Chapter 438
2013 -- S 0061
Enacted 07/15/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT --
REGULATORY
REFORM ACT
Introduced By: Senators Sheehan, Lynch, Miller, Lombardi, and Pearson
Date Introduced: January 16, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 42-64.13-7 of the General Laws in Chapter
42-64.13 entitled
"Rhode Island
Regulatory Reform Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-64.13-7. Powers
of the office of regulatory reform. -- The office of regulatory
reform shall have the following powers:
(1) The director of the
office of regulatory reform is authorized to intervene or otherwise
participate in any regulatory or permitting matter pending before
any executive branch agency or
department or before any municipal board, commission, agency or
subdivision thereof at which a
regulatory or permitting matter is pending for the expressed net
benefit of a business. The director
of the office of regulatory reform may so intervene or
otherwise participate in such pending
regulatory and permitting matters by providing written notice to
the director of any department or
state agency in the executive branch, or the chairman or
presiding officer over any municipal
department or subdivision thereof at which a regulatory or
permitting matter is pending, that the
director of the office of regulatory reform is so intervening
or otherwise participating in such
regulatory or permitting matter pending before such department,
agency, board or commission.
The director of the office of regulatory reform shall
be considered a party to the action and shall
be provided reasonable notice of any and all
administrative hearings or meetings involving the
parties in such matter and shall be the opportunity to
participate in such meetings, hearings or
other administrative procedures of such entity, of which
such opportunity may be waived only by
writing from the director of the office of regulatory reform,
for the purpose of assuring the
efficient and consistent implementation of rules and
regulations in order to foster the creation and
retention of jobs in
consistent with the purposes of this act. Any intervention or
participation by the director of the
office of regulatory reform, other than in contested cases,
shall not be deemed to violate the
provisions of the
general laws. Provided, however, all contested cases shall be
conducted in accordance with the
provisions for hearings of contested cases in the administrative
procedures act, Title 42, Chapter
35, of the general laws. As used in this section, the term "contested
case" means a proceeding in
which conflicting rights between adverse parties are
required by law to be determined in an
adversary proceeding that is judicial or quasi-judicial in
nature, and not purely administrative in
character, before and/or by an agency.
(2) Promptly upon such
intervention as set forth in subdivision (1) above, the director of
the office of regulatory reform shall publish its
rationale for its intervention in such pending
regulatory or permitting matter. The director of the office of
regulatory reform may so intervene
upon findings that:
(i)
That the pending, regulatory or permitting action, in and of itself or as part
of a
regulatory process, has significant economic development impact
upon the state or any
municipality herein; and
(ii) The pending
regulatory or permitting matter, in and of itself or as part of a regulatory
process, has significant impact on any industry, trade,
profession or business that provides
significant jobs or other significant economic development
impact, including municipal and state
taxes or other revenues, to the state or its citizens.
(iii) The office of
regulatory reform shall upon the conclusion of each fiscal quarter
promptly provide to the office of the governor and the general
assembly through the offices of the
president of the senate and the speaker of the house of
representatives a written report identifying:
(A) All matters in
which the director of the office of regulatory reform intervened;
(B) The rationale for
his or her intervention;
(C) The status of the
pending regulatory or permitting matter; and
(D) Any observations or
recommendations from the director of the office of regulatory
reform with respect to such regulatory or permitting
policies or procedures relating to the subject
matter of such pending regulatory or permitting matters in
which the director so intervened. ; and
(E) The status of the
agency rule review required pursuant to subsection 42-35-3.4(d)
including the number of rules reviewed within the previous
quarter, the number of rules amended
or rescinded and the estimated aggregate impact of such
amendments or rescissions on businesses
in
(3) The office of
regulatory reform is authorized to appear as an amicus
curiae in any
legal proceeding relating to any matter.
(4) The office of
regulatory reform is authorized to coordinate with and support the
building commissioner and fire marshal in the development and
implementation of a standard
statewide process for electronic plan review, permit management
and inspection.
(5) The office of
regulatory reform is authorized to coordinate, provide technical
assistance, and oversee state agency regulatory review and
accompanying economic impact
statements on small businesses.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00200
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