Nature of the Emergency
An emergency rule is required to meet our statutory obligation to restore the vegetable fund balance to the minimum within a reasonable time. Without this emergency rule, the fund attributable to the vegetable program will remain dramatically underfunded. An emergency rule must be in effect by February 1, 2016, in order to apply to the next license year for vegetable contractors.
Policy Alternatives
Do nothing. If DATCP fails to adopt this emergency rule, the department will not meet its statutory requirement and the vegetable contractor industry will remain in a significant deficit while still receiving the benefits of coverage under the overall fund.
3. Statutory authority for the rule (including the statutory citation and language):
Section 93.07 (1), Stats. directs DATCP to make such regulations as are necessary for the discharge of all the powers and duties of the department. Section 126.81 (1) (a), Stats. allows DATCP to promulgate rules to interpret and implement ch. 126, Stats. Section 126.88 (2) (a), Stats. directs DATCP to promulgate a rule modifying assessments when the fund balance or a portion of the fund balance falls below the minimum amounts required under section 126.88 (1) (a) through (e), Stats. Section 126.88 (2) (b), Stats. allows DATCP to promulgate a rule as an emergency rule without complying with the notice, hearing and publication requirements under ch. 227, Stats and provides a finding of emergency is not required. 4. Estimate of the amount of time that state employees will spend to develop the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
DATCP estimates that it will use approximately 0.10 FTE staff to develop this rule. This includes time required for the investigation and analysis, financial assistance criteria, rule drafting, preparing related documents, and communicating with affected persons and groups. DATCP will use existing staff to develop this rule.
5. Description of all entities that may be impacted by the rule:
Contributing vegetable contractors will be affected by paying higher fund assessments. Vegetable contractors who purchase potatoes for processing and have opted out of contributing to the fund would not be affected. All producers (milk, grain, and vegetable) will be affected by greater fund coverage.
6. Summary and preliminary comparison of any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the rule:
There is no existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities regulated by this rule.
7. Anticipated economic impact
The proposed rule will increase fund assessments to contributing vegetable contractors in order to meet the statutory requirement to maintain a minimum fund balance. It will also increase the overall fund balance, thereby increasing coverage for all producers (milk, grain, and vegetable).
Contact Person: David A. Woldseth, DATCP; Phone (608) 224-5164
Ben Brancel
Secretary
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
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