In 2019, following the board’s adoption of a new mandatory regulatory training requirement, a stakeholder group was formed to develop guidance for the new requirement. Interested individuals met in person and by phone to draft the guidance document and present it to the board for approval. The board adopted the guidance on June 25, 2019.
The board expects the division to seek stakeholder input whenever substantive revisions to Regulation 100 or board policies are proposed by the division. This allows the division to consider other perspectives and potentially modify its proposal prior to the board’s formal hearing process. If stakeholder suggestions to the division do not result in changes to the proposed revisions, stakeholders can still present their views about the revisions to the board through the formal hearing process.
In addition, the board sets aside time at each of its meetings for public comment. We encourage you to attend a board meeting, which can be done virtually now.
There is a difference between a survey and a stakeholder work group. There is a difference between a stakeholder work group and an opportunity for stakeholder comment on proposed document revisions. The division’s stakeholder process invites stakeholders to speak to a different audience than the board’s formal hearings. A board or division-initiated invitation for feedback limits comments to the issue at hand, while the invitation for public comment at board meetings gives stakeholders an open-ended opportunity to raise any concern with the board at any time.
Through all these processes, stakeholders have a say in program improvements. Stakeholder perspectives and ideas are invaluable to the board and to the certification program. Let’s keep on working together, and listening to each other, to continually improve the operator certification program.
