Comparison with rules in adjacent states
Illinois mandates electronic filing of campaign finance reports with a standard uniform system for committees exceeding $10,000.00 in receipts or expenditures, strongly encouraging all other committees to file electronically. Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa have optional electronic filing of campaign finance reports.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
Adoption of the rule was primarily predicated upon the legislature's previous appropriation of funds to purchase an electronic filing system for campaign finance reports. In addition, the Government Accountability Board approved the use of an electronic filing system for campaign finance reports beginning year end 2008.
Analysis and supporting documentation used to determine effect on small businesses
The rule will have no effect on small business, nor any economic impact.
Small Business Impact
The creation of this rule does not affect business.
Fiscal Estimate
The creation of this rule has no new fiscal effect. The legislature has previously appropriated funds to purchase the electronic filing system for campaign finance reports.
Agency Contact Person
Shane W. Falk, Staff Counsel, Government Accountability Board, 212 E. Washington Avenue, 3
rd
Floor, P.O. Box 2973, Madison, Wisconsin 53701-2973; Phone 266-2094;
Shane.Falk@wisconsin.gov
Text of Proposed Rule
Pursuant to the authority vested in the State of Wisconsin Government Accountability Board by ss.
11.21 (16)
,
5.05 (1)
(f)
,
227.11 (2) (a)
and
227.24
, Stats., the Government Accountability Board hereby adopts an emergency rule amending GAB 6.05, Wis. Adm. Code, interpreting s.
11.21(16)
, Stats., as follows:
GAB 6.05 Filing campaign finance reports in electronic format.
(1) Definitions: As used in this rule:
(a) "Campaign period" for a candidate, personal campaign committee or support committee has the same meaning as provided in s.
11.26 (17)
, Stats., and for any other registrant begins on January 1 of an odd-numbered year and ends on December 31 of the following year.
(b) "Contribution" has the same meaning as provided in s.
11.01 (6)
, Stats.
(c) "Electronic format" means
computer diskette or a computer file created using Access or Excel software or software that produces a delimited file
the government accountability board's internet-based Campaign Finance Information System
.
(d) "Filing officer" means the government accountability board.
(e) "Registrant" has the same meaning as provided in s.
11.01 (18m)
, Stats.
(2) Any registrant who files with the government accountability board and who accepts contributions or makes disbursements in a total amount or value of $20,000 or more during a campaign period shall file each campaign finance report that is required to be filed by ch.
11
, Stats., in
an
the
electronic format
specified by this rule.
(3) Any registrant not required to file reports electronically may elect to file any campaign finance report in
an
the
electronic format
specified by this rule
.
(4) Any campaign finance report filed in
an
electronic format shall be transmitted in time to be received by the filing officer no later than the time provided by law for filing the report. Any registrant who files a campaign finance report electronically shall, thereafter, file electronically all campaign finance reports required to be filed by the registrant.
(5) A registrant shall submit a trial report to the board before the end of the report period to determine if the report is in a format that meets the board's requirements set out in this rule.
(6)
(5)
Each registrant who files a report in
an
the
electronic format
specified by this rule
shall file, with the filing officer, a paper copy of the report that complies with the format set forth in Forms EB-2, EB-2a, EB-3, EB-4, EB-7, EB-10, EB-10a, EB-12 or EB-24. That paper copy of the report shall be signed by an individual authorized by the registrant to file and filed no later than the time prescribed by law for filing the report
need not file a copy of the report in any other medium and shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirement of s. 11.21 (16), Stats.
Notice of Hearings
Natural Resources
Fish, Game, etc., Chs. NR 1—
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
that pursuant to ss.
23.11 (1)
,
29.014 (1)
,
29.041
,
29.519 (1m) (b)
,
(c)
and
(2) (d)
, and
227.11(2) (a)
, Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on Natural Resources Board Order No. FH-21-08 revising Chapter
NR 25
, relating to commercial fishing on the Great Lakes. The proposed rule revisions address three issues: the definition of the Great Lakes commercial fishing "license year", annual re-licensing requirements for Great Lakes commercial fishers, and the number of available commercial fishing licenses for Lake Michigan.
