‘I Want A Chance To Fix This First’
On March 22, Acting DEP Secretary Richard Negrin outlined a 10 Point Plan to improve permit reviews at DEP as part of his budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“I want a chance to fix this first [before considering options like third-party permit reviews]. I think it [the plan] makes sense,” said Acting Secretary Negrin.
“I've heard those nightmare stories. I think we talked about a permit that took four years, a permit that took seven years.
“That should never happen. That team should be able to dive in way before when we start to see delays and we're tracking, we're putting those numbers up to prevent that.
“If I don't have the resources to do some of that internally, then I think it's time to have a conversation about what's the best way to do that.
“I'm open to that conversation going forward, but I want a chance to fix this first.”
However, the Majority Chairs of these Senate Committees decided to move ahead with legislation leftover from last session, and earlier.
Bills Reported Out
On May 8, Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out these bills on a party-line vote--
-- Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing: Senate Bill 188 (DiSanto-R- Dauphin) authorizing the General Assembly to kill regulations by doing nothing [Read more here]. The Senate then passed this bill 28 to 21, with Republicans supporting.
-- ‘Sunset Review’ Of Regulations: Senate Bill 190 (Brooks-R-Crawford) requiring an automatic three-year review of economically significant regulations in a process similar to what was called “sunset reviews” decades ago. That process was abandoned by the General Assembly because it became a costly, time-consuming exercise with little benefit [Read more here]. The Senate then passed this bill 28 to 21, with Republicans supporting.
Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and can be contacted at 717-787-6535 or send email to: smartin@pasen.gov. Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted at 717-787-7112 or send email to: vincent.hughes@pasenate.com.
On May 8, the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee reported out these bills by a party-line vote, Republicans supporting.
Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), Minority Chair of the Committee, said the Shapiro Administration is opposed to the bills, noting it would cost an estimate $70 million to implement this legislation--
-- Review Of Permit Applications By Private Contractors: Senate Bill 350 (Phillips-Hill-R- York) requires all state agencies to establish a program to require the review of permit applications by private contractors for applications that have been “delayed,” eliminating agency review of permit applications on behalf of the public and adding more state bureaucracy and cost on taxpayers [Read more here].
The Committee amended the bill to include, among other provisions, a “deemed approved” requirement and referred it into and out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill is now on the Senate Calendar for action.
-- Allow Waiving Of Any Permit Requirement: Senate Bill 633 (Coleman-R-Bucks) establishing a Regulatory Relief Office in the Governor’s Office with the authority to waive or replace any regulatory requirements proposed by permit applicants with minimal public review [Read more here] about similar legislation last session.
The Committee reported this bill out and then referred it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R- Bucks) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1349 or sending email to: jcoleman@pasen.gov. Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) serves as Majority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1141 or sending email to: tartaglione@pasenate.com.
Related Articles:
-- Gov. Shapiro Receives State Agency Reports On Permitting, Next Step Is To Set Money-Back Permit Review Times [PaEN]
-- Senate Committee Meets May 10 On Bills To Narrow Grounds For Appealing DEP Actions, ‘Stream Cleaning,’ Renaming DEP To The Dept. Of Environmental Services [PaEN]
[Posted: May 5, 2023]
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