By now you have likely seen the Governor’s upsetting yet predictable tantrum following the special legislative session he called.
Aside from the pedestrian power grab of another DOGE-style purge Dunleavy slipped in something equally insidious we need to pay close attention to: Order 360.
Under the guise of reducing regulatory red tape, a provision granting automatic permit approvals if deadlines aren’t met offers up the widest loophole for all sorts of development projects. That means that if a permitting agency like DEC or DNR were to accidentally (or purposefully) miss their deadlines, even if environmental studies haven’t concluded, Order 360 could green light something like a mine without public process.
“I don’t know that the governor has that power,” Senator Jesse Kiehl said. “We set standards in the law and departments have regulations setting up the way to meet those standards, and we absolutely owe private businesses a speedy turnaround, but a time clock doesn’t have anything to do with whether a project meets the standards or not.”
Taking away our regulatory safeguards is dangerous and illegal.
Those of us tracking the current boondoggle at Cascade Point have observed how this governor uses ursine tactics to rush his agenda through without regard for what will break and who will accept the costs. His new Comprehensive Regulatory Reform Initiative attempts to codify that gambit.
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