Hearing Information
The hearings will be held on:
March 18, 2009
The theater
Wednesday
Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
at 5:00 P.M.
29270 County Highway G
Ashland, Wisconsin
March 20, 2009
Cleveland Training Room, L242
Friday
Lakeshore Technical College
at 5:00 P.M.
1290 North Avenue
Cleveland, Wisconsin
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call William Horns at (608) 266-8782 with specific information on your request at least 10 days before the date of the scheduled hearing.
Copy of Proposed Rule and Submittal of Written Comments
The rule and fiscal estimate may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at the following Internet site:
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov
. Written comments on the rule may be submitted via U.S. mail to Mr. William Horns, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Comments may be submitted until March 31, 2009. Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings. A personal copy of the rule and fiscal estimate may be obtained from Mr. Horns.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Natural Resources
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Rule summary
SECTION 1 of the Order amends the definition of the outlying waters commercial fishing "license year" from the current fiscal year to correspond with the calendar year, but only after an 18-month long transition license year.
SECTION 2 of the Order pertains to licensing of commercial fishers on Lake Superior. Beginning with applications due in 2011 for licensing during the 2012 license year, a minimum harvest requirement for annual relicensing is established to be consistent with the requirement for Lake Michigan as revised by SECTION 3 of the Order. Under the proposed Order, the applicant must have reported a harvest during the previous year of at least 20 times the average daily reported harvest for the past 12 months by all fishers on Lake Superior. As with Lake Michigan, special provisions are made for years when harvest limits are changed by the department and when unavoidable circumstances prevent an applicant from meeting the minimum harvest requirement. This SECTION also amends the criteria used to rank applications for issuance of licenses.
SECTION 3 of the Order pertains to licensing of commercial fishers on Lake Michigan. It establishes a minimum number of commercial licenses (65), replacing a provision under which the number of available licenses in any year is reduced when a license is not renewed.
Under the current rule, to qualify for relicensing, an applicant must show that during the preceding license year, he or she either:
(a) reported the harvest of a specified poundage of smelt (by trawling) from any geographic zone or have reported the harvest from any geographic zone of at least 30 times the average daily reported harvest of smelt (by trawling) during the year by all fishers in the same geographic zone, whichever is less, or
(b) reported the harvest of a specified poundage of all commercial fish except smelt from any geographic zone, or have reported the harvest from any geographic zone of at least 30 times the average daily reported harvest of all commercial fish except smelt during the year by all fishers in the same geographic zone, whichever is less.
Under the proposed Order, the standards for annual relicensing are amended so that an applicant's harvest during preceding license year is compared with 20 times the average daily reported harvest, instead of 30 times the average daily reported harvest, of all commercial fishers in that zone.
The current rules provide that a license may be reissued even if the minimum catch requirement is not met, if the department determines that unavoidable circumstances prevented it. The Order clarifies the concept of unavoidable circumstances by specifying some of examples that the department may consider.
SECTION 4 of the Order establishes a priority system used to rank applications for issuance of licenses that parallels the priority system used for Lake Superior.
SECTION 5 of the Order provides that for the single 18-month license year required for transition from the current fiscal-year-based license year to the new calendar-year-based license year, annual harvest limits shall be 2.0 times those that apply to all 12-month license years, but with limitations as to when during the 18-month transition license year the fish may be harvested.
SECTION 6 of the Order makes housekeeping changes needed to implement the new calendar-year-based license year.
Comparison with federal regulations
The department is not aware of any existing or proposed federal regulation that would govern commercial fishing in Wisconsin's waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay or Lake Superior.
Comparison of similar rules in adjacent states
Iowa has no Great Lakes waters and therefore no commercial fishing regulations applicable to such waters. The central issues in this rule proposal are 1) number of Great Lakes licenses, 2) relicensing criteria, and 3) duration of the license year.
1. Number of Great Lakes commercial fishing licenses.
Illinois
— The number of licenses is fixed at 5.
