H-3370.1

HOUSE BILL 2593

ByRepresentatives Boehnke, DeBolt, Goehner, Steele, Gildon, and Tharinger

AN ACT Relating to promoting economic development through enhancing state agency permitting; and amending RCW 43.42A.010, 43.42A.020, and 43.42A.040.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 43.42A.010 and 2014 c 68 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Agency" means the following executive branch agencies and offices of statewide elected officials:

(a) Department of agriculture;

(b) Department of archaeology and historic preservation;

(c) Department of ecology;

(d) Department of fish and wildlife;

(e) Gambling commission;

(f) Department of health;

(g) Department of labor and industries;

(h) Department of licensing;

(i) Liquor ((control))and cannabis board;

(j) Department of natural resources;

(k) Parks and recreation commission;

(l) Department of revenue;

(m) Department of transportation; and

(n) Utilities and transportation commission.

(2) "Office" means the office of regulatory assistance.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.42A.020 and 2014 c 68 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) By June 30, 2014, each agency shall prepare and submit to the office an inventory of all the business permits indicated in the December 30, 2013, performance audit report by the state auditor.

(2)(a) Each agency shall track and record the time it takes to make permitting decisions.

(b) Agencies are encouraged to track all relevant information that can assist Washington businesses in determining how long a permit process will take so that the businesses may successfully plan their activities and make sound investment choices, reduce permitting costs to the taxpayers in the form of unnecessary or duplicate staff work, and avoid permitting decision delays that can result in higher costs and lost revenue.

(c) At a minimum, each agency shall track and record the following information for each permit application it receives or decision it issues:

(i) The application completion time, which is the time elapsed from the initial submission of an application by an entity seeking a permit to the time at which the agency has determined that the application is complete; and

(ii) The permit decision time, which is the time elapsed from receipt of a complete application to the agency's issuance of a decision approving or denying the permit.

(3) Each agency shall calculate, for each permit it has identified in its inventory, the following performance data:

(a) The average application completion and permit decision times for each permit, as measured by the times tracked for ninety percent of applications or permit decisions, excluding the five percent that took the shortest and the five percent that took the longest;

(b) The maximum application completion time, excluding applications that were withdrawn or never completed; and

(c) The maximum permit decision time.

(4) Each agency shall report to the office, as provided in this subsection (4).

(a) By March 1, 2016, each agency shall report the times calculated under subsection (3) of this section for the period from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2016.

(b) By March 1((, 2018, and March 1, 2020))of each year in which a comprehensive progress report under RCW 43.42A.040(1) is published by the office, each agency shall report based on the times tracked and calculated since the previous reporting period.

(c) In each of the reports required under this section, each agency shall submit an updated inventory of permits. Each agency shall identify any permits listed in its inventory for which the agency has not yet posted permit processing times and other information as required under RCW 43.42A.030 and an estimated date for such posting prior to June 30, 2015.

(5) The office shall make available to the legislature, upon request, the individual agency reports submitted under subsection (4) of this section.

Sec. 3. RCW 43.42A.040 and 2014 c 68 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) By September ((30th of))30, 2016, and each even-numbered year thereafter up to and including ((2020))2028, the office shall publish a comprehensive progress report to the economic development committees of the house of representatives and the senate and to the governor on the performance of agencies in tracking permit timelines and other efforts to improve clarity and predictability of regulatory permitting. The report must include at a minimum for each agency a summary of the data reported by the agency to the office under RCW 43.42A.020(4).

(2) The office shall post the comprehensive progress report on its web site. The report must be easily accessible and designed in a customer-friendly format.

(3) Beginning with the 2016 report, the office must identify permits with processing and decision times that are most improved and processing and decision times that are most in need of improvement, as indicated by the performance data collected under RCW 43.42A.020. Each agency may include a statement describing any process improvements the agency has identified for implementation in order to improve processing and decision times.

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