                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ONE-STOP SMALL BUSINESS PERMITTING PROGRAM (§ 2.2-1617)

A. As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
			&#8220;Business Permitting Center&#8221; or &#8220;Center&#8221; means the
business registration and permitting center established by this section and
located in and under the administrative control of the Department.
			&#8220;Comprehensive application&#8221; means a document incorporating
pertinent data from existing applications for permits covered under this
section.
			&#8220;Comprehensive permit&#8221; means the single document designed for
public display issued by the Business Permitting Center that certifies state
agency permit approval and that incorporates the endorsements for individual
permits included in the comprehensive permitting program.
			&#8220;Comprehensive permitting program&#8221; or &#8220;Program&#8221; means
the mechanism by which comprehensive permits are issued and renewed, permit and
regulatory information is disseminated, and account data is exchanged by state
agencies.
			&#8220;Permit&#8221; means the whole or part of any state agency permit,
license, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or any form or permission
required by law, to engage in activity associated with or involving the
establishment of a small business in the Commonwealth.
			&#8220;Permit information packet&#8221; means a collection of information
about permitting requirements and application procedures custom assembled for
each request.
			&#8220;Regulatory&#8221; means all permitting and other governmental or
statutory requirements establishing a small business or professional activities
associated with establishing a small business.
			&#8220;Regulatory agency&#8221; means any state agency, board, commission, or
division that regulates one or more professions, occupations, industries,
businesses, or activities.
			&#8220;Renewal application&#8221; means a document used to collect pertinent
data for renewal of permits covered under this section.
			&#8220;Small business&#8221; means an independently owned and operated
business that, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or average
annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three
years.
			&#8220;Veteran&#8221; means an individual who has served in the active
military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released therefrom
under conditions other than dishonorable.

B. There is created within the Department the comprehensive permitting program
(the Program). The Program is established to serve as a single access point to
aid entrepreneurs in filling out the various permit applications associated with
establishing a small business in Virginia. The Program in no way supersedes or
supplants any regulatory authority granted to any state agency with permits
covered by this section. As part of the Program, the Department shall coordinate
with the regulatory agency, and the regulatory agency shall determine,
consistent with applicable law, what types of permits are appropriate for
inclusion in the Program as well as the rules governing the submission of and
payment for those permits. The website of the Department shall provide access to
information regarding the Program. The Department shall have the power and duty
to:

   1. Create a comprehensive application that will allow an entrepreneur, or an
   agent thereof, seeking to establish a small business, to create accounts that
   will allow them to acquire the appropriate permits required in the
   Commonwealth. The comprehensive application shall:
   				a. Allow the business owner to choose a business type and to provide
   common information, such as name, address, and telephone number, on the front
   page, eliminating the need to repeatedly provide common information on each
   permit application;
   				b. Allow the business owner to preview and answer questions related to the
   operation of the business;
   				c. Provide business owners with a customized to-do agency checklist, which
   checklist shall provide the permit applications pertinent to each business
   type and provide the rules, regulations, and general laws applicable to each
   business type as well as local licensing information;
   				d. Allow the business owner to submit permit applications by electronic
   means as authorized by &#xA7; 59.1-496 and to affix thereto his electronic
   signature as defined in &#xA7; 59.1-480;
   				e. Allow the business owner to check on the status of applications online
   and to receive information from the permitting agencies electronically; and
   				f. Allow a business owner to submit electronic payment of application or
   permitting fees for applications that have been accepted by the permitting
   agency.

   2. Develop and administer a computerized system program capable of storing,
   retrieving, and exchanging permit information while protecting the
   confidentiality of information submitted to the Department to the extent
   allowable by law. Information submitted to the Department shall be subject to
   the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et
   seq.) as the same would apply were the information submitted directly to the
   Department or to any permitting agency.

   3. Issue and renew comprehensive permits in an efficient manner.

   4. Identify the types of permits appropriate for inclusion in the Program. The
   Department shall coordinate with the regulatory agency, and the regulatory
   agency shall determine, consistent with applicable law, what types of permits
   are appropriate for inclusion in the Program.

   5. Incorporate permits into the Program.

   6. Do all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this
   chapter.

C. Regulatory agencies shall, by November 30 of each year, provide the
Department with information outlining any changes to the agency&#8217;s policies
and regulations. The Business Permitting Center shall compile information
regarding the regulatory programs associated with each of the permits obtainable
under the Program. This information shall include, at a minimum, a listing of
the statutes and administrative rules requiring the permits and pertaining to
the regulatory programs that are directly related to the permit. The Center
shall provide information governed by this section to any person requesting it.
Materials used by the Center to describe the services provided by the Center
shall indicate that this information is available upon request.

