Legislature Poised to Enact Major Regulatory Reform

04.29.2010
Issues & Policies

After months of public hearings, legislative committee votes, task force meetings and negotiations that included business, labor and environmental organizations, a final consensus package of reforms to improve the regulatory climate in Connecticut and make the state a more attractive place in which to invest and create jobs is on the verge of final approval by the state House and Senate.

The benefits of the bill, carefully crafted to protect environmental quality, include several measures that will streamline major components of the permitting process and improve the efficiency of the Department of Environmental Protection.  These components include:

  • Establishment of timeframes for completing the review of permit applications
  • Creation of a new program for expediting permits for projects of economic significance
  • Creation of a statewide permit ombudsman
  • Review of procedures for adopting general permits;
  • Reduced permit application requirements for certain categories of facilities
  • Streamlining the process in which the DEP commissioner’s tentative determination to issue a permit can be challenged
  • Establishment of a new “consulting services program” within the DEP, modeled after the Connecticut OSHA program for non-adversarial on-site compliance assistance
  • Requirement that the statewide standards that form the basis of water permitting be adopted as regulations
  • Requirement of the use of various methods for reducing the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses

CBIA deeply appreciates the hard work of all the legislators, the Governor and the stakeholders who have contributed to the crafting of this bipartisan landmark legislation.

We look forward to final passage of the package and continuing to work with the DEP and other agencies moving forward with implementation of measures once they become law.

For more information on the regulatory reform initiative, please contact Eric Brown at eric.brown@cbia.com or at 860.244.1926.

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CBIA IS FIGHTING TO MAKE CONNECTICUT A TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS, JOBS, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. A BETTER BUSINESS CLIMATE MEANS A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE.