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Rep. Lance Yednock
Filed: 3/17/2023
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1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3017
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2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3017 by replacing |
3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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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:
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7 | | (20 ILCS 608/5)
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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. This goal will be achieved through
providing quick, |
12 | | accurate information on existing requirements , and avoiding
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13 | | unnecessary requirements , and expediting permit issuance .
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14 | | (Source: P.A. 88-404.)
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15 | | (20 ILCS 608/7 new) |
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1 | | Sec. 7. Covered project. As used in this Act, "covered |
2 | | project" means any activity in Illinois that: (1) involves the |
3 | | construction of infrastructure for renewable or conventional |
4 | | energy production, electricity transmission, surface |
5 | | transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource |
6 | | projects, broadband, pipelines, or manufacturing; (2) requires |
7 | | authorization or environmental review by a State agency; and |
8 | | (3) is likely to require a total investment of more than |
9 | | $20,000,000.
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10 | | (20 ILCS 608/10)
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11 | | Sec. 10. Executive Office. There is created an Office of |
12 | | Business
Permits and Regulatory Assistance (hereinafter |
13 | | referred to as "office")
within the Department of Commerce and |
14 | | Community Affairs (now Department of Commerce and Economic |
15 | | Opportunity)
which shall consolidate existing programs
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16 | | throughout State government, provide assistance to businesses |
17 | | with fewer than
500
employees in meeting State requirements |
18 | | for doing business and perform other
functions specified in |
19 | | this Act. The office shall implement reforms to improve |
20 | | interagency coordination that allow for expeditious permit |
21 | | issuance for covered projects. The office shall use |
22 | | information technology tools to track schedules for covered |
23 | | projects and metrics in order to improve transparency and |
24 | | accountability in the permitting process, reduce uncertainty |
25 | | and delays, and reduce costs and risks to taxpayers. The
By |
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1 | | March 1, 1994, the office shall complete and file with the |
2 | | Governor and the
General Assembly a plan for the |
3 | | implementation of this Act. Thereafter, the
office shall carry |
4 | | out the provisions of this Act, subject to funding
through |
5 | | appropriation.
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6 | | (Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)
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7 | | (20 ILCS 608/15)
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8 | | Sec. 15. Providing Information and Expediting Permit |
9 | | Reviews.
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10 | | (a) The office shall provide an online information system |
11 | | using a website toll-free
business assistance number. The |
12 | | number shall be advertised throughout the
State. Interested |
13 | | businesses shall If requested, the caller will be sent a basic |
14 | | business kit, describing
the basic requirements and procedures |
15 | | for doing business in Illinois. If
requested, the caller shall |
16 | | be directed to one or more of the additional
services provided |
17 | | by the office. All persons providing advice to callers on
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18 | | behalf of
the office and all persons responsible for directly |
19 | | providing services to
persons visiting the office or one of |
20 | | its branches shall be persons with small
business experience |
21 | | in an administrative or managerial capacity.
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22 | | (b) (Blank).
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23 | | (c) Any applicant for permits required for a business |
24 | | activity may confer
with the office to obtain assistance in |
25 | | the prompt and efficient processing and
review of |
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1 | | applications. The office shall may designate an employee of |
2 | | the office to
act as a permit assistance manager to:
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3 | | (1) facilitate contacts for the applicant with |
4 | | responsible agencies;
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5 | | (2) arrange conferences to clarify the requirements of |
6 | | interested
agencies;
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7 | | (3) consider with State agencies the feasibility of |
8 | | consolidating
hearings and data required of the applicant;
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9 | | (4) assist the applicant in resolution of outstanding |
10 | | issues identified by
State agencies; and
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11 | | (5) coordinate federal, State and local regulatory |
12 | | procedures and permit
review actions to the extent |
13 | | possible.
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14 | | (d) The office shall publish an online a directory of |
15 | | State business permits and State
programs to assist small |
16 | | businesses.
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17 | | (e) The office shall attempt to establish
agreements with |
18 | | local governments to
allow the office to provide assistance to |
19 | | applicants for permits required by
these local governments.
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20 | | (f) (Blank). Interested
State agencies shall, to the |
21 | | maximum extent feasible, establish procedures to
expedite |
22 | | applications for infrastructure projects. Applications for |
23 | | permits
for infrastructure projects shall be approved or |
24 | | disapproved within 45 days of
submission, unless law or |
25 | | regulations specify a different period. If the
interested |
26 | | agency is unable to act within that period, the agency shall |
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1 | | provide
a written notification to the office specifying |
2 | | reasons for its inability to
act and the date by which approval |
3 | | or disapproval shall be determined. The
office may require any |
4 | | interested State agency to designate an employee who
will |
5 | | coordinate the handling of permits in that area.
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6 | | (g) In addition to its responsibilities in connection with |
7 | | permit
assistance, the office shall provide general regulatory |
8 | | information by
directing businesses to appropriate officers in |
9 | | State agencies to supply the
information requested.
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10 | | (h) The office shall help businesses to locate and apply |
11 | | to training
programs available to train current employees in |
12 | | particular skills, techniques
or areas of knowledge relevant |
13 | | to the employees' present or anticipated job
duties. In |
14 | | pursuit of this objective, the office shall provide businesses |
15 | | with
pertinent information about training programs offered by |
16 | | State agencies, units
of local government, public universities |
17 | | and colleges, community colleges, and
school districts in |
18 | | Illinois.
