Revision: Feb. 19, 2025, 3:48 p.m.
Senate Executive Departments and Administration
February 19, 2025
2025-0507s
02/05
Amendment to SB 180-FN
Amend the bill by replacing section 2 with the following:
2 New Chapter; Coos County Established as Distressed Place-Based Economy. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 162-T the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 162-U
COOS COUNTY ESTABLISHED AS DISTRESSED PLACE-BASED ECONOMY
162-U:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
I. "Place-based economy" means a tailored economic development response that uses a region's unique characteristics to create and sustain growth. The goal is to improve the quality of life and economic vitality by building on its limited strengths and assets.
II. "Distressed" means an area that has a high rate of poverty, unemployment, or outmigration and is the most severely and persistently economically distressed and underdeveloped.
162-U:2 Regulatory Principle for Department Commissioners. Commissioners of state departments shall include county government input for any Coos County decisions impacting its place-based economy. Collaborative regulatory approaches with existing regional economic objectives shall minimize unintended economic impacts. To protect the health, safety, and economic welfare of Coos' interdependent place-based economy, agencies shall seek to achieve statutory goals as effectively and efficiently as possible without imposing unnecessary burdens on local governments. Failure to recognize differences in the scale and resources of these entities adversely affects competition in the marketplace, discourages innovation, and restricts productivity improvements to the economic landscape.
162-U:3 Application. To uphold the principles outlined in this chapter, the following actions apply solely to agency decisions that would result in an economic downturn and impact private sector entities desiring to engage in job creation and economic development activities as well as a decrease in local and state revenues. These actions do not apply to residential or unrelated regulatory permitting matters. Agency commissioners shall ensure that any management plans or decisions in Coos County promptly and thoroughly consider and avoid potential impacts on the regional economy and related local and state economic development plans. If a decision is found to negatively affect the region and is deemed unavoidable, commissioners must provide Coos County with a clear justification for the decision and develop mitigation measures for undermining revitalization investments to improve the economic performance.