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February 22, 2017

'Grave concerns' from building inspectors on state reorganization plan

Apartments under construction on Front Street in Worcester. Building inspectors have concerns about a proposed state office reorganization affecting licensing and inspecting.

Baker administration officials pitched their plan to eliminate the Department of Public Safety and create a new office to take over some of its functions as a step towards a leaner state government that could more efficiently serve the public, but building inspectors said they have "grave concerns" the reorganization would not make the state any safer.

The reorganization plan establishes an Office of Public Safety and Inspections to be housed within the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development's Division of Professional Licensure.

The Department of Public Safety is a regulatory, licensing and inspection agency tasked with oversight of the state's elevator inspections, amusement ride inspections, construction-related permitting, the sanctioning of boxing and mixed martial arts events, and more.

The Department of Public Safety currently falls under the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Under Gov. Charlie Baker's plan the fire services department would remain under that secretariat while the Department of Public Safety's other functions would shift to the housing and economic development secretariat.

Baker filed his plan under the authority of Article 87 of the state Constitution on Jan. 25. Under Article 87, executive branch reorganizations require a legislative hearing within 30 days of filing, a committee vote within 10 days of the hearing, and must receive an up-or-down vote from the Legislature, without amendment, within 60 days or the action takes effect.

"Consolidation will reduce the burden on construction and trades because the licensing and oversight of most of these trade professions will fall under the jurisdiction of just one agency. In most states ... the trade boards and code-writing bodies are organized within one agency," Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash said. "As it stands now, individuals who hold licenses in multiple trades must go to both DPS (the Department of Public Safety) and DPL (Division of Professional Licensure) to transact business in the commonwealth."

Public Safety Secretary Daniel Bennett said DPS has become a "catch all" agency that has evolved away from its original law enforcement focus. Baker's reorganization plan -- his administration's first -- would "right size" the department without eliminating any of its functions, Bennett said.

"This bill does not change the responsibilities, authority or jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety, but rather simply effectuates its transition into the newly titled Office of Public Safety and Inspections under DPL," he said.

At a hearing before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, Ash detailed how a contractor working on fire and security systems must obtain a license from the Electrical Board at DPL and then submit an application to DPS for a second approval. Plumbing contractors, too, must obtain licenses from two different secretariats to work on both water system fixtures and pipes carrying oxygen or medical gases.

"This process is not only unnecessarily duplicative and burdensome, but can potentially slow down construction and drive up costs," Ash said. Under the reorganization plan, he said, coordination would be "convenient, improved and less costly."

Robert Borden, president of the Massachusetts Federation of Building Officials, said his organization is concerned about the shakeup because they see no benefit to safety in moving under the jurisdiction of the Office of Housing and Economic Development.

"Building inspectors in Massachusetts don't see this proposed legislation making any improvement to the safety of buildings and construction across the state," Borden said.

Borden, who was joined by building officials from around the state, argued that the state's building code is the "primary regulation on which citizens rely" for safety, and that HED is not the appropriate office to oversee the code.

"Relocating the primary public safety document to a division of state government devoted to matters other than public safety, we believe changes the objective with respect to the public safety in the built environment," Borden said. He later added, "We have grave concerns about being moved into a secretariat whose primary goal is housing and economic development. Are we going to get pushed to make trade-offs for the sake of expediency? We don't want to go there."

Ash said that under the reorganization his office would institute "no change in the way that we would approach building code." Bennett said the reorganization "is not an indication of a change in the priorities or the safety mission of that agency" and said he has full confidence Ash's secretariat would make public safety the top priority.

Asked by Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, himself an electrician, how the reorganization would affect license holders, Ash said the only change would be that a contractor would no longer have to deal with two executive offices to get or renew a license.

"The way you operated in the past is the way you'll operate in the future," Ash said.

In a letter that accompanied his bill, Baker wrote that the reorganization will improve "customer service by creating one-stop shopping for the vast majority of license approvals," and "should also save the Commonwealth approximately $800,000 in FY2018."

The savings associated with the consolidation would be achieved by eliminating 11 redundant positions, Ash said.

Baker's bill would also make technical changes to the laws governing the department, and would "change the distribution of agencies under the undersecretaries within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to more closely align with their areas of expertise," Baker wrote.

The Department of Public Safety has been without a permanent leader since Oct. 31, when commissioner Matt Carlin resigned less than 18 months after taking the job.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick used his Article 87 powers to streamline the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, to reorganize the state's education bureaucracy, and to reorganize his Cabinet structure.

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