227.117227.117Review of rules impacting energy availability.
227.117(1)(1)The public service commission shall prepare an energy impact report on any proposed rule if, not later than 30 days after the public hearing under s. 227.18, the chairperson or ranking minority member of a standing committee, the speaker of the assembly, or the presiding officer of the senate requests in writing that the commission determine the rule’s impact on the cost or reliability of electricity generation, transmission, or distribution or of fuels used in generating electricity. The energy impact report shall include an evaluation and related findings and conclusions on the probable impact of the proposed rule on the cost or reliability of electricity generation, transmission, or distribution or of fuels used in generating electricity.
227.117(2)(2)Within 30 days after the written request is submitted to the public service commission, the commission shall submit a copy of any energy impact report prepared under sub. (1) to the agency that proposed the rule that resulted in the report.
227.117(3)(3)An agency that receives an energy impact report under sub. (2), shall consider the energy impact report before submitting the notification and report to the legislature under s. 227.19 (2) and (3).
227.117 HistoryHistory: 2003 a. 277.
227.12227.12Petition for rules.
227.12(1)(1)Unless the right to petition for a rule is restricted by statute to a designated group or unless the form of procedure for a petition is otherwise prescribed by statute, a municipality, an association which is representative of a farm, labor, business or professional group, or any 5 or more persons having an interest in a rule may petition an agency requesting it to promulgate a rule.
227.12(2)(2)A petition shall state clearly and concisely:
227.12(2)(a)(a) The substance or nature of the rule making requested.
227.12(2)(b)(b) The reason for the request and the petitioners’ interest in the requested rule.
227.12(2)(c)(c) A reference to the agency’s authority to promulgate the requested rule.
227.12(3)(3)Except as provided in sub. (4), within a reasonable period of time after the receipt of a petition under this section, an agency shall either deny the petition in writing or proceed with the requested rule making. If the agency denies the petition, it shall promptly notify the petitioner of the denial, including a brief statement of the reason for the denial. If the agency proceeds with the requested rule making, it shall follow the procedures prescribed in this subchapter.
227.12(4)(4)If a petition to the department of revenue establishes that the department has established a standard by which it is construing a state tax statute, but has not promulgated a rule to adopt the standard or published the standard in a manner that is available to the public, the department shall, as provided under s. 227.135, submit a statement of the scope of the proposed rule to the department of administration no later than 90 days after receiving the petition. No later than 270 days after the statement is approved by the governor, the department shall submit the proposed rule in final draft form to the governor for the governor’s approval, as provided under s. 227.185. At the department’s request, the governor or the department of administration may, at any time prior to the expiration of any deadline specified in this subsection, extend the time for submitting the statement or proposed rule in draft form for any period not to exceed 60 days. The governor or the department of administration may grant more than one extension under this subsection, but the total period for all such extensions may not exceed 120 days. The rule need not adhere to the standard established by the department, but shall address the same circumstances as the standard addresses. If the department fails to comply with this subsection, any of the petitioners may commence an action in circuit court to compel the department’s compliance. If an action is commenced under this subsection, the court may compel the department to provide information to the court related to the degree to which the department is enforcing the standard, except that the information provided by the department shall not disclose the identity of any person who is not a party to the action.
227.12 HistoryHistory: 1985 a. 182; 2011 a. 68; 2017 a. 57.
227.13227.13Advisory committees and informal consultations. An agency may use informal conferences and consultations to obtain the viewpoint and advice of interested persons with respect to contemplated rule making. An agency may also appoint a committee of experts, interested persons or representatives of the public to advise it with respect to any contemplated rule making. Such a committee shall have advisory powers only. Whenever an agency appoints a committee under this section, the agency shall submit a list of the members of the committee to the joint committee for review of administrative rules.
227.13 HistoryHistory: 1985 a. 182; 2017 a. 369.
227.135227.135Statements of scope of proposed rules.
227.135(1)(1)An agency shall prepare a statement of the scope of any rule that it plans to promulgate. The statement shall include all of the following:
227.135(1)(a)(a) A description of the objective of the rule.
227.135(1)(b)(b) A description of existing policies relevant to the rule and of new policies proposed to be included in the rule and an analysis of policy alternatives.
227.135(1)(c)(c) The statutory authority for the rule.
227.135(1)(d)(d) Estimates of the amount of time that state employees will spend to develop the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule.
227.135(1)(e)(e) A description of all of the entities that may be affected by the rule.
227.135(1)(f)(f) A summary and preliminary comparison of any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the rule.
227.135(2)(2)An agency that has prepared a statement of the scope of the proposed rule shall present the statement to the department of administration, which shall make a determination as to whether the agency has the explicit authority to promulgate the rule as proposed in the statement of scope and shall report the statement of scope and its determination to the governor who, in his or her discretion, may approve or reject the statement of scope. The agency may not send the statement to the legislative reference bureau for publication under sub. (3) until the governor issues a written notice of approval of the statement. The agency shall also present the statement to the individual or body with policy-making powers over the subject matter of the proposed rule for approval. The individual or body with policy-making powers may not approve the statement until at least 10 days after publication of the statement under sub. (3) and, if a preliminary public hearing and comment period are held by the agency under s. 227.136, until the individual or body has received and reviewed any public comments and feedback received from the agency under s. 227.136 (5). No state employee or official may perform any activity in connection with the drafting of a proposed rule, except for an activity necessary to prepare the statement of the scope of the proposed rule until the governor and the individual or body with policy-making powers over the subject matter of the proposed rule approve the statement. This subsection does not prohibit an agency from performing an activity necessary to prepare a petition and proposed rule for submission under s. 227.26 (4).
227.135(3)(3)If the governor approves a statement of the scope of a proposed rule under sub. (2), the agency shall send an electronic copy of the statement to the legislative reference bureau, in a format approved by the legislative reference bureau, for publication in the register. On the same day that the agency sends the statement to the legislative reference bureau, the agency shall send a copy of the statement to the secretary of administration and to the chief clerks of each house of the legislature, who shall distribute the statement to the cochairpersons of the joint committee for review of administrative rules. The agency shall include with any statement of scope sent to the legislative reference bureau the date of the governor’s approval of the statement of scope. The legislative reference bureau shall assign a discrete identifying number to each statement of scope and shall include that number and the date of the governor’s approval in the publication of the statement of scope in the register.
227.135(4)(4)If at any time after a statement of the scope of a proposed rule is approved under sub. (2) the agency changes the scope of the proposed rule in any meaningful or measurable way, including changing the scope of the proposed rule so as to include in the scope any activity, business, material, or product that is not specifically included in the original scope of the proposed rule, the agency shall prepare and obtain approval of a revised statement of the scope of the proposed rule in the same manner as the original statement was prepared and approved under subs. (1) and (2). No state employee or official may perform any activity in connection with the drafting of the proposed rule except for an activity necessary to prepare the revised statement of the scope of the proposed rule until the revised statement is so approved.
227.135(5)(5)A statement of scope shall expire on the date that is 30 months after the date on which it is published in the register. After a statement of scope expires, an agency may not submit a proposed rule based upon that statement of scope to the legislature for review under s. 227.19 (2), and any such rule that has not been submitted to the legislature for review before that date shall be considered withdrawn on that date as provided in s. 227.14 (6) (c) 1. a. For purposes of this subsection, a revised statement of scope prepared under sub. (4) shall expire on the date that is 30 months after the date on which the revised statement is published in the register.
227.135 HistoryHistory: 1995 a. 106; 2003 a. 118, 145; 2005 a. 249; 2007 a. 20; 2011 a. 21; 2013 a. 20, 165; 2017 a. 39, 57, 108.