Chapter 374 Oregon Laws 2001
AN ACT
SB 957
Relating to state agencies;
and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
(1) As used in this section and section
2 of this 2001 Act, “permit” means an individual and particularized license,
permit, certificate, approval, registration or similar form of permission
required by law to pursue any activity specified in this section, for which an
agency must weigh information, make specific findings and make determinations
on a case-by-case basis for each applicant.
(2) The requirements of
this section and section 2 of this 2001 Act apply to the following permits
granted by:
(a) The Department of
Environmental Quality under ORS 448.415, 454.655, 454.695, 454.790, 454.800,
459.205, 465.315, 465.325, 466.140, 466.145, 466.706 to 466.882, 468A.040,
468A.310, 468B.035, 468B.040, 468B.045, 468B.050 and 468B.095.
(b) The Division of
State Lands under ORS 196.800 to 196.900 and 390.805 to 390.925.
(c) The Water Resources
Department under ORS chapters 537 and 540, except those permits issued under
ORS 537.747 to 537.765.
(d) The State Forestry
Department for which written plans are required under ORS chapter 527.
(e) The State Department
of Agriculture pursuant to ORS 468B.200 to 468B.230 and 622.250.
(f) The State Department
of Fish and Wildlife pursuant to ORS 497.142, 497.218, 497.228, 497.238,
497.248, 497.252, 497.298, 497.308, 498.019, 498.279, 498.284, 508.106,
508.300, 508.760, 508.775, 508.801, 508.840, 508.880, 508.926 and 509.140.
(g) The Department of
Transportation pursuant to ORS 374.312.
SECTION 2.
(1) At the time a person applies for a
permit specified in section 1 of this 2001 Act, the issuing agency shall offer
a document to that applicant that specifies the criteria and procedures for
evaluating a permit application.
(2) The agencies
specified in section 1 of this 2001 Act must document in writing the basis for
all decisions to deny a permit specified in section 1 of this 2001 Act,
including citation to the criteria applied by the agency and the manner in
which agency standards were utilized in applying the criteria. The
documentation required under this section shall be made part of the record for
the decision on the permit application.
(3) At least one officer
or employee of the issuing agency who has authority to sign orders on behalf of
the agency, or the officer or employee responsible for the decision to deny a
permit specified in section 1 of this 2001 Act, shall sign the documentation
required under subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The issuing agency
shall provide to the applicant a copy of the documentation required under
subsection (2) of this section.
SECTION 3.
Each issuing agency specified in section
1 of this 2001 Act shall make a report to the Seventy-second Legislative
Assembly that describes the actions the agency has taken or the rules the
agency has adopted to improve the services provided to applicants and to
increase applicant understanding of the permit process, including the agency’s
criteria and procedures for denying permits.
SECTION 4.
(1) To allow time for agencies specified
in section 1 of this 2001 Act to assemble appropriate materials and to pursue
rulemaking if necessary, the provisions of section 2 of this 2001 Act become
operative on the 90th day following the effective date of this 2001 Act.
(2) The provisions of
section 2 of this 2001 Act apply to permits applied for on or after the
operative date of section 2 of this 2001 Act.
SECTION 5.
This 2001 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is
declared to exist, and this 2001 Act takes effect on its passage.
Approved by the Governor
June 14, 2001
Filed in the office of
Secretary of State June 15, 2001
Effective date June 14, 2001
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