In an effort to reduce government red tape, a bill sponsored by Senator Jim Whelan that would require state agencies to review and determine ways to improve and expedite their permitting processes was approved today by the State Senate and now heads to the Governor.
“People’s perspective of dealing with the government often revolves around long waits and headaches, having to jump through hoops to receive the paperwork or permit necessary to do business,” said Senator Whelan, D-Atlantic. “That simply doesn’t need to be the case. By asking our state agencies to look at ways they can clean up their permitting processes, we can make our residents’ dealings with the agencies hassle free.”
The bill, S-2499, would require the heads of each state agency to conduct a periodic written review of the permits issued by the agency and identify if the permitting process can be expedited. Additionally, they would be asked to review if there are permits that are obsolete or are not cost-effective, if the period of validity on permits can be extended one or more years, and if the permitting process could be completed online.
The bill would require the Secretary of State to post the reports for the public’s view on its website by March 1st of each year.
The bill was approved by the Senate with a vote of 38-0. It was unanimously approved by the General Assembly last month. It now heads to the Governor for consideration.