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19 | | (i) The office shall help businesses to locate and apply |
20 | | to State programs
offering to businesses grants, loans, loan |
21 | | or bond guarantees, investment
partnerships, technology or |
22 | | productivity consultation, or other forms of
business |
23 | | assistance.
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24 | | (j) To the extent authorized by federal law, the office |
25 | | shall assist
businesses in ascertaining and complying with the |
26 | | requirements of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act.
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1 | | (k) The office shall provide confidential on-site |
2 | | assistance in identifying
problems and solutions in compliance |
3 | | with requirements of State and federal
environmental |
4 | | regulations. The office shall work through and contract with |
5 | | the Illinois Sustainable Technology
Center to provide |
6 | | confidential on-site
consultation audits that (i) assist |
7 | | regulatory compliance and (ii) identify
pollution prevention |
8 | | opportunities.
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9 | | (k-5) Until July 1, 2012, the office shall provide |
10 | | confidential on-site assistance, including, but not limited |
11 | | to, consultation audits, to identify
problems and solutions |
12 | | regarding compliance with the requirements of the federal
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13 | | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. On and after |
14 | | July 1, 2012, the Department of Labor shall provide |
15 | | confidential on-site assistance, including, but not limited |
16 | | to, consultation audits, to identify
problems and solutions |
17 | | regarding compliance with the requirements of the federal
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18 | | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. |
19 | | (l) The office shall provide information on existing loan |
20 | | and business
assistance programs provided by the State.
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21 | | (m) Each State agency having jurisdiction to approve or |
22 | | deny a permit shall
have the continuing power heretofore or |
23 | | hereafter vested in it to make such
determinations. The |
24 | | provisions of this Act shall not lessen or reduce such
powers |
25 | | and shall modify the procedures followed in carrying out such |
26 | | powers
only to the extent provided in this Act.
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1 | | (n) (1) Each State agency shall fully cooperate with the |
2 | | office in
providing information, documentation, personnel or |
3 | | facilities requested by the
office.
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4 | | (2) Each State agency having jurisdiction of any permit to |
5 | | which the
master application procedure is applicable shall |
6 | | designate an employee to act
as permit liaison office with the |
7 | | office in carrying out the provisions of this
Act.
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8 | | (o) (1) The office shall identify, develop, and track |
9 | | metrics for the timeline of permit reviews, permit decisions, |
10 | | and project outcomes for covered projects has authority, but |
11 | | is not required, to keep and analyze
appropriate statistical |
12 | | data regarding the number of permits issued by State
agencies, |
13 | | the amount of time necessary for the permits to be issued, the |
14 | | cost
of obtaining such permits, the types of projects for |
15 | | which specific permits are
issued, a geographic distribution |
16 | | of permits, and other pertinent data the
office deems |
17 | | appropriate .
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18 | | The office shall administer and expand the use of online |
19 | | transparency tools providing: |
20 | | (i) tracking and reporting metrics; |
21 | | (ii) development and posting of schedules for permit |
22 | | reviews and permit decisions; |
23 | | (iii) the sharing of best practices relating to |
24 | | efficient project permitting and reviews; and |
25 | | (iv) the visual display of relevant geospatial data to |
26 | | support the permitting process. make such data and any |
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1 | | analysis of the data available to
the public.
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2 | | (2) The office shall has authority, but is not required, |
3 | | to conduct or cause to be
conducted a thorough review of any |
4 | | agency's permit requirements and the need
by the State to |
5 | | require such permits. The office shall draw on the review, on
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6 | | its direct experience, and on its statistical analyses to |
7 | | prepare
recommendations regarding how to:
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8 | | (i) eliminate unnecessary or antiquated permit |
9 | | requirements;
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10 | | (ii) consolidate duplicative or overlapping permit |
11 | | requirements;
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12 | | (iii) simplify overly complex or lengthy application |
13 | | procedures;
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14 | | (iv) expedite time-consuming agency review and |
15 | | approval procedures; or
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16 | | (v) otherwise improve the permitting processes in the |
17 | | State.
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18 | | The office shall submit copies of all recommendations |
19 | | within 5 days of
issuance to the affected agency, the |
20 | | Governor, the General Assembly, and the
Joint Committee on |
21 | | Administrative Rules.
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22 | | (p) The office shall has authority to review State forms |
23 | | on its own initiative or
upon the request of another State |
24 | | agency to ascertain the burden, if any, of
complying with |
25 | | those forms. If the office determines that a form is unduly
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26 | | burdensome to business, it may recommend to the agency issuing |
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1 | | the form either
that the form be eliminated or that specific |
2 | | changes be made in the form.
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3 | | (q) Not later than March 1 of each year, beginning March 1, |
4 | | 1995, the office
shall submit an annual
report of its |
5 | | activities during the preceding year to the Governor and |
6 | | General
Assembly. The report shall describe the activities of |
7 | | the office during the
preceding year and shall contain |
8 | | statistical information on the permit
assistance activities of |
9 | | the office.
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10 | | (Source: P.A. 97-787, eff. 7-13-12; 98-346, eff. 8-14-13.)".
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