CHICAGO — The Institute for Responsive Government has released new policy recommendations for states to help communities rebuild more quickly after natural disasters. The recommendations are designed to reduce government red tape that too often hinders recovery efforts and makes it difficult for people to get their lives and businesses back on track. The recommendations come as many state policymakers consider how to strengthen their planning for and response to disasters – particularly given the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Red tape delays cause significant harm. Recent reporting revealed that in Maui, where wildfires 1.5 years ago destroyed more than 2,000 homes, bureaucratic delays have meant that only three homes have been rebuilt so far. Responsive Gov’s policy recommendations emphasize aligning government resources more effectively to reduce administrative burdens, simplify processes, and minimize costs. The recommendations include:

• Setting deadlines for permit approval based on the timeline its constituents need.
• Waiving or expediting any additional approval processes.
• Waiving processes for new build permits as long as the footprint of the rebuild is not significantly larger than the damaged or destroyed property.
• Allowing, and even encouraging, pre-approved plans for residential buildings without requiring that these plans be resubmitted for each new site.
• Reducing or waiving fees for permits.

The resource also includes easy-to-implement best practices that agencies can adopt while building toward larger policy change. Many of these best practices are rooted in real-world success – like in Pennsylvania, where Governor Josh Shapiro successfully reformed the commonwealth’s permitting application processes. The best practices include:

• Creating a far more understandable presentation of information on government websites.
• Distinguishing between disaster-related permit applications and those unrelated to the disaster, and prioritizing the former over the latter.
• Instituting regular monthly meetings between the governor and agency heads.
• Creating sufficient, and the right kinds of, human capacity. 
• Utilizing AI to process standardized, straightforward elements of permit applications at exponentially faster speeds, while ensuring a human remains in-the-loop for quality assurance checks.

Additional details are available in the red tape reduction blog post. The recommendations are the latest in a series of resources Responsive Gov has developed; offering policymakers action-oriented frameworks for adopting more efficient, effective, and transparent government processes. Earlier this year, Responsive Gov released a report exploring how to reduce administrative burdens and improve people’s interactions with government; as well as a case study highlighting how Pennsylvania officials reduced bureaucratic red tape to improve services for constituents.

To speak with Responsive Gov experts, please contact dan@responsivegov.org. 

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The Institute for Responsive Government is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to ensuring state and federal governments work effectively for the very people they serve. The Institute for Responsive Government provides data, research, and expertise to elected officials in order to find practical policy solutions that make government systems more efficient, accessible, and responsive.