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CHAPTER 263
HB 248 - FINAL VERSION
15Mar2011... 0738h
05/18/2011 1834s
05/18/2011 1914s
05/18/2011 2000s
22June2011... 2475CofC
22June2011... 2528EBA
2011 SESSION
11-0626
05/09
HOUSE BILL 248
AN ACT establishing a commission to study business regulations in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Mirski, Graf 10; Rep. Cebrowski, Hills 18; Rep. Seidel, Hills 20
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a commission to study business regulations in New Hampshire.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15Mar2011... 0738h
05/18/2011 1834s
05/18/2011 1914s
05/18/2011 2000s
22June2011... 2475CofC
22June2011... 2528EBA
11-0626
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT establishing a commission to study business regulations in New Hampshire.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
263:1 New Chapter; Commission to Study Business Regulations in New Hampshire. Amend RSA by inserting after RSA 359-J the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 359-K
COMMISSION TO STUDY BUSINESS REGULATIONS
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
359-K:1 Commission to Study Business Regulations in New Hampshire.
I. There is a commission established to study business regulations in New Hampshire, the impact they have on employment growth and business profitability, and the costs and benefits associated with the current regulatory environment. The goals of the commission shall be to:
(a) Review New Hampshire's business oversights that fall under the umbrella of labor and workforce regulations.
(b) Review New Hampshire's business oversights that fall under the umbrella of environmental and construction/permitting regulations.
(c) Identify potential reforms that could be made to regulations cited above, and develop legislation for the 2012 session to accomplish those reforms.
II. The members of the commission shall be as follows:
(a) Four members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, each of whom shall have experience or expertise in labor issues or environmental and construction issues.
(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, each of whom shall have experience or expertise in labor issues or environmental and construction issues.
(c) Public members representing the following groups and interests, appointed in such a manner as to create a commission comprised of representatives from both the private and public sector, diversely representative of the state by geography and by industry:
(1) One representative of the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, appointed by the association.
(2) One representative of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, appointed by that organization.
(3) One representative of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, appointed by that organization.
(4) One representative of the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce, appointed by that organization.
(5) One representative of the Lebanon-area Chamber of Commerce, appointed by that organization.
(6) One representative of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, appointed by that organization.
(7) One representative of the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire, appointed by the association.
(8) One representative of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, appointed by the association.
(9) One representative of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, appointed by the association.
(10) One representative of the NH/VT chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., appointed by that organization.
(11) One member representing human resources professionals, appointed by HR State Council of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.
(12) One representative of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, appointed by that organization.
(13) One representative of the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association, appointed by the association.
(14) One representative of the New Hampshire High Technology Council, appointed by that organization.
(15) One representative of the New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership, appointed by that organization.
(16) One representative of the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, appointed by that organization.
(17) Two public members, appointed by the office of the governor.
(18) One representative of the building and construction trades, appointed by the governor.
(19) One representative of labor, appointed by the governor.
III.(a) In order to maximize the talents and expertise of both private and public sector members of the commission, while allowing the goals to be achieved as efficiently as possible, the commission shall be divided into the following subcommittees:
(1) A subcommittee to review labor and workforce regulations; and
(2) A subcommittee to review environmental and construction/permitting regulations.
(b)(1) The labor and workforce regulations subcommittee shall be divided to focus upon the following specific issues:
(A) Worker's compensation.
(B) Wages/hours.
(C) Licensing/classification of workers.
(D) Workers' safety.
(E) Unemployment benefits.
(2) The environmental and construction/permitting subcommittee shall be divided to focus upon the following specific issues:
(A) Air quality issues and regulations.
(B) Appeals process.
(C) Waste and hazardous materials management.
(D) Water quality issues.
(E) Energy regulations and issues.
(F) Construction regulations.
(G) Building and life safety codes.
(H) Permitting and licensing.
IV. The commission shall study and evaluate the findings and recommendations of each of the subcommittees to determine whether there are changes to the present level of business regulation in each of the identified subject areas that should be considered by the legislature in order to:
(a) Minimize and reduce the negative impacts of regulation while preserving public safety;
(b) Ensure that regulations are clearly understood and communicated to the business community and that state regulations do not conflict with federal laws and regulations or create an uncompetitive business climate by placing an unreasonable or unfair burden on New Hampshire's business community; and
(c) Address any other issue related to improving New Hampshire's business regulatory environment.
V. The commission shall solicit information from the department of environmental services and other relevant state agencies. State agencies shall cooperate with the commission, and provide data, information, reports, and testimony to the commission upon request.
VI. Commission members shall appoint a chair from among the members at the first meeting. The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 30 days of the effective date of this section. Thirteen members of the commission shall constitute a quorum.
VII. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation except that legislative members of the commission shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending meetings of the commission.
VIII. The commission shall, following a public hearing, submit an interim report on or before October 31, 2011, containing its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation, to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the house and senate clerks, and the state librarian.
IX. The commission shall submit a final report of its findings, including input from relevant state agencies, and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the parties listed in paragraph VIII on or before October 31, 2012.
263:2 Repeal. RSA 359-K, relative to a commission to study business regulations in New Hampshire, is repealed.
263:3 Contingent Renumbering. If SB 92 of the 2011 legislative session becomes law, RSA 359-K as inserted by section 1 of this bill and the reference to RSA 359-K as inserted by section 2 of this bill shall be renumbered as RSA 359-L.
263:4 Effective Date.
I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect October 31, 2012.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: Enacted in accordance with Article 44, Part II, of N.H. Constitution, without the signature of the governor, July 14, 2011.
Effective Date: I. Section 2 shall take effect October 31, 2012.
II. Remainder shall take effect July 14, 2011.
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