Wis. Stat. § 227.19 — WI Code / Chapter 227 / Section 227.19
Legislative review prior to promulgation.
Status: in_force

(1) Statement of purpose; rule-making powers.

(a) Article IV of the constitution of this state vests in the legislature the power to make laws, and thereby to establish agencies and to designate agency functions, budgets and purposes. Article V of the constitution of this state charges the executive with the responsibility to expedite all measures which may be resolved upon by the legislature.

(b) The legislature recognizes the need for efficient administration of public policy. In creating agencies and designating their functions and purposes, the legislature may delegate rule-making authority to these agencies to facilitate administration of legislative policy. The delegation of rule-making authority is intended to eliminate the necessity of establishing every administrative aspect of general public policy by legislation. In so doing, however, the legislature reserves to itself:

1. The right to retract any delegation of rule-making authority.

2. The right to establish any aspect of general policy by legislation, notwithstanding any delegation of rule-making authority.

3. The right and responsibility to designate the method for rule promulgation, review and modification.

4. The right to delay or suspend the implementation of any rule or proposed rule while under review by the legislature.

(2) Notification of legislature. An agency shall submit a notice to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature when a proposed rule is in final draft form. The notice shall be submitted in triplicate and shall be accompanied by a report in the form specified under sub. (3) . A notice received under this subsection after the last day of the legislature’s final general-business floorperiod in the biennial session as established in the joint resolution required under s. 13.02 (3) shall be considered received on the first day of the next regular session of the legislature, unless the presiding officers of both houses direct referral of the notice and report under this subsection before that day. The presiding officer of each house of the legislature shall, within 10 working days following the day on which the notice and report are received, direct the appropriate chief clerk to refer the notice and report to one standing committee. The agency shall submit to the legislative reference bureau for publication in the register, in an electronic format approved by the legislative reference bureau, a statement that a proposed rule has been submitted to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature. The agency shall also include in the statement the date of approval of the proposed rule by the governor under s. 227.185 . Each chief clerk shall enter a similar statement in the journal of his or her house.

(3) Form of report. The report required under sub. (2) shall be in writing and shall include the proposed rule in the form specified in s. 227.14 (1) ; the material specified in s. 227.14 (2) , (3) , and (4) ; including any statement, suggested changes, or other material submitted to the agency by the small business regulatory review board; a copy of any economic impact analysis prepared by the agency under s. 227.137 (2) ; a copy of any revised economic impact analysis prepared by the agency under s. 227.137 (4) ; a copy of any independent economic impact analysis prepared under s. 227.137 (4m) ; a copy of any energy impact report received from the public service commission under s. 227.117 (2) ; and a copy of any recommendations of the legislative council staff. The report shall also include all of the following:

(a) A detailed statement explaining the basis and purpose of the proposed rule, including how the proposed rule advances relevant statutory goals or purposes.

(b) A summary of public comments to the proposed rule and the agency’s response to those comments, and an explanation of any modification made in the proposed rule as a result of public comments or testimony received at a public hearing.

(c) A list of the persons who appeared or registered for or against the proposed rule at a public hearing held under s. 227.136 or 227.16 .

(cm) Any changes to the analysis prepared under s. 227.14 (2) or the fiscal estimate prepared under s. 227.14 (4) .

(d) A response to the legislative council staff recommendations under s. 227.15 indicating:

1. Acceptance of the recommendations in whole or in part.

2. Rejection of the recommendations in whole or in part.

3. The specific reason for rejecting any recommendation.

(e) Except as provided under sub. (3m) , for all proposed rules that will have an effect on small businesses, as defined under s. 227.114 (1) , a final regulatory flexibility analysis, which shall contain as much information about the following as the agency can feasibly obtain and analyze with its existing staff and resources:

1. The agency’s reason for including or failing to include in the proposed rule any of the methods specified under s. 227.114 (2) for reducing its impact on small businesses.

2. A summary of issues raised by small businesses during the hearings on the proposed rule, any changes in the proposed rule as a result of alternatives suggested by small businesses and the reasons for rejecting any alternatives suggested by small businesses.

3. The nature of any reports and the estimated cost of their preparation by small businesses that must comply with the rule.

4. The nature and estimated cost of other measures and investments that will be required of small businesses in complying with the rule.

