Legislature clarifies permit bill: How will law affect members

As we went to press, it was learned that among the final actions of the General Assembly before its June 10th adjournment was passage of a clarified version of a bill "tolling," or stopping the clock, on applicable building permit or approval periods. In the current economy, when many approved building projects and developments are delayed, the Rhode Island Builders Association considered the original bill and its clarification to be crucial. The need for clarification developed when state agencies disagreed with RIBA over just when and for how long the "clock" was to stop on permits and approvals. The revised bill as passed states: "The expiration dates for all permits and approvals issued before the tolling period began will be recalculated as of July 1, 2011 by adding thereto the number of days between November 9, 2009 and the day on which the permit or approval would otherwise have expired. The expiration dates for all permits and approvals issued during the tolling period will be recalculated as of July 1, 2011 by adding thereto the number of days between the day the permit or approval was issued and the day the permit or approval otherwise would have expired." For the law to apply, the permit or approval must have been valid on November 9, 2009, or been issued after that date but before June 30, 2010. The law does not revive expired approvals. Members with approvals from the Dept. of Environmental Management or the Coastal Resources Management Council, with expirations dates between Nov. 9, 2009 and June 30, 2010 should contact RIBA executive director Roger Warren with your opinions: (401) 438-7400, or rwarren@ribuilders.org. For all State House matters of interest to the shelter industry, see RIBA's legislative status report online at ribuilders.org/library/legislative-articles/ or contact Roger Warren. Paul Eno is the owner and editor-in-chief of New River Press, Woonsocket and is the editor of the monthly RIBA newsletter, The Rhode Island Builder Report.