Bill Another Piece of Continued Red-Tape Cutting/Job Creation Effort
(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano to begin cutting back on burdensome rules and regulation and improve New Jersey’s business climate is headed to the governor’s desk.
The bill is yet another piece of the Democratic effort to create jobs and economic development.
“This is among the many steps we’ve taken to make order out of the chaos that is New Jersey’s bureaucratic nightmare of rules and regulations,” said Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem), chairman of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee that was formed by Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to slash the red tape that impairs New Jersey’s business climate. “Our tangled web of regulations may mean well, but in many cases they’ve done nothing more than stunt economic growth and hurt our businesses and the people they employ. We’re now on the road toward changing that.”
The Burzichelli/Quijano legislation (A-2464) would:
· Require all state agency rules to be published in the New Jersey Register; and
· Ban state agencies from using regulatory guidance documents, unless authorized to do so by state law.
“We’re looking to give clarity to our businesses on regulations that too often have been adopted without enough public input and oversight,” said Quijano (D-Union) “This is progress toward creating a better system for residents and businesses alike.”
The bill was approved 35-2 by the Senate on Thursday. The Assembly approved it in March 2010.
The bill is among many advanced by the Assembly this session to cut red tape:
· Require the state to consider the economic impact of new regulations (A-2129), sponsored by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset/Middlesex) and Burzichelli. It was approved by the Assembly in September and recently advanced by a Senate budget panel.
· Establish new procedures for agency rulemaking (A-2720), sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano and Ralph Caputo (D-Essex). It was signed into law in March.
· Amend current law concerning state agency rule-making by changing the chapter expiration dates of rules from five years to seven years and establishing a new procedure for the re-adoption of rules without substantive changes (A-2721), sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano and Caputo. It was signed into law in April.
· Modify the process for contested case hearings by the Office of Administrative Law with regard to telephone and video conferences, delegation of final decision authority, oral decisions, checklist decisions, electronic filings and settlements. (A-2722) sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano and Caputo. It was approved by the Assembly on Feb. 17 and was released by a Senate committee.
· Require Board of Public Utilities orders by issued in writing and posted on the Internet. It was sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano, Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex), Celeste Riley (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland), Peter Barnes III (D-Middlesex) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). It was signed into law in April.
· Eliminate numerous inactive boards and commission (A-2851), sponsored by Burzichelli, Quijano, Caputo and DeAngelo. It was signed into law in November 2010; and
· Streamline permit approval for economic development projects (A-2853), sponsored by Burzichelli, Matthew J. Milam, Nelson T. Albano (both D-Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland), Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester/Camden) and Thomas P. Giblin (D-Essex/Passaic). It was signed into law on March 1.
· A bill to resolve conflicts among rules of different state agencies (A-2922). It’s sponsored by Burzichelli, Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex) and Barnes. It was approved by the Assembly in January and recently released by the Senate budget panel.
· A bill to reform the laws surrounding limited liability companies (A-4359). It’s sponsored by Burzichelli, Troy Singleton (D-Burlington/Camden) and John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) and was approved Thursday by the Assembly.