ASSEMBLY, No. 1029
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman DiGAETANO
An Act establishing an Office of the Business Ombudsman in the Department of State.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Office of the Business Ombudsman Act."
2. The Legislature finds that:
a. In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number and complexity of the permits, licenses, certificates and other approvals that must be obtained from a myriad of State agencies in order to undertake various commercial and industrial projects or activities;
b. A timely, efficient and coordinated process for the submission, evaluation and resolution of the applications for these permits, licenses, certificates, and approvals is essential to overcome the wasteful delays, duplication and extra paperwork resulting from the present decentralized permit application system;
c. A unified and systematic program for the expeditious and proper processing of permits will enhance the essential public purposes for which these permits are designed and will foster confidence in the State's ability to administer the laws and regulations that preserve and protect the public interest without any impairment of entrepreneurial spirit and economic growth as a result of bureaucratic duplication, confusion and delay.
3. As used in this act:
"Business Ombudsman" means the Secretary of State or the designee appointed by the Secretary of State.
"Commercial or industrial project or activity" means the development of a site or the construction of a facility for a commercial or industrial purpose; or the conduct of a commercial or industrial activity;
"Office" means the Office of the Business Ombudsman in the Department of State;
"Permit" means a permit, license, certificate, registration, charter, compliance schedule or any other form of permission or approval required by law or regulation to be issued by a State agency for a commercial or industrial project or activity, but shall not include a license or certificate issued to an individual for the practice of a profession or occupation; and
"State agency" or "agency" means any department, board, division, commission, agency, council, authority or office in the executive branch of State Government.
4. a. There is established the Office of the Business Ombudsman in the Department of State. The office shall be under the immediate supervision of a chief, who shall be appointed by the Business Ombudsman, and who shall be a person qualified by training, experience, or both, to direct the work of the office. The chief shall administer the work of the office under the direction and supervision of the Business Ombudsman and shall perform such other functions as the Business Ombudsman may prescribe. The office shall remain within the Department of State.
b. The chief may employ such professional, technical, research and clerical staff as may be necessary within the limits of available appropriations. The chief may also employ consultants from time to time as may be necessary for particular projects.
5. It shall be the function of the Office of the Business Ombudsman to:
a. Serve as the source for comprehensive and coordinated information regarding State agency permit requirements;
b. Provide a convenient, accessible and timely service for the coordination, acquisition, filing and tracking of permit applications;
c. Identify problems and promote interagency solutions for excessive paperwork, duplication and delay in the permit process; and
d. Assist in expediting a resolution of a permit process upon the request of an applicant.
6. The office shall maintain a master file of every State agency permit for a commercial or industrial project or activity. The file shall contain at least the following information for each permit:
a. The title or name of the permit;
b. The project or activity for which the permit is required and the purpose or a summary description of the permit;
c. The issuing agency and the name, address and phone number of a contact person within the agency;
d. The statutory or regulatory authority for the permit;
e. A summary of the type of information to be submitted with the application for the permit;
f. A statement of any fees associated with the application or permit; and
g. The statutory, actual or estimated average and maximum length of time necessary for agency action on the completed permit application.
7. The office shall maintain the permit master file in a form that shall best serve the public convenience for obtaining the information contained therein, and shall publish a directory or other document to inform the public of the availability and general content of the master file and to enable prospective applicants to identify the permits required for the various commercial or industrial projects or activities.
8. The office shall develop a master permit identification application with which a person seeking to undertake a commercial or industrial project or activity may provide sufficient information to enable each agency to determine whether or not it has permit jurisdiction for the project or activity.
9. a. A person seeking to undertake a commercial or industrial project or activity may file a master permit identification application with the office. Upon receipt of the application, the office shall forward a copy to each State agency that the office has reason to believe has permit jurisdiction.
b. Upon receipt of a copy of the master permit identification application from the office, an agency shall respond in writing to the applicant and the office within 15 business days and shall inform them either:
(1) that no permit is required under its jurisdiction; or
(2) that one or more permits are required under its jurisdiction, in which case the agency shall accompany this finding, with an application form and explanatory information for each permit.
c. Upon receipt of each agency's response, and if so requested by the applicant, the office shall assign an employee to assist the applicant in the coordination, filing, tracking and resolution of any necessary permit.
d. If an agency responds that it does not require a permit and subsequent circumstances identify the need for additional permits, the project may be granted priority processing status by the office if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) the project was processed through the permit identification system and a permit requirement was not identified;
(2) the failure to identify a permit requirement was not due to any omission or misinformation by the applicant or not a consequence of substantive revision to the project following the completion of the permit identification process;
(3) the project review has been completed or substantially completed.
Upon granting priority status to a construction application, the chief shall notify the Business Ombudsman of the appropriate department. That department shall approve, condition, or disapprove the application within 10 business days of notification. If the department is unable to complete its review within the 10 days, the Business Ombudsman shall notify the chief in writing of the schedule that can be met for completion of the review.
e. (1) If a required permit is not identified due to a failure of the office to provide the agency with a copy of the master application, the applicant shall submit a subsequent application for the permit to the agency. Upon receipt of the application, the agency shall have 15 business days to determine that the application is complete. Once the application is certified as complete, the agency shall have 21 business days to act upon the application. If the agency is unable to complete its review within those 21 business days, the commissioner of the appropriate department shall notify the chief in writing of the schedule that can be met for completion on the review.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to modify the procedures set forth in the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.11 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.) or any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto or to section 502 of the "National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978," P.L.95-625 (16 U.S.C.§471i) for reviewing permit applications in the Pinelands area by the Pinelands Commission or any local governmental unit.
