3/13/10 — In an effort to increase the size and expertise of the Coastal Resource Management Council, Block Island’s state senator Susan Sosnowski has introduced a bill to reform the organization.

The bill, which passed in the Senate last week, is similar to previous attempts by Sosnowski to reform the council, including a failed attempt last May. The bill remains almost exactly the same as last year’s and would allow the governor to appoint four more members and require the executive director and chair of the CRMC to develop a training course for new members.

There has been a stalemate in Providence about how to reconfigure the council in the wake of the Separation of Powers Act in 2004, which forced legislators and/or legislative appointees to step down from regulatory agencies.

The CRMC, which regulates all development along the state’s coast, is facing larger and more complex cases; many of the group’s decisions have been overturned in court.

The state Supreme Court has returned the Champlin’s Marina expansion matter back to the CRMC for another vote after concurring with a lower court that two CRMC members had acted improperly and exhibited bias.

One of those members is current Chair Michael Tikoian, who has been barred from participating in future decisions regarding Champlin’s. With Tikoian unable to participate the current council is left with only seven members, the minimum allowed by law, to vote on this issue.

“I think it’s a good thing that this passed the senate early,” Sosnowski said. “Our goal is to make sure CRMC has enough members to vote on these issues.”

If Sosnowski’s bill passes in the House it would give the governor more control over CRMC appointments. However, it would also create a Permanent Joint Committee on Coastal Resources that would consist of eight members of the Legislature to oversee CRMC and coastal issues taken on by the Department of Environmental Management.

“[The committee] will be seeing what [CRMC] is doing and seeing if there needs to be any more changes,” Sosnowski said.

The House recently reintroduced a bill by Rep. Eileen Naughton, D-Warwick, that would dramatically alter the composition and procedures of the CRMC. Naughton’s bill would eliminate the council and develop a new department of state government that utilizes trained hearing officers to make decisions, similar to how the DEM currently operates.

“If there is going to be a total change what is it going to cost?” Sosnowski said. “I like having community members on the council. It’s a way to get the communities involved in these issues.”

Sosnowski, who once sat on the CRMC, thinks that more drastic changes may be needed in the future, which is where her Permanent Joint Committee would be able to provide valuable suggestions. However, she would prefer the changes be made after the legislative panel had the time to observe the council and make recommendations.

Under the new bill the CRMC would also be required to submit an annual report to the governor and members of the legislature detailing its meeting, decisions, accomplishments and a host of other information. This would be to improve oversight and transparency of the council.

With the CRMC managing the Special Area Management Plan effort to zone the waters off Rhode Island for commercial wind projects, as well as the Champlin’s Marina issue being sent back for further review, any change to the committee could have a significant effect on Block Island.