Governor Announces 50 Reforms to Cut Red Tape Including License Renewals for RE Professionals
ALBANY—As promised as part of her EXPRESS NY initiative, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on June 15 the first 50 actions being taken across 22 state agencies geared to cutting red tape and saving New Yorkers an estimated tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary fees and compliance costs and more than one million hours of time spent navigating the regulatory process.
“The purpose of government should be to work for the people, not against them, and every New Yorker can agree that bureaucratic obstacles stand in the way, wasting time and money,” Governor Hochul said. “After hearing directly from New Yorkers, we’re cutting red tape, making it easier to build housing and infrastructure, access healthcare, and cut down on burdensome fees and paperwork — delivering a more efficient government for every New Yorker.”
Among the reforms of interest to the business sector include:
- Streamlining the occupational licensing renewal applications by simplifying the renewal application for the over 800,000 New Yorkers who have occupational licenses with the Department of State, including barbers, cosmetologists, real estate professionals, notaries, security guards and other licensed professionals.
The governor stated in a letter that DOS has reduced 67% of the information required on the renewal application form. These improvements include: consolidating multiple background questions and removing the requirement for applicants to list continuing education. DOS is also working to launch a modern, mobile-friendly digital service to make it easier and faster for New Yorkers to renew their licenses online.
- Accelerating affordable housing projects by streamlining the evaluation process used to determine which New York State Homes and Community Renewal-funded projects should undergo state historic preservation.
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) have streamlined the evaluation process used to determine which HCR-funded projects should undergo state historic preservation review to save time on reviews of affordable housing projects. This change will accelerate the delivery of affordable housing across New York, while ensuring preservation of significant historic resources.
- Reducing barriers for prefabricated housing moves by eliminating a $25,000 bonding requirement for the transportation of manufactured homes between 14 and 16 feet wide, making it easier and more affordable to deliver prefabricated homes throughout New York.
- Lowering financial barriers for building nursing homes by reducing the requirement for nursing homes to contribute 25% equity to construction projects. Reducing this requirement will lower barriers for nursing homes to undertake construction projects and modernize their facilities across the state.
- Modernizing the MWBE Program to streamline certification and boost outcomes for MWBEs, including a new Professional Declaration of Eligibility application to fast-track review of applications for licensed professionals (e.g., architects, engineers, attorneys), cutting anticipated review time for those applications by roughly 50%.
- Repealing 15 outdated labor regulations that are no longer in effect, but can cause confusion for regulated communities including small businesses, advocates, and workers. This includes removing a discriminatory 1950s-era rule that required restaurants to get a special permit to allow women to work after midnight; removing outdated rules around truck and bus operators’ time sheets, including rules specifying that timesheets must be “five and one-quarter inches by seven and one-half inches;” and removing outdated safety and contamination standards from the 1970s, including outdated rules around coin-operated machines and allowing for waste to be disposed of at the end of each day by burying or burning.