Michigan
— The number is limited to the number issued the previous year. The number issued during the current license year is 56. This does not include Native American commercial fishers fishing under Tribal authority.
Minnesota
— The number of master licenses is fixed at 25.
2. Relicensing requirement.
Illinois
— Commercial licenses are re-issued every 3 years if several requirements are met. Licenses may be issued to corporations. The licensing requirements for individuals and corporations are a) actual residence (for individuals) or incorporation (for corporations) in Illinois for the immediately preceding year, b) legal ownership or legal control of a vessel of at least 12 net tons with valid current Coast Guard documentation, an Illinois port of registration, and demonstrated compliance with all State requirements for such vessels, c) possession of at least 6,000 feet of gill net meeting specified standards, d) agreement to keep appropriate daily records, e) an annual operational plan for the coming year, f) agreement to permit Illinois DNR biologists and conservation police officers to obtain information about the harvest as deemed necessary, g) licensing of all equipment as required by state law, h) a boat captain who is a legal resident of Illinois.
Michigan
— Annual relicensing requires legal possession of the license during the entire previous year or acquisition of the license by transfer during that year.
Minnesota
— None known.
3. Commercial fishing license year.
Illinois
— April 1 through March 31 of the following year.
Michigan
— January 1 through December 31.
Minnesota
— March 1 through February 28 of the following year.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
This rule was not based on a technical analysis of data. It was developed in consultation with commercial fishers to address expressed concerns regarding relicensing criteria for Great Lakes commercial fishing licenses and the dates marking the start and end of a commercial fishing license year.
Analysis and supporting documentation used to determine effect on small businesses
We know that small businesses relating to commercial fishing and wholesale fish dealing may be affected by the rule. However, we currently have no basis for quantifying the economic impacts of the rule.
Small Business Impact
This rule is of interest to commercial fishers and was initiated in response to their expressed concerns. For commercial fishers on Lake Michigan it will allow annual relicensing in some situations that would otherwise have led to denial of relicensing requests. For commercial fishers on Lake Superior, new minimum catch requirements are established that may require additional fishing effort by some individuals in order to remain licensed in succeeding years. The establishment of a calendar-year-based license year will improve business planning for some licensees by making the license year complement the biological fishing year for some commercial fish species.
The rule will be enforced by department Conservation Wardens under the authorities of chapters 23 and 29, Stats., through routine patrols, record audits of wholesale fish dealers and commercial fishers and follow up investigations of citizen complaints.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to s.
227.114
, Stats., the proposed rule may have an impact on small businesses. The initial regulatory flexibility analysis is as follows:
Types of small businesses affected
Lake Michigan commercial fishing license holders will find re-licensing requirements to be less burdensome. Lake Superior commercial fishing businesses will have additional re-licensing requirements, although the intent is not to affect any license holders who are currently active. The redefinition of "license year" will simplify business decision making for some commercial fishers. The increase in the number of Lake Michigan commercial fishing licenses may make it easier for current licensees to sell all or part of their businesses.
Description of reporting and bookkeeping procedures required
The rule will not require any additional reporting, bookkeeping or other procedures.
Description of professional skills required
No new skills will be required.
Small business regulatory coordinator
The Department's Small Business Regulatory Coordinator for this rule may be contacted at
Peter.Flaherty@ Wisconsin.gov
or by calling (608) 266-8254
Environmental Impact
The Department has made a preliminary determination that this action does not involve significant adverse environmental effects and does not need an environmental analysis under ch.
NR 150
, Wis. Adm. Code. However, based on the comments received, the Department may prepare an environmental analysis before proceeding with the proposal. This environmental review document would summarize the Department's consideration of the impacts of the proposal and reasonable alternatives.
Fiscal Estimate
Summary
The proposed rule makes several changes to the Department's administrative rules for Great Lakes commercial fishing. These changes have no fiscal impact at either the state or local level.
State fiscal effect
None.
Local government fiscal effect
None.
Long-range fiscal implications
None.
