NACo working with national project to
streamline building regulations

NACo is lending its support and leadership to a five-year effort that will establish national models for eliminating regulatory delays, overlap and duplication in building and construction regulation. Dubbed "Streamline the Nation's Building Regulatory Process," the project's objective is to enhance economic development, public safety and environmental quality by bringing better management and practices to the regulation of the siting, design and construction of all types of buildings throughout the United States. NACo is joining with 54 other national public and private sector organizations and federal agencies in sponsoring the initiative.

The National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards, Inc. (NCSBCS) initiated the project in 1996. In January, the streamlining project issued a national call for the public and private sector to submit case studies of existing streamlined processes and procedures that reduce regulatory overlap. To date 75 such case studies have been received.

NACo is seeking additional examples of county initiatives for use in this project.

During its first year this project received national attention from both Congress and the White House. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore have referred to the project in several national forums, and the initiative was described in the President's biannual Office of Science and Technology Report to Congress, "Science and Technology - Shaping the Twenty-First Century."

In September, the project began screening case studies and turning them into model processes and procedures. The project also will begin identifying and developing streamlined models in those areas of regulatory overlap and duplication that have not yet been successfully addressed.

This will be the longest and most difficult task of this five-year project. To assist in this specific task, a series of annual national workshops on regulatory streamlining is being considered. The first of those sessions could be held in the spring of 1998.

If your county is interested in submitting a case study or wants additional information on the streamlining project, contact Haron Battle at NACo at: 202/942-4204; or e-mail at hbattle@naco.org. You also are encouraged to visit the NCSBCS Web site at: <www.NCSBCS.org>.