HB2543 - 551R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 41, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 16, to read:

CHAPTER 16

STATE PERMITTING DASHBOARD

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

START_STATUTE41-2101. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Agency":

(a) Means any executive department of this state.

(b) Does not include the corporation commission.

2. "Authorization" means a license, permit, approval, finding, land use permit, determination or other administrative decision that is issued by this state to site, construct, reconstruct or commence operations of an eligible project that is administered by an agency.

3. "Director" means the state permitting director.

4. "Eligible project" means an activity in this state that requires authorization by an agency, that involves infrastructure construction for renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, mining, land revitalization, surface transportation, aviation, water resource projects, wastewater projects, broadband, pipelines or manufacturing or any other activity as determined by the director and that is both of the following:

(a) Subject to applicable state environmental laws, permitting regulations and other relevant government authorizations, the size and complexity of which, in the opinion of the director, make the eligible project likely to benefit from enhanced oversight and coordination.

(b) Likely to require a total construction investment of more than $25,000,000, or if the total construction investment is less than $25,000,000, the director finds that other factors make the project likely to benefit from enhanced oversight and coordination.

5. "Participating project" means an eligible project included in the permitting dashboard prescribed by section 41-2104.

6. "Permitting dashboard" means an online tool for agencies, project developers and interested members of the public to track authorizations by agencies for participating projects.

7. "Project sponsor" means the entity undertaking an eligible project. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2102. State permitting director

A. The governor shall appoint a state permitting director to implement this chapter.

B. At the request of the chairperson of the joint legislative budget committee, the director shall appear before the joint legislative budget committee to report on findings from administering the permitting dashboard. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2103. Participating projects; notice; agency designation

a. A project sponsor of an eligible project may submit to the director a notice that the project sponsor is initiating a proposed project. Each notice shall include all of the following:

1. A statement of the purposes and objectives of the proposed project.

2. A concise description, including the general location of the proposed project and a summary of geospatial information, if available.

3. A statement regarding the technical and financial ability of the project sponsor to construct the proposed project.

4. A list of agencies that may require authorizations for completion of the proposed project.

5. A statement of any authorization that is anticipated to be required to complete the proposed project.

6. An assessment that the proposed project meets the definition of an eligible project under this chapter and a statement of reasons supporting the assessment.

B. Not later than thirty days after receiving the notice specified in subsection A of this section, the director shall determine whether the proposed project qualifies as an eligible project and whether to include the proposed project as a participating project.

C. Not later than forty‑five days after the date of the determination made in subsection B of this section, each agency identified by the project sponsor shall submit to the director all anticipated authorizations required for each participating project, including both of the following:

1. The steps required by the project sponsor and the agency to complete each authorization.

2. The target completion time for each step.

D. If an agency requires an authorization for completion of a participating project that was not submitted pursuant to subsection C of this section, the agency shall provide the director a written statement of cause for the additional authorization.

E. Each agency identified by the project sponsor shall submit to the director any decision made that materially affects the status of a participating project and any significant document associated with the decision as allowed by state and federal law.

F. An agency may not require an eligible project to participate in the permitting dashboard. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2104. Permitting dashboard; permitting timetable

A. The director shall establish and maintain an online database to be known as the permitting dashboard that displays the progress to completion for state authorizations for participating projects. The permitting dashboard must include a visual interface that tracks the status of each authorization required for participating projects.

B. The director shall coordinate with the Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation, State Land Department, Department of Water Resources, Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Game and Fish Department AND State Historic Preservation Office and any other agency that requires authorization for a participating project.

C. For each participating project that is added to the permitting dashboard, the director may display on the permitting dashboard, to the extent consistent with applicable law, all of the following:

1. The notice submitted under section 41-2103, subsection A.

2. The application and supporting documents, if applicable, that have been submitted by a project sponsor for any required authorization or a notice explaining how the public may obtain access to the documents if the documents are not available on the website.

3. A description of any decision made that materially affects the status of a participating project.

4. A list of roles and responsibilities for all entities with authorization responsibility for the participating project.

5. A permitting timetable that sets forth a comprehensive schedule of dates by which all authorizations and, to the maximum extent practicable, state permits, reviews and approvals will be made.

6. The completion status of the authorization included in the permitting timetable. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2105. State, local and tribal government coordination

To integrate authorizations, each agency, to the maximum extent practicable, shall carry out the obligations of the agency with respect to a participating project under any other applicable law concurrently and, in conjunction with, other authorizations being conducted by other agencies or local or tribal governments unless the agency determines that doing so would impair the ability of the agency to carry out the statutory obligations of the agency. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2106. Dispute resolution; governor's regulatory review council

A. The director, in consultation with the project sponsor and relevant agency, as necessary, shall mediate any dispute related to the permitting timetable.

B. If no resolution is reached pursuant to subsection A of this section, the director shall notify the governor's regulatory review council and review the dispute with the directors of the relevant agency. Within THIRTY days after the director notifies the governor's regulatory review council of the dispute, the governor's regulatory review council shall recommend a course of action to the director, and the director may require agency action to resolve the dispute.

C. The governor's regulatory review council may adopt rules regarding the implementation of this section. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Delayed repeal

Title 41, chapter 16, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, is repealed from and after December 31, 2028.

Sec. 3. Permitting dashboard; report

On or before December 1, 2022, the director as defined in section 41‑2101, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, shall submit a report of findings from administering the permitting dashboard, including authorization completion times by agency, permitting completion times for participating projects and frequency of statements of cause for additional authorizations, to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chairperson of the senate natural resources, energy and water committee, or its successor committee, and the house of representatives natural resources, energy and water committee, or its successor committee, and provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.