Priority Recommendations

Priority Recommendations Oregon can strengthen its regulatory environment by reducing the overall regulatory burden on businesses and adopting a market-based climate policy aligned with neighboring states. Establish enforceable statewide permitting timelines and guardrails (a “shot clock”) by requiring agencies to approve or deny complete permit applications within clear statutory timelines, while maintaining environmental standards and protecting public health, safety, and welfare. The process should prevent

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3 . P E R M IT T I N G & R E G U L AT I O N S projects from being delayed indefinitely and should include accountability measures such as public reporting and partial fee refunds when deadlines are missed. These deadlines should extend universally to all economic development permits, and not only those meeting HB 4084’s capital investment thresholds, which would ensure predictable timelines become the standard across Oregon’s permitting system rather than the exception. Reduce regulatory and administrative burdens by 20% by 2029, by removing outdated and duplicative regulations, which should improve government efficiency and reduce spending. Frontline employees should play a role in identifying regulations, processes, and reporting requirements that create inefficiencies or no longer serve their intended purpose, while decisions regarding regulatory changes should remain subject to leadership review. Agencies should leverage permit and streamlining analyses required under HB 4084, which directed key agencies to identify unnecessary steps, barriers, and obsolete processes, as a primary input for meeting this reduction target. The state should also establish a regulatory structure to ensure reforms support economic growth while maintaining protections for public health, essential services, and the environment. Consistent with the multi-agency coordination structure established by HB 4084’s Joint Permitting Council, examples include coordinating environmental permitting across state agencies so applicants do not need to submit duplicative information for air quality, water quality, wetlands, and land use reviews; implementing consolidated or parallel agency review processes rather than sequential reviews; and/or eliminating duplicative reporting requirements across agencies. Adopt a market-based Cap and Invest program for greenhouse gas emissions. Upon implementation, the Governor should repeal the Climate Protection Program. Align Oregon’s program with labor standards consistent with California and Washington’s Cap and Invest approaches: auction revenues allocated for public works and infrastructure should require family sustaining wages, registered apprenticeship participation, and adherence to nondiscrimination and workforce inclusion standards. BEST PRACTICES Virginia’s Office of Regulatory Management (ORM) was established in 2022 to bring consistency to regulatory procedures. ORM’s objectives were to reduce regulatory requirements by 25%, improve efficiency in the regulatory and permitting approval process, and increase regulatory transparency through benefit-cost analysis. After three years, Virginia reduced 26% of regulatory requirements across the state. PermitSF in San Francisco modernized its permits by consolidating permitting systems, utilized artificial intelligence to support application reviews, and created a more transparent and user-friendly process. The effort has reduced delays and helped business and development projects move more efficiently while maintaining regulatory standards.

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3 . P E R M IT T I N G & R E G U L AT I O N S

Parent: Chapter 3: Permitting & Regulations · PDF: pp. 22-24