Senate committee hears broad support, legal questions for CRMC reform bill (S-775)

Senator McKinney told the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture that Senate Bill 775 would replace the volunteer Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) with an executive-style Department of Coastal Resources, arguing the change would create clearer accountability and restore public trust in coastal permitting and enforcement.

The Attorney General’s office, represented by Allison Fonseca, policy and legislative counsel, testified in full support. Fonseca said the CRMC professional staff are “strong” and that removing the council would empower staff to make technical decisions while retaining community input through an advisory committee. She told the committee the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) analysis overstated staffing needs and noted that bringing legal services in-house could replace roughly $200,000 in outside counsel costs.

Save the Bay and allied organizations testified the council structure has produced repeated delays, frequent canceled meetings and legal reversals. Jed Thorpe, director of advocacy at Save the Bay, said volunteers lack required technical expertise, that permits and enforcement actions are subject to multi-year backlogs, and that the current council has overridden staff recommendations in ways later reversed by courts. Catherine Robinson Hall, Save the Bay staff attorney and former CRMC member, told senators the transfer of authority from council to agency is a transfer of powers that have already been delegated and cited Rhode Island case law addressing nondelegation concerns.

Other environmental and sporting-lands groups — including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (Michael Woods), the Environment Council of Rhode Island (Peter Trafton), and former council members (Paul Beaudette) — described recurring governance and quorum problems, pointed to court decisions overturning council actions, and urged the committee to pass S-775 to shorten permitting timelines and strengthen enforcement.

Committee members asked about federal review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and constitutional questions about delegation of authority. Fonseca said the bill is structured to be contingent on NOAA approval and reported prior conversations with NOAA; Catherine Hall and witnesses cited Rhode Island case law (Millardo v. CRMC and J.M. Mills v. Murphy) as precedent addressing delegation issues. Senators also noted an OMB report estimating implementation costs that witnesses described as inflated; witnesses said CRMC already employs technical staff and would need fewer new FTEs than the OMB analysis suggested.

The bill would: rename CRMC to the Department of Coastal Resources; make a director (appointed by the governor with advice and consent) the final permitting and enforcement authority; authorize one or more hearing officers (appointments include governor appointment with advice and consent and a five-year term for a hearing officer was discussed during questioning); and establish an advisory community committee to preserve public input while shifting final decisionmaking to staffed experts.

Committee discussion included related proposals to change council voting thresholds (Sen. McKinney and others noted a separate bill that would require a supermajority to override staff recommendations) and the practical effect of replacing contract legal counsel with in-house counsel. Multiple witnesses urged the committee to fund CRMC staff adequately regardless of structural change.

The committee took a procedural voice vote to hold S-775 for further study. A motion to hold was made by Senator Bridal and seconded by Senator Rogers; the voice vote passed and the bill was held.

Votes at the committee were voice votes without a roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. Several senators asked for additional legal and fiscal analysis before floor action.