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Legislative counsel outlines Land Use Review Board powers, membership and rulemaking responsibilities
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Summary
A legislative counsel told the Natural Resources & Energy committee that recent legislation reconstituted the Land Use Review Board as a full-time, professional body with new qualifications, a nominating committee process and authority for certain administrative oversight and rulemaking related to Act 250.
A legislative council attorney who handles land use, energy and climate change told the Natural Resources & Energy committee that recent legislation reconstituted the Land Use Review Board as a full-time, professional body with expanded qualifications and specific oversight responsibilities.
The attorney said the law requires board members to have experience, expertise or skills in areas such as environmental science, land-use law, planning and community development, and added that "all candidates shall have [a] commitment to environmental justice," language the attorney said appears in the statutory qualifications.
The attorney described the board's new structure as five full-time members. Previously, the Natural Resources Board consisted of one full-time chair and four members who served part time and were paid per diem. The change professionalizes the board and updates qualifications and diversity expectations: the statute directs the nominating process to seek racial, ethnic, gender and geographic diversity and specifies that no two members may reside in the same county.
Applications for board membership are reviewed by a nominating committee composed of four legislators and two executive-branch members; that committee screens candidates, interviews them and forwards qualified names to the governor.
The attorney said the board's authority is administrative oversight of Act 250 and the agency staff that support it, including enforcement officers and attorneys. He said the legislation does not give the board appellate authority over district commission decisions, which continue to be handled by nine district commissions.
The law also gives the board authority to review and decide certain Tier 1a permit applications and to approve regional plans, and it assigns the board responsibility for several rulemaking processes, including rules related to Tier 3, a road rule and other specified subjects. The attorney cautioned that the rule actions "are gonna take a lot of time" and will shape how the state implements parts of the statute.
Committee members asked how the requirement for a "commitment to environmental justice" would be assessed. The attorney said the phrase was included alongside other qualifications and was addressed in application and interview materials; the nominating committee considered applicants' demonstrated commitment when vetting candidates.
The presentation closed without committee action; members asked clarifying questions and were advised that further work on rulemaking and implementation will follow as the board becomes fully operational.
