PDFRCW 43.42A.030

Information available to permit applicantsLinks from agencies' websites to office of regulatory assistance's websiteCentral repository of informationSearchability of information on central repository.

(1) To provide meaningful customer service that informs project planning and decision making by the citizens and businesses served, each agency must make available to permit applicants the following information through a link from the agency's website to the office's website, as provided in subsection (4) of this section:
(a) A list of the types of permit assistance available and how such assistance may be accessed;
(b) An estimate of the time required by the agency to process a permit application and issue a decision;
(c) Other tools to help applicants successfully complete a thorough application, such as:
(i) Examples of model completed applications;
(ii) Examples of approved applications, appropriately redacted to remove sensitive information; and
(iii) Checklists for ensuring a complete application.
(2) Each agency shall update at reasonable intervals the information it posts pursuant to this section.
(3)(a) Agencies must post the information required under subsection (1) of this section for all permits as soon as practicable, and no later than the deadlines established in this section.
(b) The agency shall post the permit inventory for that agency and the information required under subsection (1)(a) and (c) of this section no later than June 30, 2014.
(c) The agency shall post the estimates of application completion and permit decision times required under subsection (1)(b) of this section based on actual data for calendar year 2015 by March 1, 2016, and update this information for the previous calendar year, by March 1st of each year thereafter.
(d) Agencies must consider the customer experience in ensuring all permit assistance information is simple to use, easy to access, and designed in a customer-friendly manner.
(4) To ensure agencies can post the required information online with minimal expenditure of agency resources, the office of the chief information officer shall, in consultation with the office of regulatory assistance, establish a central repository of this information, hosted on the office of regulatory assistance's website. Each agency shall include at least one link to the central repository from the agency's website. Agencies shall place the link or links in such locations as the agency deems will be most customer-friendly and maximize accessibility of the information to users of the website.
(5) The office shall ensure the searchability of the information posted on the central repository, applying industry best practices such as search engine optimization, to ensure that the permit performance and assistance information is readily findable and accessible by members of the public.
[ 2014 c 68 § 4.]