Senator Alicia Barnes, the freshman Democrat who championed business growth as a major part of her platform during the 2018 election cycle, has introduced a measure that fulfills a major campaign trail promise. On Wednesday, Ms. Barnes brought forth Bill No. 33-0119, which would require the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs to approve the initial application of a business license within three days.
The measure saw resistance for how parts of it was written and it may need amendments in the Committee on Rules and Judiciary. But the bill was favorably voted out of the Committee on Government Operations, Consumer Affairs, Energy, Environment and Planning, in a big win for Ms. Barnes, the measure’s sole sponsor.
D.C.L.A. officials, including Commissioner Richard Evangelista, spoke about the department’s concerns, a significant contention being the measure would diminish the “powers” of D.L.C.A.
Mr. Evangelista said while the intent of the bill is solid, “it should not overlook the fundamental statutory purpose and mandate of the Dept. of Licensing and Consumer Affairs in doing so.”
“This bill entirely wipes out our department’s ability to protect the public at the most critical time, which is before granting a business license at the time of filing of an application,” he said.
Mr. Evangelista said the bill’s main goal of granting a business license within three days “effectively diminishes the express powers and duties of the department to ensure that an applicant business meets the requirements of engaging in a business.”
The commissioner said while D.L.C.A. recognizes that it has to improve its expediency in the business license-granting process, “the bill before us totally would empower an applicant or business to operate within three business days of applying for a business license regardless of whether that applicant or business meets the legal requirements of engaging in the business occupation, profession or trade.”
Instead of the Barnes measure, Mr. Evangelista recommended an amendment to the current statute by creating the “General License Category” that he said would “authorize a business to engage in business transactions that are not otherwise regulated categories in the form of a substitute.” Mr. Evangelista said this category would require minimal applicant information or local and federal approval, “and therefore would be able to be issued in a quick turnaround time.”
But the bill’s sponsor said Mr. Evangelista’s suggestion of a general category would only add red tape to an already bureaucratically burdensome process.
“The plan to introduce a general license category adds another bureaucratic layer to an already unnecessarily bureaucratic process,” Ms. Barnes told the Consortium Saturday. “What will be the cost? Will the cost be in addition to the regular business license fee or a portion of? Will lending institutions and insurance companies accept this new category of license? DLCA promised to contact the banks. They never did. I have penned a letter to transmit to the local banks, seeking their input.”
In defending her bill, Mr. Barnes said, “The bill simply separates the administrative portion of the business license process from the occupancy portion. DLCA is attempting to be regulator in chief causing unnecessary delays and adversely impacting economic activity. The Dept. of Health, the Virgin Islands Fire Service, etc are required to undertake applicable regulatory functions. Including the regulatory functions of other applicable agencies whose approval is necessary for specific business operations is redundant and unnecessarily burdensome.”
Ms. Barnes said her goal with the measure is to “streamline antiquated government processes thus creating an environment for economic activity, entrepreneurship, and private sector growth.”
During the Wednesday hearing, the senator said leaders should look at the bigger picture as it relates to progress in their respective departments. “We have to get beyond what I am doing as an individual and personalizing initiatives and recognize that this has to do with institutionalized processes that predated your tenure at the department,” she said.
The senator said her engagement in the discussion of streamlining the territory’s processes, more pointedly to separate the occupancy requirement from the administrative component of establishing a business, dates back to her years as the commissioner at the Dept. of Planning and Natural Resources.
“And so I will not take credit for the idea; I will just take credit for having the courage to move forward with the idea,” Ms. Barnes said. “Because it may not appear palatable to some, but I recognize that leaders must lead, and we cannot continue business as usual and then say that we are a business-friendly jurisdiction.”
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