Regulatory Review Panel Fact Sheet
What is the Panel?
The Regulatory Review Panel was created pursuant to Local Law 45 of 2009 by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City Council to review the structure and function of City regulations and their impact on small businesses.
Why do we need a Panel?
The Panel will, with significant input from City agencies, businesses, consumers, and the public at large, seek out ways to reduce or eliminate unnecessary costs and burdens of City regulations.
What will the Panel do?
The Panel will develop recommendations on how to enhance the City’s regulatory system, with a focus on both specific regulations and the general rulemaking process. These recommendations will be included in a final report to the Mayor and City Council at the end of the year. The Panel will focus on reviewing regulations that impact small businesses and other vital sectors of the City’s economy, such as the hospitality and tourism industry. The report will also include recommendations on how additional regulatory review affecting other sectors can be undertaken beyond 2009.
What will the Panel’s report include?
The Panel’s report will include a series of recommendations that are expected to fall into the following categories:
Changes in Law
The Panel may recommend that regulations or laws be amended, or operational changes be made, to address the Panel’s findings in ways that would reduce regulatory burdens.
Customer Service
The Panel will recommend ways to explain or simplify complex regulations so that they are easily understood by the public and administered by agencies.
Transparency
The Panel will seek to leverage modern technology and the Internet to make information on regulations and processes easier to access.
How can the public share its ideas with the Panel?
Send an e-mail to regreview@cityhall.nyc.gov or write to Regulatory Review Panel, c/o Alexis Offen, Mayor’s Office of Operations, 253 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
NYC Business Express (www.nyc.gov/businessexpress) is a one-stop online tool that makes starting, operating, and expanding a business in New York City clearer, faster, and simpler by providing customized information about City, State, and Federal requirements.
The Department of Small Business Services (www.nyc.gov/sbs) provides assistance to business owners, job seekers, and neighborhoods.
NYC Business Solutions (www.nyc.gov/nycbusiness) is a suite of services offered by the Department of Small Business Services to help businesses start, operate, and expand in New York City.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (www.nyc.gov/dca) provides information about the rights and responsibilities of both consumers and businesses.
The City Council’s website (http://council.nyc.gov), features a searchable database of current and past legislation.
The Panel will be conducting feedback sessions with representatives from trade associations, economic and policy think tanks, good government groups and chambers of commerce located throughout the five boroughs, as well as key members of the public.
Who is on the Panel?
Chair:Anthony Crowell, Counselor to the Mayor
Members: Michael Cardozo, Corporation Counsel;Jeff Kay, Director, Mayor’s Office of Operations; Mark Page, Director, Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget; Shari Hyman, Director, Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement; Jonathan Mintz, Commissioner, Department of Consumer Affairs; Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner, Department of Small Business Services; Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., City Council Member (Queens, District 27); James Oddo, City Council Member (Staten Island, District 50)' David Yassky, City Council Member (Brooklyn, District 33)