Bill Text: MI HB4501 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Environmental protection; permits; consequences of missed deadlines for review of certain environmental permits; establish. Amends secs. 1305, 1307 & 1311 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.1305 et seq.).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-12 - Printed Bill Filed 03/25/2011 [HB4501 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-HB4501-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 4501

March 24, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Opsommer, Knollenberg and Kowall and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

by amending sections 1305, 1307, and 1311 (MCL 324.1305, 324.1307,

 

and 324.1311), as added by 2004 PA 325.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1305. (1) Effective 30 days after the state receives an

 

application for a permit, the application shall be considered to be

 

administratively complete unless After a department receives an

 

application for a permit, the department shall determine whether

 

the application is administratively complete. Unless the department

 

proceeds as provided under subsection (2), the application shall be

 

considered to be administratively complete when the department

 

makes that determination or 30 days after the state receives the

 

application, whichever is first.

 

     (2) If, before the expiration of the 30-day period under

 

subsection (1), the department notifies the applicant that the

 

application is not administratively complete, specifying the

 

information necessary to make the application administratively

 

complete, or notifies the applicant that a fee required to

 

accompany the application has not been paid, specifying the amount

 

due, the running of the 30-day period under subsection (1) is

 

tolled until the applicant submits to the department the specified

 

information or fee amount due. The notice shall be given in writing

 

or by electronic notification.

 

     (3) After an application is considered to be administratively

 

complete under this section, the department shall not make more

 

than 1 request for additional information the department considers

 

necessary to make the application technically complete.

 

     Sec. 1307. (1) By the processing deadline, the department

 

shall approve or deny an application for a permit. If requested by

 

the permit applicant, the department may extend the processing

 

period for a permit by not more than 20%.

 

     (2) Approval of an application for a permit may be granted

 

with conditions or modifications necessary to achieve compliance

 

with the part or parts of this act under which the permit is

 

issued.

 

     (3) (2) A denial of an application for a permit shall include

 

an explanation of the reasons for denial and make specific

 

reference to provisions of this act or rules promulgated under this

 

act providing the basis for denial.

 

     (4) (3) Except for permits described in subsection (4) (5), if

 

the department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1)

 

with respect to an application for a permit, the department shall

 

pay the applicant an amount equal to 15% 50% of the greater of the

 

following, as applicable:

 

     (a) The amount of the application fee for that permit.

 

     (b) If an assessment or other fee is charged on an annual or

 

other periodic basis by the department to a person holding the

 

permit for which the application was submitted, the amount of the

 

first periodic charge of that assessment or other fee for that

 

permit.

 

     (5) (4) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of

 

subsection (1) with respect to a permit under required by section

 

11509, 11512, or 30307 30304, the application shall be considered

 

to be approved and the department shall be considered to have made

 

any determination required for approval.

 

     (6) (5) The failure of the department to satisfy the

 

requirements of subsection (1) or the fact that the department is

 

required to make a payment under subsection (3) (4) or is

 

considered to have approved a permit under subsection (4) (5) shall

 

not be used by the department as the basis for discriminating

 

against the applicant. If the department is required to make a

 

payment under subsection (3) (4), the application shall be

 

processed in sequence with other applications for the same type of

 

permit, based on the date on which the processing period began,

 

unless the director determines on an application-by-application

 

basis that the public interest is best served by processing in a

 

different order.

 

     (7) If a department fails to satisfy the requirements of

 

subsection (1) with respect to 10% or more of the applications for

 

a particular type of permit received during a quarter of the state

 

fiscal year, the department shall immediately devote extra

 

resources to eliminating any backlog and satisfying the

 

requirements of subsection (1) with respect to new applications for

 

that type of permit within the next fiscal quarter.

 

     (8) (6) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of

 

subsection (1), the director shall notify the appropriations

 

committees of the senate and house of representatives of the

 

failure. The notification shall be in writing and shall include

 

both of the following:

 

     (a) An explanation of the reason for the failure.

 

     (b) A statement of the amount the department was required to

 

pay the applicant under subsection (3) (4) or a statement that the

 

department was required to consider the application to be approved

 

under subsection (4) (5), as applicable.

 

     Sec. 1311. The By December 1 each year, the director of the

 

department shall submit a report by December 1, 2005 and each year

 

thereafter to the standing committees and appropriations

 

subcommittees of the senate and house of representatives with

 

primary responsibility for issues under the jurisdiction of that

 

department. The department shall post the current report on its

 

website. The report shall include all of the following information

 

for each type of permit for the preceding fiscal year:

 

     (a) The number of applications for permits the department

 

received.

 

     (b) The number of applications approved, the number of

 

applications approved by the processing deadline, the number of

 

applications approved after the processing deadline, and the

 

average time for the department to determine administrative

 

completeness and to approve or disapprove applications.

 

     (c) The number of applications denied, the number of

 

applications denied by the processing deadline, and the number of

 

applications denied after the processing deadline.

 

     (d) The number of applications approved or denied after the

 

processing deadline that, based on the director's determination of

 

the public interest, were not processed in sequence as otherwise

 

required by section 1307(5) 1307(6).

 

     (e) The number of applications that were not administratively

 

complete when received.

 

     (f) The amount of money refunded and discounts granted under

 

section 1307.

 

     (g) The number of applications processed as provided in

 

section 1309.

 

     (h) If a department failed to satisfy the requirements of

 

section 1307(1) with respect to 10% or more of the applications for

 

a particular type of permit received during a quarter of the state

 

fiscal year, the type of permit and percentage of applications for

 

which the requirements were not met and information on whether and

 

how the department eliminated any backlog and satisfied the

 

requirements of section 1307(1) with respect to new applications

 

for that type of permit within the next fiscal quarter.