Red Tape Review Commission Public Meeting July 17, 2012

On Tuesday, July 17, 2012, the Red Tape Review Commission will hold a public meeting at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), in the Library, from 4:30 until 7:30 pm.  Members of the public are invited to provide testimony that concerns overly burdensome regulations or processes that relate to Government Contracting/ Procurement.

Witnesses are encouraged to register before the meeting by emailing the Commission at redtape.review@sos.state.nj.us or by telephoning (609) 984-6677 to reserve a place in the speakers' lineup.  Also, witnesses should submit a written copy of their comments, preferably beforehand.  Witnesses submitting comments on the day of the meeting should provide 10 copies to the Commission staff. 

If applicable, the Commission requests that witnesses provide the citations to the specific provision(s) of the New Jersey Administrative Code that they propose to discuss.  To accommodate all attendees, commentary is limited to 3 minutes per speaker.

The Commission thanks our host for this event, the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at TCNJ, with Director Lorraine Allen. TCNJ is located at 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, and the telephone number is (609) 771-1855.

 

 

Red Tape Review Commission Report

On February 8, 2012, the bi-partisan Red Tape Review Commission, chaired by Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, released a report detailing progress the State has made reducing red tape and listing further steps to make regulations less costly for business and non-profit groups.

The report is based, in part, on input received at public hearings. The report highlights significant changes implemented by the Christie Administration in 2011 to streamline government and cut red tape, as well as policy recommendations to further reduce the regulatory burden on business and make it easier for them to grow and hire workers.

"For business, onerous and burdensome red tape is like death by a thousand paper cuts," said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. "It takes money from business and jobs from workers."

Read the Report

 

Red Tape Commission

Introduction

On September 23, 2010, then-Acting Governor Guadagno signed Executive Order No. 41 to create a permanent, bi-partisan Red Tape Review Commission (the “Commission”).

Building on the activity of its predecessor, the 90-day Red Tape Review Group (the “Group”), the Commission will hold at least three public meetings throughout the state in 2011 and will submit a final report to Governor Christie in December 2011. Through these forums, the Commission will solicit the public’s view of New Jersey’s regulatory process.

Background

On January 20, 2010, Governor Christie signed Executive Order No. 1, which froze proposed regulations and ordered a 90-day moratorium on new proposals. Executive Order No.2 directed State departments to undertake a review of their administrative regulations to ensure that they complied with the “Common Sense Principles” for rulemaking.

The departments were given 90 days to review proposed regulations, and 180 days to review existing regulations. With Executive Order No. 3, Governor Christie created the Group to “review all pending and proposed rules and regulations … to assess their effects on New Jersey’s economy and to determine whether their burdens on business and workers outweigh their intended benefits.”

The Group gathered input from stakeholders through three public meetings and combined with the results of the agency reviews, it presented its report Findings & Recommendations to Governor Christie on April 19, 2010. The report, Summary: Department 180-Day Submissions, followed on September 23, 2010.

Of the 128 proposed regulations that had been frozen by Executive Order No. 1, State departments withdrew 16. As a result of the 180-day review of existing regulations, mandated by Executive Order No. 2, the departments abolished 6 chapters of the Administrative Code, proposed to amend 99 regulations and proposed to repeal 31 regulations.

Moreover, the New Jersey Register of proposed and adopted regulations was 3086 pages long at the close of 2010, less than two-thirds of the total 4846 pages at the close of 2009 and less than half of the 7020 page total at the close of 2008.

Legislation is also being passed to implement red-tape reforms. One of the Common Sense Principles from Executive Order No. 2 compelled agencies to adopt the “time of decision” rule, in which every permit or approval is governed by the rules in effect at the time of filing (unless explicitly provided otherwise.)

On May 5, 2010, Governor Christie signed S82 into law, requiring local governments to make decisions on development applications based on the local laws in force when the original application was submitted – in effect codifying “time of decision” at the local level.

Help Us to Help You

Consider this site your source for Red Tape Review news, hearings, reports and “victories.” You may also register to participate in public meetings, submit testimony, or relay your red tape concerns and suggestions to us by email at redtape.review@sos.state.nj.us or through our webform.

 

Red Tape Commission Successes

As Part of Commitment To Common Sense Regulations, DEP Launches New Permit To Spur Use Of Energy-Efficient Technology

As part of its commitment to a cleaner and more diverse energy future for New Jersey as well as common sense regulations, the Department of Environmental Protection has developed a new general permit to make it faster and easier for a wide range of facilities such as small- to moderate-size manufacturers, office complexes, apartment complexes, hospitals, schools and other institutions to turn energy used for heating into electricity. For more information, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0124.htm

 

Preventing Red Tape Before It Starts

In accordance with Governor Christie’s Common Sense Principles for rulemaking, in June 2011, the Division of Consumer Affairs published a Notice of Pre-Proposal concerning a potential amendment to N.J.A.C. 13:48-11.2, which governs the disclosures non-profit, charitable organizations make to the public in their solicitations. In so doing, the Division sought feedback on a proposal that, among other things, would have required non-profits to include on any written solicitation a means for a donor to designate the program or programs to be funded with the contributions. The Division received feedback on the proposal, including testimony presented to the Red Tape Review Commission, and, ultimately, opted to not go forth with the regulatory amendment. In short, the system worked. Governor Christie’s Common Sense Principle of seeking feedback from interested stakeholders before proposing rules operated as envisioned, and this red tape was stopped before it started.

 

Uniform Contracting and Licensing Procedures

On September 30, 2011, Governor Christie signed into law A2366/S2331 which requires the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families to, to the extent practicable, collaborate to establish uniform contracting requirements for social service organizations that contract with the departments. Such uniform requirements are to include uniform reporting procedures and audit schedules, and centralized licensing review and licensing issuance. Moreover, where an organization has programs licensed to provide services through both departments, each program shall be issued a license by a single department, to the extent practicable. Such collaboration among departments that share jurisdiction is encouraged, and this collaboration may prove to be a model for similar intra-department collaboration.
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