D. Each state agency shall cooperate and provide reasonable assistance to the
Department in the implementation of this section.

E. The State Corporation Commission and the Department of Small Business and
Supplier Diversity shall by January 1, 2020, establish one or more processes by
which data or information relevant to the Program can be collected and exchanged
electronically.

F. Any person requiring permits that have been incorporated into the Program may
submit a comprehensive application to the Department requesting the issuance of
the permits. The comprehensive application form shall contain in consolidated
form information necessary for the issuance of the permits.

G. The applicant, if not a veteran, shall include with the application the
handling fee established by the Department. An applicant who is a veteran shall
be exempt from payment of the handling fee prescribed by this subsection. The
amount of the handling fee assessed against the applicant shall be set by the
Department at a level necessary to cover the costs of administering the
comprehensive permitting program.

H. The authority for approving the issuance and renewal of any requested permit
that requires investigation, inspection, testing, or other judgmental review by
the regulatory agency otherwise legally authorized to issue the permit shall
remain with that agency. The Center may issue those permits for which proper fee
payment and a completed application form have been received and for which no
approval action is required by the regulatory agency.

I. Upon receipt of the application, and proper fee payment for any permit for
which issuance is subject to regulatory agency action under subsection H, the
Department shall immediately notify the State Corporation Commission or the
regulatory agency with authority to approve the permit issuance or renewal
requested by the applicant. The State Corporation Commission or the regulatory
agency shall advise the Department within a reasonable time after receiving the
notice of one of the following:

   1. That the State Corporation Commission or the regulatory agency approves the
   issuance of the requested permit and will advise the applicant of any specific
   conditions required for issuing the permit;

   2. That the State Corporation Commission or the regulatory agency denies the
   issuance of the permit and gives the applicant reasons for the denial;

   3. That the application is pending; or

   4. That the application is incomplete and further information from or action
   by the applicant is necessary.

J. The Department shall issue a comprehensive permit endorsed for all the
approved permits to the applicant and advise the applicant of the status of
other requested permits. The applicant shall be responsible for contesting any
decision regarding conditions imposed or permits denied through the normal
process established by statute or by the State Corporation Commission or the
regulatory agency with the authority for approving the issuance of the permit.

K. Regulatory agencies shall be provided information from the comprehensive
application for their permitting and regulatory functions.

L. The Department shall be responsible for directing the applicant to make all
payments for applicable fees established by the regulatory agency directly to
the proper agency.

M. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to
be known as the Comprehensive Permitting Fund, hereafter referred to as
&#8220;the Fund.&#8221; The Fund shall be established on the books of the
Comptroller. The Fund shall consist of all moneys collected from the handling
fee established by the Department pursuant to subsection G and such other funds
as may be appropriated by the General Assembly. Interest earned on moneys in the
Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the
Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not
revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund
shall be used solely to administer the Program. Expenditures and disbursements
from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the
Comptroller upon written request signed by the Director of the Department.

N. Unless otherwise directed by the regulatory agency, the Department shall not
issue or renew a comprehensive permit to any person under any of the following
circumstances:

   1. The person does not have a valid tax registration, if required;

   2. The person is a corporation, limited liability company, business trust,
   limited partnership, or registered limited liability partnership that (i) is
   delinquent in the payment of fees or penalties collected by the State
   Corporation Commission pursuant to the business entity statutes it
   administers, (ii) does not exist, or (iii) is not authorized to transact
   business in the Commonwealth pursuant to one of the business entity statutes
   administered by the State Corporation Commission; or

   3. The person has not submitted the sum of all fees and deposits required for
   the requested individual permit endorsements, any outstanding comprehensive
   permit delinquency fee, or other fees and penalties to be collected through
   the comprehensive permitting program.

O. The Department shall develop and provide guidance to businesses with newly
approved permits regarding responsibilities and requirements for maintaining
such business. Such guidance shall include information regarding sales tax and
unemployment tax requirements, workers&#8217; compensation insurance
requirements, and postings required by the Virginia Department of Labor and
Industry and the U.S. Department of Labor. Any guidance provided for in this
subsection may be provided electronically.

P. The Department may adopt regulations in accordance with &#xA7; 2.2-1606 as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

HISTORY: 2013, cc. 155, 206, 482; 2014, c. 758; 2018, c. 218; 2020, c. 750.