HB2036ham001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Dwight Kay

Filed: 3/13/2013

09800HB2036ham001 LRB098 06284 MGM 41478 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2036

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2036 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by adding Sections 7.7 and 7.8 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/7.7 new)

Sec. 7.7. Permit, registration, and license application response times.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the Director shall determine and establish a maximum processing time for applications for each permit, registration, or license issued under this Act. The processing time established by the Director shall not be more than 60 days after the Director notifies the applicant that the application is complete. When establishing processing times for permits, registrations, and licenses under this Act, the Director shall take into consideration all duties and responsibilities of the Agency and the availability of resources.

(b) The Director shall annually publish processing timetables for each permit, registration, and license issued under this Act. The deadline for the processing of an application is determined by the timetable published and in effect on the date the Agency received a completed application.

(c) Before publishing timetables under subsection (b) of this Section, the Director shall review the proposed processing response times with an advisory committee established for that purpose. The Director shall appoint the members of the advisory committee, who shall be broadly representative of business, environmental, and other interest groups.

(d) The processing period for an application under this Act begins on the date the Agency notifies the applicant that the application is complete. The consent of the applicant is required to stop the processing period or to extend the deadline unless:

(1) the Director determines that a public hearing is required, in which case the processing period may be stopped or extended only as necessary to accommodate the public hearing process; or

(2) the Director determines that the applicant has significantly modified the application, in which case the processing period is stopped until the Agency and the applicant agree to a new timetable.

(e) The Director may stop the processing time with consent of the applicant for any period of time if the Director determines that:

(1) additional information is required from the applicant;

(2) agencies or departments other than the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency are required to comment on an application and do not respond within the time frame established between the organizations; or

(3) the applicant wishes to stop the processing period or extend the deadline.

(f) For projects that require more than one permit, registration, or license from the Agency, the Agency and the applicant shall determine the timetables applicable to all permit, registration, or license applications.

(g) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, if the Director fails to approve or deny an application before the deadline set under this Section, the Agency shall return 50% of the application fee to the applicant. If the Director fails to approve or deny an application within 120 days after the deadline, the Agency shall return the remainder of the application fee to the applicant.

(h) The Agency shall adopt any rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section.

(415 ILCS 5/7.8 new)

Sec. 7.8. Private application review. If, after the expiration of half of the processing time established in a timeline under Section 7.7 of this Act, the Director determines that the Agency cannot process a permit, registration, or license application within the required processing time, the Director shall, with the consent of the applicant, enter into an agreement with an individual, partnership, firm, or corporation outside of the Agency to review the application.

The Agency shall adopt any rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section.".