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State Representative Duane Quam
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9236
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS COLUMN
IMPROVING PERMITTING PROCESS WILL HELP CREATE JOBS
The top priority of the Legislature this session is going to be job creation. I feel strongly that if we can craft legislation that will put more people to work, we will end this era of repeated budget deficits and ultimately improve Minnesota’s economy.
That’s why I am pleased to be co-authoring legislation this session that will simplify Minnesota’s permitting process, a move that will allow business owners to expand their operations more quickly.
Over the years, we have lost a number of companies looking to expand in Minnesota because they didn’t want to wait a year or longer for some state agency to approve their business plan. This is extremely frustrating when you consider that these entrepreneurs had the capital ready to invest, and actually wanted to relocate to Minnesota and hire our workers, yet decided against it because the process simply took too long.
The legislation I’m co-authoring would shorten the amount of time it takes for a business owner to receive a permit by establishing a 150 day goal for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to issue permits; eliminating district court review of environmental review decisions and sending all appeals directly to the Court of Appeals; allowing a project proposer the option to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) rather than a state agency or local government; and requiring that final decisions on permits be made within 30 days of the final approval of an EIS.
Our state’s complex and uncertain permitting process hinders business development and expansion. It’s time to remove obstacles in state government that cause our job creators to look across the border for their business operations and begin our economic recovery.
The permitting legislation is known as House File 1. To date, there are 66 bills in the hopper, ranging from local school initiatives to the elimination of the corporate income tax. To date, I am co-authoring a total of five bills with more to come. As session progresses, I will highlight more of the legislation I’m working on and let you know why I believe they are important to Minnesota.
News Items
- Quam Statement on HF956 - Omnibus Energy Bill - (Posted: May 8 2013 9:14AM)
- Capitol Update from Rep. Duane Quam - (Posted: May 3 2013 12:00AM)
- House Moves Ahead with Damaging Changes to Education and Taxes - (Posted: Apr 26 2013 12:00AM)
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