Senate passes bill that eases rules for permits, reviews

Throwing a nod to business, the Minnesota Senate on Thursday passed a collection of regulatory streamlining measures aimed at boosting statewide job growth.

The effort to speed up environmental review and permitting processes cleared the Republican-controlled Senate on a 49-16 vote two weeks after the House passed a slightly different version.

The bill would make permanent four initiatives Gov. Mark Dayton required in an executive order last month. But it would add two more controversial ones: allowing permitting appeals to skip lower courts and go straight to the state Court of Appeals and allowing businesses to develop their own draft environmental reviews.

Read more: St. Paul Pioneer Press.