COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 553
(By Senators McCabe, Caruth, Bowman, Jenkins, Unger, Plymale and
Foster)
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[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported February 25, 2008.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5A-6A-1, §5A-6A-2,
§5A-6A-3, §5A-6A-4, §5A-6A-5, §5A-6A-6, §5A-6A-7, §5A-6A-8,
§5A-6A-9 and §5A-6A-10, all relating to Permitting and
Licensing Information Act; authorizing the Governor's Office
of Technology to establish a permitting and licensing
information system; legislative findings; definitions;
authority and duties of the office; duties of agencies to
provide permitting and licensing information; provision for
failure to provide permitting and licensing information;
reporting requirements; rule-making authority; and limitation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §5A-6A-1, §5A-6A-2,
§5A-6A-3, §5A-6A-4, §5A-6A-5, §5A-6A-6, §5A-6A-7, §5A-6A-8, §5A-6A-9 and §5A-6A-10, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6A. PERMITTING AND LICENSING INFORMATION ACT.
§5A-6A-1. Short title.
Short title. -- This article may be known and cited as the
Permitting and Licensing Information Act.
§5A-6A-2. Legislative findings.
(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) Persons conducting business activities in this state are
required to obtain permits and licenses from various agencies that
regulate those activities;
(2) The efficiency of the permitting and licensing process is
an integral component of effective government, business development
and public participation; and
(3) It is in the public interest that the permitting and
licensing process for business activities should be efficient and
streamlined.
(b) Therefore, the Legislature declares that the permitting
and licensing process for business activities be facilitated and
coordinated by the Governor's Office of Technology.
§5A-6A-3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words have the
meaning assigned unless the context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Agency" means any board, department, division, authority,
commission or other public entity that requires a permit or license
to be obtained from the entity to conduct a business activity in this state.
(2) "Office" means the Governor's Office of Technology.
(3) "Permit" means any permit, license, authorization,
certification, registration or other approval required to perform
an activity.
§5A-6A-4. Permit and license information authority.
(a)
The Legislature hereby authorizes the Governor's Office of
Technology to facilitate and coordinate the permitting and
licensing process for business activities in this state.
(b) The office has the following authority to:
(1) Establish a central permit and license information
repository;
(2) Determine the type of information that each agency must
submit in order to provide adequate information to the public
regarding the permits and licenses needed for a particular business
activity;
(3) Require state agencies and local agencies to provide their
permit and license information, including the type and purpose of
all permits and licenses the agency issues;
(4) Create an online permitting and licensing program
monitored through the state web page; and
(5) Make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature
concerning the functionality of the central permit and license
information repository to ensure its accessibility and reliability for use by agencies and the public.
§5A-6A-5. Duty of agencies to provide permitting and licensing
information; development of permitting and licensing
information repository.
(a) On or before the first day of October, two thousand eight,
an agency that issues a permit and/or license shall:
(1) Identify itself to the office; and
(2) Provide the office with the type of permits and licenses
the agency issues.
(b) On or before the first day of December, two thousand
eight, the office
shall establish, and provide to agencies that
issue permits and licenses, the procedures and methods for
submission of required permitting and licensing information for the
permitting and licensing
information repository.
(c) On or before the first day of February, two thousand nine,
an agency that issues permits and licenses shall submit the
required permitting and licensing
information to the office in
accordance with the procedures and methods established in this
article.
(d) On or before the first day of July, two thousand nine, the
office
will create an internet-based, publicly accessible
permitting and licensing
information repository, in coordination
with the state's e-government initiatives, that contains the
following:
(1) A comprehensive detailed listing of the types of permits
and licenses required for specific business activities;
(2) The purposes of the permits and licenses;
and
(3) The agencies responsible for issuance of the permits and
licenses
, including the agency contact information.
(e) The permitting and licensing
information repository shall
allow individuals to obtain a listing of the types of permits and
licenses
required for specific business activities.
§5A-6A-6. Requirements for adopted, revised or terminated
permitting or licensing information.
No later than thirty days prior to the effective date of the
implementation, revision or termination of any permitting or
licensing requirement, an
agency, subject to the provisions of
this article, is required to provide to the office the current
information relating to a permit or license.
§5A-6A-7. Failure to provide permitting or licensing
information.
The office may assess the reasonable costs associated with
obtaining and preparing permitting and licensing
information from
an agency that fails to provide such information to the office or
fails to cooperate with the office
in a timely manner. An agency
assessed costs under this section shall pay such costs in a timely
manner.
§5A-6A-8. Reporting requirements.
Annually, by the thirtieth day of December, the office
shall report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the
Governor the status of the permitting and licensing information
repository and identify any agency that has failed to comply with
the requirements of this article.
§5A-6A-9. Rule-making authority.
The office may propose rules for legislative approval
pursuant
to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code to effectuate the purpose and provisions of this article.
§5A-6A-10. Limitation.
Although this article creates a central permitting and
licensing information repository, each agency shall continue to
administer its own permitting and licensing
procedures and charge
and collect the appropriate fees.