Full Text of HB3017 103rd General Assembly
HB3017enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform | 5 | | Act is amended by changing Sections 5, 10, and 15 and by adding | 6 | | Section 7 as follows:
| 7 | | (20 ILCS 608/5)
| 8 | | Sec. 5. Goal. The goal of this Act is to improve the | 9 | | State's business
climate by making it easier for small and | 10 | | mid-size businesses to deal with
State requirements for doing | 11 | | business. Subject to appropriation, this This goal will be | 12 | | achieved through
providing prompt quick , accurate information | 13 | | about on existing requirements , and avoiding
unnecessary | 14 | | requirements , and increasing the transparency and | 15 | | accessibility of permitting processes by consolidating status | 16 | | updates from State agencies regarding the issuance of permits | 17 | | for covered projects .
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 88-404.)
| 19 | | (20 ILCS 608/7 new) | 20 | | Sec. 7. Covered project. As used in this Act, "covered | 21 | | project" means any project in Illinois that: (1) involves the | 22 | | construction of infrastructure for renewable or conventional |
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| 1 | | energy production, electricity transmission, surface | 2 | | transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource | 3 | | development, broadband, pipelines, or manufacturing; (2) | 4 | | requires authorization or environmental review by a State | 5 | | agency; (3) is likely to require a total future investment of | 6 | | more than $20,000,000; and (4) is the subject of a petition for | 7 | | recognition as a covered project that has been approved by the | 8 | | Department.
| 9 | | (20 ILCS 608/10)
| 10 | | Sec. 10. Executive Office. There is created an Office of | 11 | | Business
Permits and Regulatory Assistance (hereinafter | 12 | | referred to as "office")
within the Department of Commerce and | 13 | | Community Affairs (now Department of Commerce and Economic | 14 | | Opportunity)
which shall consolidate existing programs
| 15 | | throughout State government, provide assistance to businesses | 16 | | with fewer than
500
employees in meeting State requirements | 17 | | for doing business and perform other
functions specified in | 18 | | this Act. The office shall use information technology tools to | 19 | | track schedules for covered projects and metrics in order to | 20 | | improve transparency and accountability in the permitting | 21 | | process, reduce uncertainty and delays, and reduce costs and | 22 | | risks to taxpayers. The
By March 1, 1994, the office shall | 23 | | complete and file with the Governor and the
General Assembly a | 24 | | plan for the implementation of this Act. Thereafter, the
| 25 | | office shall carry out the provisions of this Act, subject to |
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| 1 | | funding
through appropriation.
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)
| 3 | | (20 ILCS 608/15)
| 4 | | Sec. 15. Providing Information and Expediting Permit | 5 | | Reviews.
| 6 | | (a) The office shall provide an online information system | 7 | | using a website toll-free
business assistance number. The | 8 | | number shall be advertised throughout the
State. Interested | 9 | | businesses shall If requested, the caller will be sent , | 10 | | electronically, a basic business kit, describing
the basic | 11 | | requirements and procedures for doing business in Illinois. If
| 12 | | requested, the caller shall be directed to one or more of the | 13 | | additional
services provided by the office. All persons | 14 | | providing advice to callers on
behalf of
the office and all | 15 | | persons responsible for directly providing services to
persons | 16 | | visiting the office or one of its branches shall be persons | 17 | | with small
business experience in an administrative or | 18 | | managerial capacity.
| 19 | | (b) (Blank).
| 20 | | (c) Any applicant for permits required for a business | 21 | | activity may confer
with the office to obtain assistance in | 22 | | the prompt and efficient processing and
review of | 23 | | applications. The office shall, subject to appropriation, may | 24 | | designate an employee of the office to
act as a permit | 25 | | assistance manager to:
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| 1 | | (1) facilitate contacts for the applicant with | 2 | | responsible agencies;
| 3 | | (2) arrange conferences to clarify the requirements of | 4 | | interested
agencies;
| 5 | | (3) consider with State agencies the feasibility of | 6 | | consolidating
hearings and data required of the applicant;
| 7 | | (4) assist the applicant in resolution of outstanding | 8 | | issues identified by
State agencies; and
| 9 | | (5) coordinate federal, State and local regulatory | 10 | | procedures and permit
review actions to the extent | 11 | | possible.
| 12 | | (d) The office shall publish an online a directory of | 13 | | State business permits and State
programs to assist small | 14 | | businesses.
| 15 | | (e) The office shall attempt to establish
agreements with | 16 | | local governments to
allow the office to provide assistance to | 17 | | applicants for permits required by
these local governments.
| 18 | | (f) (Blank). Interested
State agencies shall, to the | 19 | | maximum extent feasible, establish procedures to
expedite | 20 | | applications for infrastructure projects. Applications for | 21 | | permits
for infrastructure projects shall be approved or | 22 | | disapproved within 45 days of
submission, unless law or | 23 | | regulations specify a different period. If the
interested | 24 | | agency is unable to act within that period, the agency shall | 25 | | provide
a written notification to the office specifying | 26 | | reasons for its inability to
act and the date by which approval |
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| 1 | | or disapproval shall be determined. The
office may require any | 2 | | interested State agency to designate an employee who
will | 3 | | coordinate the handling of permits in that area.
| 4 | | (g) In addition to its responsibilities in connection with | 5 | | permit
assistance, the office shall provide general regulatory | 6 | | information by
directing businesses to appropriate officers in | 7 | | State agencies to supply the
information requested.
| 8 | | (h) The office shall help businesses to locate and apply | 9 | | to training
programs available to train current employees in | 10 | | particular skills, techniques
or areas of knowledge relevant | 11 | | to the employees' present or anticipated job
duties. In | 12 | | pursuit of this objective, the office shall provide businesses | 13 | | with
pertinent information about training programs offered by | 14 | | State agencies, units
of local government, public universities | 15 | | and colleges, community colleges, and
school districts in | 16 | | Illinois.
