Senate passes Sosnowski bill to expand statewide electronic permitting
STATE HOUSE – The Senate today passed a bill sponsored by Senator V. Susan Sosnowski (D – Dist. 37, South Kingstown, New Shoreham), that would promote expansion of the statewide electronic permitting system, in keeping with Senate goals of expanding the system to all cities and towns in the state and expanding the types of online permitting, inspections and programs the system can accommodate.
The measure
passed 36 to 0.
The legislation (2015-S-0397)
also requires each city and town to designate a liaison to the Office of
Regulatory Reform with a responsibility of coordinating regulatory and
permitting matters.
“Rhode Island’s economy
thrives when promising initiatives can move seamlessly through the approval
process at state and municipal levels,” said Senator Sosnowski.
“Access to real
time information can make a project launch take place on schedule. Absence of
that information frustrates businesses and staff responsible for managing the
approval process. An online portal accessed through municipal websites will
support uniform, statewide electronic plan review, permitting and inspection.”
Senator Sosnowski,
chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee, championed
legislation establishing the program, which was funded in 2012. Her 2013
legislation created a Municipal Advisory Council to provide input on statewide
processing for electronic plan review, permitting and inspection, and to
encourage participation of each city and town.