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1994 SESSION

LD4791482
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 351
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Rules
on February 10, 1994
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Wagner)
Requesting the Governor's Commission on Government Reform to develop and implement a plan to streamline Virginia's environmental and natural resources regulating process.

WHEREAS, the protection of Virginia's environment and its natural resources is important to all citizens of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, current Virginia environmental and natural resources regulatory structure cuts across several Secretariats and involves numerous agencies, many of which have overlapping regulatory responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, a more efficient regulatory system would provide the regulated community with a better understanding of its responsibilities in protecting Virginia's environment and natural resources; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Governor's Commission on Government Reform be requested to develop and implement a plan to streamline Virginia's environmental and natural resources regulatory process. During its deliberations, the Commission shall be guided by the principle that the proposed structure for regulatory reform shall provide a more efficient permitting process, administered by fewer agencies. The Commission shall examine the feasibility of consolidating the regulatory functions of those agencies under the Secretary of Natural Resources, including, but not limited to, the Departments of Environmental Quality, Conservation and Recreation, Historic Resources, and Game and Inland Fisheries; the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department; and the Marine Resources Commission. In addition, it shall also consider the appropriateness of incorporating into such a regulatory scheme those agencies within the purview of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade which oversee the use of the Commonwealth's natural resources.

The Commission shall report its recommendations for regulatory reform, along with the specific changes in statutory language that will be necessary to implement the new regulatory framework, to the House Committee on Conservation and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than December 1, 1994.