (1m), (1r), (1s), and (1t), 118.40 (2r) (d) 2. and (2x) (d) 2., 118.60 (7) (b) 1., 119.23 (7) (b) 1., and 121.02 (1) (r) and (s) do not apply in the 2019-20 school year.

(22) Direct hours of instruction; waiver for private schools. In the 2019-20 school year, the governing body of a private school may request the department to waive any requirement related to providing hours of instruction in chs. 115 to 121, including the requirements in ss. 118.165 (1) (c), 118.60 (2) (a) 8., and 119.23 (2) (a) 8., or in administrative rules promulgated by the department under the authority of those chapters.

(23) Statewide parental choice program; applications for the 2020-21 school year.

(a) Notwithstanding s. 118.60 (3) (ar) 1., a private school that submitted a notice of intent to participate under s. 118.60 (2) (a) 3. a. by January 10, 2020, may accept applications for the 2020-21 school year until May 14, 2020, from pupils who reside in a school district, other than an eligible school district, as defined in s. 118.60 (1) (am), or a 1st class city school district.

(b) Notwithstanding s. 118.60 (3) (ar) 2., each private school that receives applications under s. 118.60 (3) (ar) 1. for the 2020-21 school year by the deadline under par. (a), shall report the information required under s. 118.60 (3) (ar) 2. to the department of public instruction by May 29, 2020.

(24) Full-time open enrollment; applications for the 2020-21 school year. Notwithstanding s. 118.51 (3) (a) and (b), (8), and (14) (b), all of the following apply to applications to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.51 in the 2020-21 school year:

(a) The deadline for a parent of a pupil to submit an application to a nonresident school district under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 1. is May 29, 2020.

(b) The deadline for a nonresident school board to send a copy of an application to a pupil's resident school board and the department under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 1. is by the end of the day on June 1, 2020.

(c) The deadline for a resident school board to send a copy of a pupil's individualized education program to a nonresident school district under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 1m. is June 8, 2020.

(d) A nonresident school board may not act on any application received under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 1. before June 1, 2020.

(e) The deadline under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 3. by which a nonresident school board must notify an applicant of whether the applicant's application has been accepted is July 2, 2020.

(f) The deadline under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 4. by which a resident school board must notify an applicant and the nonresident school board that an application has been denied is July 9, 2020.

(g) The deadline under s. 118.51 (3) (a) 6. for a pupil's parent to notify a nonresident school board of the pupil's intent to attend school in the nonresident school district in the 2020-21 school year is July 31, 2020, or within 10 days of receiving a notice of acceptance if a pupil is selected from a waiting list under s. 118.51 (5) (d).

(h) By August 7, 2020, each nonresident school board that has accepted a pupil under s. 118.51 for attendance in the 2020-21 school year shall report the name of the pupil to the pupil's resident school board.

(i) The deadline for a resident school board to provide the information under s. 118.51 (8) to a nonresident school board to which a pupil has applied to attend in the 2020-21 school year is June 5, 2020.

(j) The deadline under s. 118.51 (14) (b) for the department to provide parents requesting reimbursement under s. 118.51 (14) (b) an estimate of the amount of reimbursement that the parent will receive if the pupil attends public school in the nonresident school district in the 2020-21 school year is June 12, 2020.

(25) Interest on late property tax payments. Notwithstanding ss. 74.11, 74.12, and 74.87, for property taxes payable in 2020, after making a general or case-by-case finding of hardship, a taxation district may provide that an installment payment that is due and payable after April 1, 2020, and is received after its due date shall not accrue interest or penalties if the total amount due and payable in 2020 is paid on or before October 1, 2020. Interest and penalties shall accrue from October 1, 2020, for any property taxes payable in 2020 that are delinquent after October 1, 2020. A taxation district may not waive interest and penalties as provided in this subsection unless the county board of the county where the taxation district is located first adopts a resolution authorizing such waiver and establishing criteria for determining hardship, and the taxation district subsequently adopts a similar resolution. A county that has adopted a resolution authorizing the waiver of interest and penalties under this subsection shall settle any taxes, interest, and penalties collected on or before July 31, 2020, on August 20, 2020, as provided under s. 74.29 (1), and settle the remaining unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties on September 20, 2020. The August 20, 2020, settlement shall be distributed proportionally to the underlying taxing jurisdictions.

(26m) Plan to assist major industries. No later than June 30, 2020, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation shall submit to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2), and to the governor, a report that includes a plan for providing support to the major industries in this state that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency, including tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, forest products, construction, retail, and services.

(27m) Unemployment insurance; federal advances. The secretary of workforce development shall, to the extent permitted under federal law, seek advances to the unemployment reserve fund established in s. 108.16 from the federal government, so as to allow Schedule D under s. 108.18 (4) to remain in effect through the end of calendar year 2021.

185,106 Section 106 . Initial applicability.

(1) Unemployment insurance; charging of benefits. The amendment of s. 108.16 (6m) (a) and the creation of ss. 108.04 (2) (d) and 108.07 (5) (bm) first apply retroactively to weeks of benefits described in s. 108.07 (5) (bm).

(2) Deadlines and training requirements falling during a public health emergency. The treatment of s. 323.265 first applies retroactively to a deadline, as defined in s. 323.265 (1) (b), or training requirement falling during the public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72.