Relates to petitions for alternate methods of implementing regulatory mandates

BILL NUMBER:S5353A

Title of bill

An act to amend the state administrative procedure act, in relation to petitions for alternate methods of implementing regulatory mandates

Purpose

This bill promotes mandate relief and flexibility in tailoring regulatory requirements to the specific needs and capabilities of local governments, by restoring recently-expired provisions that streamlined the process for submitting petitions for approval of an alternate method of meeting a regulatory mandate.

Summary of provisions

Section one amends § 204-a of the State Administrative Procedure Act to restore several provisions that streamlined the process for local governments to submit petitions for alternate methods of meeting regulatory mandates. The bill would restore various provisions that amended the law in 2011, which recently expired. One important provision requires that an agency must conduct a hearing before it can rescind its approval of a petition. Other restored provisions would: clarify the process for two or more local governments to submit a joint petition; remove requirements that the petition shall include a plan and timetable for reporting and evaluation of the effectiveness of the alternate method, and a proposed percentage of savings to be returned to the state; and renew a requirement for publication of a notice of the petition in a newspaper in the impacted community.

The bill also makes additional changes to streamline the process, including a requirement that each agency that has approved one or more petitions in the preceding year shall publish a notice in the State Register that informs local governments and the public of those mandates for which alternate methods have been approved. Additional refinements include: the agency must provide an e-mail address for comments on the petition; existing statutory provisions relating to the use of a process to involve stakeholders are clarified - such a process should be conducted when appropriate for a specific petition, but should not be deemed as required in every case; and to ensure that information is available on every approval, the text of any agency determination on a petition must be maintained on a website as long as the petition remains approved. This will facilitate the replication of successful petitions by other local governments.

Existing law

Currently, § 204-a reverted back to the original language of the section as added to SAPA in 2001. As discussed above, this bill restores many of the amendments made in 2011 and makes some additional refinements.

Justification

Local governments in New York State come in all shapes and sizes, from major metropolises to small towns and villages. Regulatory mandates that take a "one-size-fits-all" approach can create hardships, and prevent local governments from pursuing more efficient and cost-effective solutions. The SAPA § 204-a process allows local governments to seek authorization to implement a regulatory mandate in ways that are tailored to their specific circumstances. While this process is only one of many tools to reduce

the burden of regulatory mandates on local governments, it has proven to be a workable means of addressing some mandates.

Components of the 2011 legislation to provide property tax relief made several improvements to § 204-a; however, these provisions expired at the end of 2014. This bill would restore and add to these useful improvements in order to maximize the effectiveness of the petition process in providing mandate relief.

Legislative history

New bill

Fiscal implications

None to the state

Effective date

1st of January.