Governor Signs REINS Act
This week, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to enact an important check on bureaucrats. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation authored by Senator Devin LeMahieu.
On Thursday, Governor Scott Walker signed the "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act," or REINS Act.
The REINS Act makes the administrative rules process more fair by increasing access to regulators and the process for the public. Too often the public finds out about a regulation after it affects them.
Keeping up with government regulations can be a struggle for anyone. Learning about and complying with constantly changing regulations can take an average of 200 hours per year. Eighty-percent of small business owners take on this challenge by themselves, meaning they spend five work weeks of their time complying with rules instead of making sales. We either need to add more hours in the day or start reducing red tape.
The legislature, not unelected bureaucrats, should have the final say over what rules are created. This bill increases legislative control over the rule making process in three ways:
(1) It allows the legislature to request an independent economic impact analysis.
(2) The legislature may request a preliminary public hearing on a rule to gain public input before the rule is finished being drafted.
(3) It allows the legislature to permanently block a rule from being promulgated.
A similar bill is working its way through Congress. I'm very pleased Wisconsin continues to lead the way in reforming government.
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