Executive Order  No. 232: Designation of an intergovernmental review process

WHEREAS, the President under Executive Order No. 12372 has directed federal agencies to rely on state defined processes for the state and local government coordination and review of pro- posed federal financial assistance and direct federal development: and

WHEREAS, the review of federal and state funded proposals by state and local governments is an effective means to identify potential conflicts and enable the early resolution of such conflicts: and

WHEREAS, this review process should provide for participation by local government, regional planning agencies, and state agencies in the evaluation of potential impacts related to proposals;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Michael S. Dukakis, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order as follows:

1. The Secretary of Communities and Development (hereinafter the Secretary) shall establish and maintain a State Clearinghouse that will be responsible for the review of all proposals covered by this Executive Order. The State Clearinghouse will serve as the "single point of contact" for federal agencies in the implementation of Federal Executive Order No. 12372.

2. The Secretary shall identify federal grant programs to be covered by the Executive Order based on the Federal Register listings published by federal agencies pursuant to Executive Order No. 12372. The Secretary shall also, upon consultation with the state review agencies, regional planning agencies, and local government officials, identify programs that will be exempt from review in Massachusetts.

3. State agencies that administer grant programs shall indicate to the Secretary if they desire to include their program under this Executive Order. The review process for each state program will be defined jointly by the administering agency and the Secretary.

4. The review process for all federal programs shall be defined in guidelines to be published by the Secretary and shall be subject to public comment.

5. The review process shall provide adequate opportunity for public participation and shall include the opportunity for review by regional planning agencies and local governments through the regional clearinghouse in accordance with the executed Memoranda of Understanding.

6. Conflict resolution, when comments are negative in nature, shall be the responsibility of the Secretary; however, when resolution of a negative comment is not possible, the applicant shall be provided the opportunity to formally respond prior to the submission of comments to the federal agency.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 19th day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred and eight.

MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS
Governor
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY
Secretary of the Commonwealth