PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

OF CERTAIN NREPA PROGRAMS

House Bill 4016 (H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Jim Stamas

Committee:  Regulatory Reform

Complete to 5-3-11

A SUMMARY OF PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE H-1 FOR HOUSE BILL 4016

The bill would require the Department of Environmental Quality to complete process improvement of major programs administered by the department under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, establish requirements for the process improvement, develop metrics for such things as environmental impacts, conduct surveys regarding the department's service practices, and post certain information on the department's website.

Specifically, House Bill 4016 would create Part 27 (Program Review) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to require the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to do the following:

** Complete process improvement of one major program by February 1, 2012, and two major programs each year thereafter until the DEQ has completed process improvement for all major programs.    "Program" would mean a permit program or regulatory program administered by the DEQ under NREPA.  If a process improvement for a program had been completed prior to the bill's effective date, a new one would not have to be conducted.  The department would have to consider using peer reviews by other EPA Region 5 states and benchmark analyses.

** Require a process improvement to utilize process mapping and be conducted by a team that included, at a minimum, two certified facilitators (who would administer the process improvement), a representative of persons regulated under the program, and a representative of the general public affected by the program.

** Develop metrics for environmental impacts and process performance, including the DEQ's per-permit cost to administer the program, the timeliness of the permit process from receipt of an application to approval or denial, and a review of service practices affecting regulated persons and the general public.  The metrics would have to be posted on the DEQ's website.

** For each division of DEQ, require the department to survey persons regulated by that division and the general public concerning the division's service practices.  Surveys would have to be completed and results posted on the DEQ's website by February 1, 2012.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Under the provisions of House Bill 4016, the Department of Environmental Quality would incur additional administrative costs; however, these costs are not anticipated to be significant.  Any additional expenses would stem from the bill's requirements that the Department complete a process improvement analysis for two major programs each year, establish an evaluation team, use peer review of other states and benchmark analyses, develop metrics, post specific information on its website, and create a survey program for regulated stakeholders.

 

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   Susan Stutzky

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Viola Wild

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.