Amendment ID: S2829-101-R1

Redraft Amendment 101

Municipal Permit Timing Safety Valve When Awaiting Response

Ms. Comerford, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Eldridge, Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Miranda and Messrs. Moore, Tarr and Gomez move that the proposed new draft be amended in section 21, by striking out, in line 422, the words “and (vi)” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “(vi) guidance for procedures and potential extensions of time should an applicant fail to respond to a request for information within a specified timeframe or proposes a significant revision to a proposed project; provided, however, that the department shall solicit public input in the development of such guidance; and (vii)”; and

in said section 21, in proposed section 22 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, by adding the following subsection:-

“(j)  If more than 50 per cent of applications for small clean energy infrastructure facilities processed in a 24-month period have been constructively approved, the department of energy resources, the department of public utilities, and the office of environmental justice and equity shall, within 6 months, analyze and report on the cause of the high rate of constructive approvals and make recommendations to local governments, the general court, and the governor on how to reduce the number of constructive approvals and increase the number of decisions issued within the 12-months for local governments and, for small clean energy infrastructure facilities that the energy facilities siting board reviews, within the deadlines established for such reviews by the energy facilities siting board.”