5. The additional cost, if any, to the agency of administering or enforcing a rule which includes any of the methods specified under s. 227.114 (2) .

6. The impact on public health, safety and welfare, if any, caused by including in the rule any of the methods specified under s. 227.114 (2) .

(f) If an energy impact report regarding the proposed rule was submitted with the report required under sub. (2) , an explanation of the changes, if any, that were made in the proposed rule in response to that report.

(g) Any housing impact analysis prepared under s. 227.115 (2) (a) and any revised housing impact analysis prepared under s. 227.115 (2) (b) .

(h) A response to any report prepared by the small business regulatory review board under s. 227.14 (2g) .

(3m) Analysis not required. The final regulatory flexibility analysis specified under sub. (3) (e) is not required for any rule if the small business regulatory review board determines that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses.

(4) Committee review.

(a) Notice of referral. Upon receipt of notice that a proposed rule has been referred to a committee under sub. (2) , the chairperson or chairpersons of the committee shall notify, in writing, each committee member of the referral.

(am) Committee meeting. A committee may be convened upon the call of its chairperson or cochairpersons to review a proposed rule. A committee may meet separately or jointly with the other committee to which the notice and report were referred. A committee may hold a public hearing to review a proposed rule.

(b) Committee review period.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the committee review period for each committee extends for 30 days after referral of the proposed rule to the committee under sub. (2) . If the chairperson or the cochairpersons of a committee take either of the following actions within the 30-day period, the committee review period for that committee is continued for 30 days from the date on which the first 30-day review period would have expired:

a. Request in writing that the agency meet with the committee to review the proposed rule.

b. Publish or post notice that the committee will hold a meeting or hearing to review the proposed rule and immediately send a copy of the notice to the agency.

1m. Except as provided under subd. 5. , if a notice and report received under sub. (2) after the last day of the legislature’s final general-business floorperiod as specified in sub. (2) is referred for committee review before the first day of the next regular session of the legislature, the committee review period for each committee to which the proposed rule is referred extends to the day specified under s. 13.02 (1) for the next legislature to convene.

2. If a committee, by a majority vote of a quorum of the committee, requests modifications in a proposed rule, and the agency, in writing, agrees to consider making modifications, the review period for both committees to which the proposed rule is referred is extended either to the 10th working day following receipt by those committees of the modified proposed rule or a written statement to those committees that the agency will not make the modifications or to the expiration of the review period under subd. 1. or, if applicable, subd. 1m. , whichever is later. There is no limit either on the number of modification agreements that may be entered into or on the time within which modifications may be made.

2m. If a committee requests in writing that the public service 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 commission shall prepare an energy impact report in the manner provided under s. 227.117 (1) . The commission shall submit a copy of the report to the committee and to the agency that proposed the rule within 30 days after the written request is submitted to the commission. The review period for both committees to which the proposed rule is referred is extended to the 10th working day following receipt by those committees of the report, to the expiration of the review period under subd. 1. or, if applicable, subd. 1m. , or to the expiration of the review period under subd. 2. , whichever is later.

3. An agency may, on its own initiative, submit a germane modification to a proposed rule to a committee during its review period. If a germane modification is submitted within the final 10 days of a committee review period under subd. 1. , the review period for both committees to which the proposed rule is referred is extended for 10 working days. If a germane modification is submitted to a committee after the committee in the other house has concluded its jurisdiction over the proposed rule, the jurisdiction of the committee of the other house is revived for 10 working days. In this subdivision, an agency’s proposal to delete part of a proposed rule under committee review shall be treated as a germane modification of the proposed rule.

3m. An agency may, during the committee review period, reconsider its action by recalling the proposed rule from the chief clerk of each house of the legislature. If the agency decides to continue the rule-making process with regard to the proposed rule, the agency shall resubmit the proposed rule, either in its recalled form or with one or more germane modifications, to the chief clerk in each house of the legislature as provided in sub. (2) and the committee review period under subd. 1. or, if applicable, subd. 1m. shall begin again.

