Governor signs Linville bill coordinating permit, regulatory process for business owners

Legislation to enhance Office of Regulatory Assistance toward making it a “one-stop shop”

April 15, 2009

OLYMPIA – Small-business owners navigating the layers of federal, state and local permitting processes will experience a more integrated level of help thanks to legislation signed into law today by Gov. Chris Gregoire. Sponsored by Rep. Kelli Linville (D-Bellingham), House Bill 1730 further refines the role and duties of the Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA), an office created in 2003 to help answer permitting questions and assist businesses with coordinating among various jurisdictions’ permit review processes.
 
“This is about good government and giving a helping hand to citizens wading through what can be a complex and confusing permitting process,” Linville said. “We’re taking a good program and making it even better with this legislation. Streamlining the process is our ongoing goal.”
 
Linville’s bill formalizes and commits to permitting efficiencies that have been made in recent years, with the goal of ORA becoming a true “one-stop shop” for businesses seeking permitting assistance. The bill more specifically defines the services ORA should provide, and it specifies that the office must submit biennial reports to the Legislature, outlining its performance and suggesting opportunities for improvement. ORA also is directed to adhere to duties around project scoping, cost-reimbursement agreements and coordinated permitting processes among itself, permit proponents and participating agencies.
 
A significant change for ORA in this bill is that government permitting agencies will have the ability to hire temporary employees as part of a cost-reimbursement agreement with the permit proponent. This step is expected to shorten the amount of time it takes for permitting in large, complicated projects, which will help businesses move forward more quickly, without costing taxpayers more money.
 
Through legislation sponsored by Linville, ORA was created in 2003 as an expansion to the Office of Permit Assistance. It is administered by the Office of Financial Management, a branch of the Office of the Governor. ORA delivers its services primarily through a regulatory help desk that assists callers, an informational Web site, and case managers located in regional offices. The help desk receives more than 1,500 calls, and ORA’s Web sites log more than 850,000 hits each year.
 
More information about HB 1730 is available here.