10. The office shall conduct a survey of each State agency at least four times a year and obtain the following information on each permit application which at the time of the survey has been pending before an agency for more than 90 days:
a. The nature of the project or activity;
b. The status of the permit review;
c. The reason for the length of time for the review;
d. The estimated additional time until the completion of the review; and
e. Any additional information that the office deems appropriate.
11. Upon completion of each survey, the office shall notify all applicants whose applications are pending more than 90 days of the status of their application. Upon the request of an applicant, the office shall designate an employee to convene and chair a meeting with an applicant and the permit-issuing agency for the purpose of promoting a negotiated resolution of the permit process. The employee shall prepare a report of any agreements entered into and any unresolved issues.
12. Except as otherwise specified in this act, nothing in this act shall be construed to limit or alter the permit jurisdiction of any State agency or the application or evaluation procedure utilized by the agency.
13. There is established a Permit Coordination Committee to consist of the Secretary of State as Chair, the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development, the State Treasurer, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, and the Commissioner of Transportation, or their respective designees, and the chief of the Office of the Business Ombudsman. The chief shall serve as executive director of the committee and shall provide staff from the Office of the Business Ombudsman, to assist the committee at the committee's request or as deemed necessary by the chief. The committee shall advise the Office of the Business Ombudsman, with respect to its administration of this act and shall make recommendations to promote a more unified, systematic and simplified permit application process and to encourage permit applicants to utilize the master permit application process.
14. There is established a Citizens Committee on Permit Coordination composed of nine citizens of the State appointed by the Governor for terms of four years, except of the first appointments, three members shall serve terms of two years and three shall serve terms of three years. The committee shall advise the office on any matter relevant to the purposes of this act, and may advise the office and applicants of methods and procedures for the most expeditious processing of permits.
15. The Office of the Business Ombudsman, through the Secretary of State, shall adopt such interagency procedures and, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations, as shall be necessary to implement the provisions of this act. Those rules and regulations may include a fee schedule under which the office may assess each permitting agency its proportional share of the costs incurred by the office in administering this program and in establishing and maintaining a public information program designed to acquaint and educate interested parties and the public about the office and its responsibilities and duties. The public information program shall include, but not be limited to, a brochure which permitting agencies shall distribute with each permit application. The maximum aggregate amount the office may assess in any year under the provisions of this section shall not exceed $250,000.
16. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment, but the Secretary of State may take administrative action in advance to effectuate the purposes of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Office of the Business Ombudsman in the Department of State.
The Office of the Business Ombudsman is intended to serve as a comprehensive and coordinated clearinghouse for information and assistance for persons seeking State permits relating to commercial or industrial projects or activities. The office shall maintain not only a master file of every type of relevant State permit, but also information identifying the specific permits required for various types of commercial and industrial projects and activities, the issuers of those permits, the application requirements, the fee schedules, and the timeframes for the processing of the various applications for those permits.
To facilitate the permitting process, the office shall publish a directory of its permit files, identify problems which hinder the permitting process, promote interagency solutions to those problems, and at the request of an applicant, assist in expediting the permit process.
The office also shall develop a master permit identification application. The purpose of this application is to expedite the permitting process by assisting applicants in identifying which permits are required for their particular project or activity. The office is to forward copies of the master application to the State agencies it believes might have permit jurisdiction.
Under the provisions of the bill, each agency receiving a copy of a master application must notify the applicant and the office whether or not a permit is required. If a permit is necessary, the applicant may request assistance from the office in filing, tracking, and securing the necessary permit.
If, after informing an applicant that no permit is necessary, an agency determines that one is required, the applicant's request for that permit shall be given priority processing. Similarly, if the office is at fault for failing to provide a copy of the master application to a relevant agency, the applicant is to be given a priority review.
The bill directs the office to conduct quarterly surveys of each State agency to identify applicants whose permit requests have been pending for more than 90 days. At the completion of each survey, the office is to notify those applicants of the status of their applications. At the request of the applicant, the office is to assign an employee to assist in resolving any problems hindering the completion of the process.
The bill also establishes two committees: a Permit Coordination Committee and a Citizens Committee on Permit Coordination. The Permit Coordination Committee, which is to consist of the Secretary of State as Chair, the Commissioners of Commerce and Economic Development, Community Affairs, Environmental Protection, and Transportation, the State Treasurer, and the Chief of the Office of the Business Ombudsman, shall advise the office, make recommendations to promote a more unified, systematic, and simplified permit application process, and encourage applicants to use the master permit identification application. The Citizens Committee on Permit Coordination, which is to consist of nine citizens appointed by the Governor, shall advise the office and applicants on methods and procedures to expedite the permit process.
The "Office of the Business Ombudsman."