| 17 | | (i) The office shall help businesses to locate and apply | 18 | | to State programs
offering to businesses grants, loans, loan | 19 | | or bond guarantees, investment
partnerships, technology or | 20 | | productivity consultation, or other forms of
business | 21 | | assistance.
| 22 | | (j) To the extent authorized by federal law, the office | 23 | | shall assist
businesses in ascertaining and complying with the | 24 | | requirements of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act.
| 25 | | (k) The office shall provide confidential on-site | 26 | | assistance in identifying
problems and solutions in compliance |
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| 1 | | with requirements of State and federal
environmental | 2 | | regulations. The office shall work through and contract with | 3 | | the Illinois Sustainable Technology
Center to provide | 4 | | confidential on-site
consultation audits that (i) assist | 5 | | regulatory compliance and (ii) identify
pollution prevention | 6 | | opportunities.
| 7 | | (k-5) Until July 1, 2012, the office shall provide | 8 | | confidential on-site assistance, including, but not limited | 9 | | to, consultation audits, to identify
problems and solutions | 10 | | regarding compliance with the requirements of the federal
| 11 | | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. On and after | 12 | | July 1, 2012, the Department of Labor shall provide | 13 | | confidential on-site assistance, including, but not limited | 14 | | to, consultation audits, to identify
problems and solutions | 15 | | regarding compliance with the requirements of the federal
| 16 | | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. | 17 | | (l) The office shall provide information on existing loan | 18 | | and business
assistance programs provided by the State.
| 19 | | (m) Each State agency having jurisdiction to approve or | 20 | | deny a permit shall
have the continuing power heretofore or | 21 | | hereafter vested in it to make such
determinations. The | 22 | | provisions of this Act shall not lessen or reduce such
powers | 23 | | and shall modify the procedures followed in carrying out such | 24 | | powers
only to the extent provided in this Act.
| 25 | | (n) (1) Each State agency shall , subject to appropriation, | 26 | | fully cooperate with the office in
providing information, |
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| 1 | | documentation, personnel or facilities requested by the
| 2 | | office.
| 3 | | (2) Each State agency shall annually provide the office | 4 | | with processes and timelines for all permits having | 5 | | jurisdiction of any permit to which the
master application | 6 | | procedure is applicable shall designate an employee to act
as | 7 | | permit liaison office with the office in carrying out the | 8 | | provisions of this
Act .
| 9 | | (o) (1) The office shall, subject to appropriation, | 10 | | identify and track metrics for the timeline of permit reviews, | 11 | | permit decisions, and project outcomes for covered projects | 12 | | has authority, but is not required, to keep and analyze
| 13 | | appropriate statistical data regarding the number of permits | 14 | | issued by State
agencies, the amount of time necessary for the | 15 | | permits to be issued, the cost
of obtaining such permits, the | 16 | | types of projects for which specific permits are
issued, a | 17 | | geographic distribution of permits, and other pertinent data | 18 | | the
office deems appropriate .
| 19 | | The office shall , subject to appropriation, administer and | 20 | | expand the use of online transparency tools providing: | 21 | | (i) tracking and reporting metrics; | 22 | | (ii) posting of regulatory timelines for permit | 23 | | reviews and permit decisions; those timelines shall be | 24 | | provided to the office by each State agency having | 25 | | jurisdiction over permits; | 26 | | (iii) the sharing of best practices relating to |
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| 1 | | efficient project permitting and reviews; those best | 2 | | practices shall be provided to the office by each State | 3 | | agency having jurisdiction over permits; and | 4 | | (iv) a visual display of relevant geospatial data to | 5 | | support the permitting process. make such data and any | 6 | | analysis of the data available to
the public.
| 7 | | (2) The office may has authority, but is not required, to | 8 | | conduct or cause to be
conducted a thorough review of any | 9 | | agency's permit requirements and the need
by the State to | 10 | | require such permits. The office shall draw on the review, on
| 11 | | its direct experience, and on its statistical analyses to | 12 | | prepare
recommendations regarding how to:
| 13 | | (i) eliminate unnecessary or antiquated permit | 14 | | requirements;
| 15 | | (ii) consolidate duplicative or overlapping permit | 16 | | requirements;
| 17 | | (iii) simplify overly complex or lengthy application | 18 | | procedures;
| 19 | | (iv) expedite time-consuming agency review and | 20 | | approval procedures; or
| 21 | | (v) otherwise improve the permitting processes in the | 22 | | State.
| 23 | | The office shall submit copies of all recommendations | 24 | | within 5 days of
issuance to the affected agency, the | 25 | | Governor, the General Assembly, and the
Joint Committee on | 26 | | Administrative Rules.
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| 1 | | (p) The office may has authority to review State forms on | 2 | | its own initiative or
upon the request of another State agency | 3 | | to ascertain the burden, if any, of
complying with those | 4 | | forms. If the office determines that a form is unduly
| 5 | | burdensome to business, it may recommend to the agency issuing | 6 | | the form either
that the form be eliminated or that specific | 7 | | changes be made in the form.
| 8 | | (q) Not later than March 1 of each year, beginning March 1, | 9 | | 1995, the office
shall submit an annual
report of its | 10 | | activities during the preceding year to the Governor and | 11 | | General
Assembly. The report shall describe the activities of | 12 | | the office during the
preceding year and shall contain | 13 | | statistical information on the permit
assistance activities of | 14 | | the office.
| 15 | | (r) All provisions of this Section are subject to adequate | 16 | | appropriation for the purpose of carrying out provisions of | 17 | | this Section. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 97-787, eff. 7-13-12; 98-346, eff. 8-14-13.)
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