Administrative rules concerning the professions, establishments, and activities regulated by state professional boards and the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services are routinely reviewed and updated. Rule updates must go through a process involving many distinct and important steps, including approval by both the Governor's Office and Legislature.
An overview of the rulemaking process is available in Part 2 and Appendix of the Wisconsin Legislative Council's Administrative Rules Procedures Manual. In addition, legislation made the following changes to the rulemaking process:
- 2017 Wisconsin Act 57 makes various changes to the rulemaking process, including the preparation of statements of scope, economic impact analysis (EIA), gubernatorial approval of rules, and emergency rules. See the associated Wisconsin Legislative Council Act Memo for a detailed summary of these changes.
- 2017 Wisconsin Act 108 makes various changes relating to administrative rules, including the creation of an expedited process for the repeal of certain rules, biennial reporting to the Legislature of existing rules, agency review of legislative enactments for determining any necessary rule changes, and retrospective EIA. See the associated Wisconsin Legislative Council Act Memo for a detailed summary of these changes.
Active Rulemaking Projects
The Pending Rules page provides the status of all active rulemaking projects. Questions concerning a project may be submitted to DSPSAdminRules@wisconsin.gov.
Comment on Rulemaking Projects
A rulemaking project on the Pending Rules page with a current status of "EIA Comment Period" or "Public Hearing Scheduled" is open for public comment for the period specified in the applicable published document (Notice of Economic Impact Comment Period or Notice of Public Hearing).
During an EIA comment period, public comment is limited to information and advice concerning economic impact from businesses, business sectors, associations representing businesses, local governmental units, and individuals that may be affected by proposed rules. Other comments concerning proposed rules may be submitted later in the rulemaking process, at the time a public hearing on proposed rules is scheduled.
The Public Comments page provides a list of rules on which economic impact comments are being solicited, as well as links to public hearing notices on the Wisconsin Legislature's website.
Suggest a Rulemaking Project
To suggest a review of or
modification to administrative rules of a state professional board or the Wisconsin
Department of Safety and Professional Services, please e-mail DSPSAdminRules@wisconsin.gov.