(a) The Permit Assistance Program is hereby created within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
(b) The program shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide permitting and regulatory compliance assistance to businesses.
(2) Assist businesses in accessing information and resources related to permitting and regulatory compliance.
(3) Provide mediation and third-party neutral facilitation to resolve conflicts between applicants and permitting and regulatory entities.
(4) Work with federal, state, regional, and local permitting and regulatory entities to exchange best practices and implement improvements to modernize permitting processes.
(5) Manage and regularly update the office’s Internet Web site pursuant to Section 12097.1.
(c) The program shall work cooperatively with local, regional, federal, and other state public agencies and private sector business and economic development organizations.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development shall report to the Governor and the Legislature annually on the activities and outcomes of the program.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 78, Sec. 1. (AB 2605) Effective January 1, 2017.)
(a) The director shall ensure that the office’s Internet Web site contains information on the licensing, permitting, and registration requirements of state agencies, and shall include, but not be limited to, information that does all of the following:
(1) Assists individuals with identifying the type of applications, forms, or other similar documents an applicant may need.
(2) Provides a direct link to a digital copy of all state licensing, permitting, and registration applications, forms, or other similar documents where made available for download.
(3) Instructs individuals on how and where
to submit applications, forms, or other similar documents.
(b) The director shall ensure that the office’s Internet Web site contains information on the fee requirements and fee schedules of state agencies, and shall include, but not be limited to, information that does all of the following:
(1) Assists individuals with identifying the types of fees and their due dates.
(2) Provides direct links to the fee requirements and fee schedules for all state agencies, where made available for download.
(3) Instructs individuals on how and where to submit payments.
(c) The office shall ensure that the Internet Web site is user-friendly and provides accurate, updated information.
(d) (1) Each state agency that has licensing, permitting, or registration authority shall provide direct links to information about its licensing, permitting, and registration requirements and fee schedule to the office.
(2) A state agency shall not use the Internet Web site established under this section as the exclusive source of information for the public to access licensing requirements and fees for that agency.
(e) The office may impose a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual cost to provide the service, as a condition of accessing information on the Internet Web site established under subdivisions (a) and (b).
(Added by renumbering Section 12019.5 by Stats. 2016, Ch. 78, Sec. 2. (AB 2605) Effective January 1, 2017.)