DENVER I The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) on Friday released the “Pits and Peeves 2.0 – Progress in Motion Report” that highlights recent accomplishments related to an ongoing statewide initiative to cut government red tape, reduce regulatory burdens and costs on businesses, improve customer service and shift the culture of state government.
“Pits and Peeves 2.0” reports that a total of 13,290 rules have been reviewed by executive agencies, with 5,322 amended and 1,522 repealed, in response to Executive Order D 2012-002, which charged state agencies to conduct periodic rule reviews to determine their need and effectiveness.
The report provides an update to a continuing effort, from the “Omnibus Report, Cutting Red Tape in Colorado State Government,” (released in 2012) and then the “Supplement Report on Rule Review by State Agencies” (released in 2013).
“Eliminating outdated, irrelevant and unnecessary regulations and streamlining the remaining rules helps reduce the burdens and costs of compliance for businesses, which ultimately creates savings for the consuming public,” said DORA Executive Director Barbara Kelley.
In 2011, Kelley was charged by Gov. John Hickenlooper to scrutinize processes, eliminate waste and maximize value. The team facilitated statewide meetings to identify regulatory inefficiencies and lead efforts to cut red tape in order to improve business conditions for Colorado companies, local governments and non-profit organizations.
“This long-term initiative was embraced by the state’s executive agencies to find solutions to areas of government services that we heard directly from businesses and the public needed improvement,” Kelley said.
The projects outlined in the report demonstrate identified problems and solutions across Colorado executive agencies to reduce unnecessary and costly burdens on businesses and consumers alike, improve state government functions, processes and services and to resolve regulatory roadblocks to remove barriers for job creation and economic progress.
To download a full copy of the “Pits and Peeves 2.0 – Progress in Motion Report,” visit the document library in the Pits and Peeves website, www.colorado.gov/pitsandpeeves.
Report highlights include:
How utilizing technology has improved services and agency coordination, such as:
Creating “Colorado Business Express,” an online system that enables new businesses to register once rather than several times with different agencies; and
The “Wait Less Project,” which includes an online system that enables residents to renew driver’s licenses and schedule appointments in advance, has cut wait times at driver’s license offices across the front range. Ninety-four percent of customers with appointments are served within 15 minutes of arrival.
Improvements in communications and customer services, such as:
Eliminating confusing and ambiguous notices and directions in connection with tax return processing in the Department of Revenue; and
Decreasing the monthly average time from 2 hours and 20 minutes to less than 20 minutes for calls to be answered in the Unemployment Insurance Division, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Reducing burdensome and inefficient processes, such as:
Reducing the average time to investigate the more-than 1,200 annual complaints filed in DORA’s Division of Real Estate from more than 180 days to approximately 100 days; and
Eliminating 56 of the 103 forms required as part of the Department of Local Affairs Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental assistance to low-income Coloradans.
