The Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee are both scheduled to meet on May 8 to consider legislation to kill regulations by doing nothing, allow the waiver of any permitting requirement and add more cost and bureaucracy to the permitting and regulatory process.

‘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.” 

Read more here.

However, the Majority Chairs of these Senate Committees decided to move ahead with legislation leftover from last session.

Bills To Be Considered

The Senate Appropriations Committee meets to consider--

-- Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing: Senate Bill 188 (DiSanto-R- Dauphin) authorizing the General Assembly to kill regulations by doing nothing [Read more here]

-- ‘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 meeting will be held in the Rules Room Off the Floor, meaning it could be held any time after voting session begins.  The Rules Room has no video coverage.

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.

The Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee meets to consider--

-- 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]; 

-- 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 meeting will be held in Room 8E-A East Wing starting at 12:30 p.m.  Click Here to watch live.

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:

-- DEP Offers 10 Point Plan To Improve Permit Reviews; Climate/Energy Work Group Co-Chairs Announced; Work Group Formed To Prevent New Oil & Gas Well Abandonments [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Receives State Agency Reports On Permitting, Next Step Is To Set Money-Back Permit Review Times  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Issues Order Directing Agencies To Set Deadlines For Permit Reviews, Requires Money-Back Guarantee If Deadlines Not Met; A Similar Program Started At DEP In 1995 [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]

5/8/2023