Governor signs Smith bill to promote economic development through business and government streamlining projects

Governor signs Smith bill to promote economic development through business and government streamlining projects

A bill that will implement a program to streamline regulations across multi-governmental jurisdictions for specific sectors of businesses was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday, May 21.

Tenth District Rep. Norma Smith, economic development leader for Washington House Republicans and prime-sponsor of the bill, said this is an important step in regulatory reform.

“This measure launches a pilot project that would pull together businesses from a specific sector within a geographic locale with the multiple layers of government – city, county, state agencies, and other stakeholders. Together, they will inventory all regulatory hurdles to drive change and make recommendations to streamline regulations and reduce governmental barriers impacting that sector,” said Smith, R-Clinton. “The state Department of Commerce is willing to be the lead, and feels that there is much benefit to be reaped from the effort. It would involve the governor’s lean management office and the Office of Regulatory Reform. There are private companies interested and willing to partner for success.”

The first sector to be reviewed under the legislation will be manufacturing.

“Advanced manufacturing and production is critical to our state’s economy,” Smith said. “The idea for this legislation came from a manufacturer who had significant difficulty in successfully locating a facility in Washington state.”

The department must also submit annual reports to the Legislature on project outcomes and streamlining recommendations identified that require statutory changes for implementation.

For more information about Rep. Smith, visit: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/smith.

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Rep. Smith’s media: