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| Licensing |
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All agencies
- Online license database. This database provides comprehensive information and links to almost all of the licenses, permits, and certifications the state requires for a variety of business and other activities.
Building trades licensing
- Combined licenses. Contractors with more than one specialty license can now apply to the DCBS Building Codes Division on one form, pay one fee and renew on one date, reducing redundant paperwork for the contractor and for the state.
- Overhaul licensing processes. BCD is streamlining existing licensing, certification, and registration issuance and renewal processes to make them faster and simpler and reduce errors.
Occupational therapist licensing
- Lengthening license terms. HB 2245 allowed the Occupational Therapist Licensing Board to double the term of their licenses, to two years. This will cut the time the agency and licensees need to spend filing and reviewing paperwork. It is also an illustration of the kinds of changes many professional licensing boards have made, including multi-year licenses and birth date license renewals.
Health licensing
- Elimination of duplicative facility licenses. Currently, several professions regulated by the Health Licensing Office may operate in one facility but be required to hold individual facility licenses for each profession. For example, a hair salon may also offer body piercing, electrology and tattooing services. The agency is developing a single facility license that would cover all professions under one roof but contain the same public protection standards of the individual facility licenses.
- Same-day licensing for cosmetology. The Health Licensing Office offers graduates of Oregon cosmetology schools the opportunity to obtain same-day licensing if they receive a passing score on the written state exam, administered using touch-screen technology. Graduates with passing examination scores who complete an application and pay the applicable fees may receive certification the same day, allowing them to practice immediately.
- Continuing education self-attestation. The Health Licensing Office has simplified license renewals by no longer requiring licensees to submit paperwork documenting completion of required continuing education classes or other CE requirements. Instead, the office conducts continuing education audits periodically, spot-checking to insure that licensees are upholding their CE responsibilities.
- Electronic payments. The Health Licensing Office is developing an e-payment system for fees, using credit cards for licensing applications, renewal and civil fines. Licensees will benefit by being able to make payments for licensing applications, renewals and civil fines 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Licensees will save on postage and time by the elimination of mailing or dropping off payments/paperwork.
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| Inspections and examinations |
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Agriculture and human services
- Simplified food safety inspections. The Departments of Agriculture and Human Services have adopted the federal "Food Code." This has resulted in eliminating duplicate inspections by both agencies at some businesses, and focused food safety inspections on the top causes of food-borne illness.
- Cross training for water quality planners and livestock water quality specialists. This will allow all Department of Agriculture planning and inspection staff to consistently recognize and interpret baseline problems resulting from landowner practices, and improve consistency of interpretation and compliance strategies.
Financial institutions
- Risk-based examinations. The DCBS Division of Finance & Corporate Securities is shifting from transaction-based to risk-focused exams of state-chartered financial institutions. Risk-focused examinations require less time on site than transaction-based exams, reducing the disruption of an institution's operations while producing a more accurate profile of its soundness.
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| Administrative rules |
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All agencies
- Streamlining administrative rules. HB 3120 created a task force to examine how the state adopts and changes administrative rules. Chaired by DCBS Director Cory Streisinger, the task force will look in particular at how state agencies estimate the impact of rules on business and use available tools to minimize those impacts. The task force recently held its first meeting, and will make recommendations to the 2005 legislative session for any needed changes.
Building codes
- Reducing the number of Oregon modifications to national codes. This will make Oregon's code more consistent with the national code it is based on. The structural specialty code is based on a national code that is modified at the national level every three years. Currently, the state makes hundreds of Oregon-specific amendments to this code yearly. Businesses, trades people, and government will benefit from fewer amendments because there will be less need for training and its attendant costs. Stabilizing the code will make it more predictable and allow more time for people to become familiar with it before it is updated. This will also make it easier for businesses that do construction in multiple states to understand and comply with Oregon's code.
Liquor control
- Rules simplification. In the next six months, OLCC will create a rules book that is written in plain English. One benefit is a set of rules that can be understood by those not familiar with bureaucratic jargon or "rules" language. Another is ease in communication about current or proposed rules. Finally, the agency hopes to improve consistency of interpretations and enforcement through this project.
Occupational safety and health
- Core Rules Project. The DCBS Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) is condensing its standards into a manual of core rules that affect all employers. Because most employers are small, the manual will lay out basic OSHA requirements that apply to all businesses in an easy to read format, and provide references for more information for specific businesses. Small, non-manufacturing employers in particular will have a vastly simpler resource to consult to help them comply with occupation safety and health rules that apply to their businesses, reducing exposure to accidents and penalties for noncompliance.
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| Plans and permits |
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Building codes
- Simplified building plan reviews. Qualified architects and engineers can now sign off on plan reviews for residential construction. As a result, builders won´t have to take the time and expense of submitting the plans to the DCBS Building Codes Division or a local building department for approval.
- Minor project permitting. Contractors who do minor electrical and plumbing projects in multiple jurisdictions no longer need to get an individual building permit from each jurisdiction for each and every project. For example, a plumber with a contract to install water heaters for a builder on several projects in different cities will now only need a single "minor label" permit, not individual permits for each individual water heater in each location.
- Expedited plan review. Builders with critical construction projects now have the option of asking the DCBS Building Codes Division to do the legwork to expedite plan review, permits, and inspections in collaboration with local agencies. This will help contractors spend their time building instead of tracking paperwork.
- Industrial electrical equipment. Certain kind of industrial equipment (high tech manufacturing equipment, for example) is now exempt from current electrical certification and evaluation requirements. This very expensive, complex equipment now can demonstrate its safety through a variety of means other than the testing previous law required.
Water quality
- Wastewater permits. DEQ has formed a stakeholder advisory group to make recommendations on how to address permitting backlogs and program management issues. Implementation of those recommendations will benefit wastewater permit holders through faster permit processing and a reduced permitting backlog. Changes will also result in a more strategic program that focuses on the most significant problems in any given watershed.
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| General regulation |
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All agencies
- Central Business Registry. The Secretary of State Corporations Division is leading a multi-agency effort to create a one-stop, online registration for businesses. Once available (scheduled for June 2005), businesses will be able to file their business entity (corporation, partnership, assumed business name, etc.) at the same time they register with the Employment Department to hire employees, register their workers compensation coverage, and file with the Department of Revenue. Later additions to the registry may provide for other professional and business licensing, all through a single, Web-based system.
- Business climate survey. This statistically valid, random sample survey of Oregon employers asked them to identify the regulator they most recently had involvement with, and rate that regulatory agency in terms of such factors as promptness, clarity of process, fairness, flexibility, etc. Results of the survey are being used to help identify centers of excellence, and areas where more focus on customer service and satisfaction is needed. Part two of the survey is currently underway, and seeks input from any business interested in participating.
Revenue
- Joint federal-state corporation income tax filing. The Department of Revenue is working with the Internal Revenue Service to evaluate the feasibility of corporations electronically filing their state and federal returns. Many corporations are already using software to prepare their returns but currently must print out and mail paper copies for both federal and state filing. (For larger taxpayers, the return can be very large.) If electronic filing were available, taxpayers could electronically 'send' a return once and have it filed for both federal and state. In addition, the taxpayer would get a receipt confirming that return was received. The project is just getting established but has the potential to streamline a burdensome process for businesses.
Liquor control
- Single staff handling of certain cases. OLCC is currently testing a revamped process that gives licensees and their attorneys a single agency contact person from the point of official notification of compliance action, or license refusal or restriction. This will make it easier for the licensee to get information, because the person who writes a charging document (a letter which states the proposed outcome and summarizes the agency's case) in enforcement or licensing cases will also present the case if applicant or licensee contests the proposed outcome and asks for a hearing.
For more information or for specific agency contacts, call or e-mail the Office of Regulatory Streamlining at (503) 378-4100.
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| Complete listing of projects |
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A complete list of streamlining projects sorted by agency or category .
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