1. (1) Filing a petition. An interested person may petition the secretary for a declaratory ruling under s. 227.41, Stats., to determine the applicability to that person of any statute or rule enforced by the department. The petition shall comply with s. 227.41 (2), Stats., and shall be filed with the secretary.

   Note: A petition for declaratory ruling may be filed with the Secretary at the following address:

   Secretary
   Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
   2811 Agriculture Drive
   P.O. Box 8911
   Madison, WI 53708-8911

2. (2) Response to petition. Within 30 days after a petition is filed under sub. (1), the secretary shall issue a written notice granting or denying the petition. If the petition is granted, the secretary shall initiate a contested case proceeding under s. 227.41 (1), Stats., by issuing a hearing notice under s. ATCP 1.20. If the petition is denied, the denial notice shall specify the reasons for the denial.

   Example: A notice denying a petition for declaratory ruling may be captioned as follows:

   - See PDF for table

3. (3) Dismissal. Notwithstanding sub. (2):

   1. (a) A party may move for dismissal of a proceeding under this section at any point in the proceeding.

   2. (b) The final decisionmaker may dismiss a proceeding under this section at any point in the proceeding if the final decisionmaker determines, based on the record, that the proceeding should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction or other reasons.

      Note: For example, based on a party’s pre-hearing motion, the administrative law judge and final decisionmaker may conclude that a proceeding for declaratory ruling should be dismissed for jurisdictional or other reasons notwithstanding the secretary’s action under sub. (2).

History

History: Cr. Register, May, 1992, No. 437, eff. 6-1-92; CR 09-054: am. (2), cr. (3) Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11.