4. An agency may modify a proposed rule following the committee review period if the modification is germane to the subject matter of the proposed rule. If a germane modification is made, the agency shall recall the proposed rule from the chief clerk of each house of the legislature. The proposed rule, with the germane modification, shall be resubmitted to the presiding officer in each house of the legislature as provided in sub. (2) and the committee review period shall begin again. Following the committee review period, an agency may not make any modification that is not germane to the subject matter of the proposed rule. In this subdivision, an agency’s proposal to delete part of a proposed rule under committee review shall be treated as a germane modification of the proposed rule.

5. If a committee in one house votes to object to a proposed rule or to a part of the proposed rule under par. (d) , the chairperson or cochairpersons of the committee shall immediately notify the chairperson or cochairpersons of the committee in the other house to which the proposed rule was referred. Upon receipt of the notice, the review period for the committee in the other house immediately ceases and no further action on the proposed rule or part of the proposed rule objected to may be taken under this paragraph by that committee, but the committee may proceed under par. (d) to object to the proposed rule or part of the proposed rule.

6. If a committee has not concluded its jurisdiction over a proposed rule or a part of a proposed rule before the day specified under s. 13.02 (1) for the next legislature to convene, that jurisdiction immediately ceases and, within 10 working days after that date, the presiding officer of the appropriate house shall refer the proposed rule or part of the proposed rule to the appropriate standing committee of the next legislature as provided under sub. (2) . If a committee review period is interrupted by the loss of jurisdiction under this subdivision, a new committee review period as provided in subd. 1. shall begin for the committee to which the proposed rule or part of the proposed rule is referred under this subdivision beginning on the date of referral under this subdivision.

(c) Waiver of committee review. A committee may waive its jurisdiction over a proposed rule prior to the expiration of the committee review period by adopting, by a majority vote of a quorum of the committee, a motion waiving the committee’s jurisdiction.

(d) Committee action. A committee, by a majority vote of a quorum of the committee during the applicable review period under par. (b) , may object to a proposed rule or to a part of a proposed rule for one or more of the following reasons:

1. An absence of statutory authority.

2. An emergency relating to public health, safety or welfare.

3. A failure to comply with legislative intent.

4. A conflict with state law.

5. A change in circumstances since enactment of the earliest law upon which the proposed rule is based.

6. Arbitrariness and capriciousness, or imposition of an undue hardship.

7. In the case of a proposed rule of the department of safety and professional services under s. 101.63 (1) establishing standards for the construction of a dwelling, as defined in s. 101.61 (1) , the proposed rule would increase the cost of constructing or remodeling such a dwelling by more than $1,000. This subdivision applies notwithstanding that the purpose of the one- and 2-family dwelling code under s. 101.60 includes promoting interstate uniformity in construction standards. This subdivision does not apply to a proposed rule whose promulgation has been authorized under sub. (5) (fm) .

(e) Conclusion of committee jurisdiction. Subject to par. (b) 3. , a committee’s jurisdiction over a proposed rule is concluded when the committee objects to, approves, or waives its jurisdiction over the proposed rule or when the committee review period ends, whichever occurs first. When a committee’s jurisdiction over a proposed rule is concluded, the committee shall report the proposed rule and any objection as provided in sub. (5) (a) .

(5) Joint committee for review of administrative rules.

(a) Referral. When a committee’s jurisdiction over a proposed rule is concluded as provided in sub. (4) (e) , the committee shall report the proposed rule and any objection to the chief clerk of the appropriate house within 5 working days after that jurisdiction is concluded. The chief clerk shall refer the proposed rule and any objection to the joint committee for review of administrative rules within 5 working days after receiving the committee report.

(b) Joint committee review period.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the review period for the joint committee for review of administrative rules extends for 30 days after the last referral of a proposed rule and any objection to that committee, and during that review period that committee may take any action on the proposed rule in whole or in part permitted under this subsection. The joint committee for review of administrative rules shall meet and take action in executive session during that period with respect to any proposed rule or any part of a proposed rule to which a committee has objected and may meet and take action in executive session during that period with respect to any proposed rule or any part of a proposed rule to which no committee has objected, except that if the cochairpersons take either of the following actions within the 30-day period, the joint committee review period is continued for 30 days from the date on which the first 30-day review period would have expired:

a. Request in writing that the agency meet with the joint committee for review of administrative rules to review the proposed rule.

b. Publish or post notice that the joint committee for review of administrative rules will hold a meeting or hearing to review the proposed rule and immediately send a copy of the notice to the agency.