State's Business Regulations to be Reviewed

By Kyle CheneyPrint Story | Email Story
State House News Service BOSTON - Why should the state fire marshal have to inspect above-ground storage tanks containing nonflammable liquids? Why should two people have to monitor a steam boiler when modern technology may reduce the need? These are two of the many admittedly esoteric questions that businesses in Massachusetts grapple with as they weed through the state's regulatory requirements. But as obscure as they may seem, trying to answer them adds up to thousands of hours for local business owners, who are now appealing to the government for help. In an effort to simplify the tangled web of restrictions and rules, Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday promised a sweeping examination of the commonwealth's regulations that he hopes will "strike the right and most effective balance between protecting consumers and the environment and also enabling businesses to get off the ground." "We have asked the leaders of the [business] community to talk with their members and to give us insights into where we should concentrate," he said after meeting with Attorney General Martha Coakley and 15 prominent business leaders. "I'm happy to have the enthusiastic support of the folks who participated in the meeting." Those participants included Associated Industries of Massachusetts President Rick Lord, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President Paul Guzzi, and the heads of the Worcester, Berkshire, South Shore and Cambridge chambers of commerce. The goal, Patrick said, is to "examine all of our business regulations for their simplicity, their straightforwardness, for their ease of compliance." The governor said that over the next three to four months, the administration and Coakley's office would gather information about what most hinders businesses from obtaining development permits and from performing their everyday operations. Then, they would revise regulations deemed barriers, or, if necessary, file legislation. AIM Executive Vice President for Government Affairs John Regan, who attended the meeting, said he was encouraged by the administration's outreach. "From a business climate perspective, these [regulations] are things that aggravate employers because they have to deal with them," he said in a phone interview. "If we can make them a little easier without diminishing public safety ... these are the kind of things we should be doing." Regan said business leaders were mulling a legislative proposal to require a review of state regulations every few years. "Let's not wait for the political leadership to line up," he said. "Thankfully, in this case they have, but let's build it into the normal practice of state government." Another attendee, David Begelfer, CEO of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, also endorsed the notion of recurring reviews. "Having an automatic, periodic look at regulations once they're put in makes an awful lot of sense," he told the News Service. "In any kind of bureaucracy, sometimes the regulations get bogged down. There may be some duplication of effort." Begelfer compared state government to "an established, older business." "If that business doesn't take a look at how it operates on a regular basis, it loses," he said. During the morning announcement, Coakley said her office's division of Business, Technology and Economic Development would work closely with the governor's staff to "clean up some of the overlapping duplicative regulations, but also as we go forward look at ways that we can speed up processes for applying for permits for getting business done, for getting projects done." That office was established this summer, Coakley said, because "we have such an obvious and visible role in terms of consumer protection, environmental protection, but as we go forward with generating those regulations, I think it's really important that the business community have a place to be heard in our office." Patrick said there wasn't a particular agency that business leaders were concerned with but cited the difficulty businesses were having investing in brownfields, contaminated sites that require cleanup from developers before being put into use. Begelfer agreed, calling brownfield regulations "a great example" of an area in need of regulatory reform. He suggested "compliance assistance" to help developers navigate the often confusing process of earning a permit.
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Pittsfield Road Cut Moratorium

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's annual city road cut moratorium will be in effect from Nov. 29, 2024 to March 15, 2025. 
 
The road cut moratorium is implemented annually, as a precautionary measure, to ensure roads are kept clear of construction work during snow events and to limit the cuts in roads that are filled with temporary patches while material is unavailable.
 
During this period, steel plates are not to be used to cover open excavations in roads. Also, the Department of Public Services and Utilities will not be issuing the following permits:
 
• General Permit
• Sewer Public Utility Connection Permit
• Stormwater Public Utility Connection Permit
• Water Public Utility Connection Permit
• Trench Permit
 
Limited exceptions will be made for emergency work that is determined to be an immediate threat to the health or safety of a property or its occupants.
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