“An activist Supreme Court and a progressive administration have undermined legislative oversight.”
IRG Action Fund, the advocacy partner of the Institute for Reforming Government (IRG), provided testimony to the Wisconsin State Legislature this week.
General Counsel Jake Curtis testified before the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs and Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency, explaining why continued regulatory reform is necessary to make Wisconsin competitive for families and businesses.
Watch the testimony here.
Read his full testimony here.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The Joint Committee is considering a set of “red tape reforms” to rein in runaway state bureaucracy. The reforms address power given to the administrative state that for far too long had left state agencies with nearly limitless power to exert policy preferences over the will of the elected Legislature. Among other reforms, IRG Action Fund registered in support of
- AB 274 / SB 277, a sunset review reform that would require each chapter of administrative code to be reviewed every seven years
- AB 276 / SB 275, representing important reforms to the emergency rulemaking process that is far too often abused by agencies, and
- AB 277 / SB 289, a regulatory budget that would require agencies to find economic impact offsets any time a proposed rule had an economic impact on Wisconsinites.
Wisconsin voters support continued reform in the administrative rules process. According to IRG Polling:
- Seventy-three percent (73%) of voters say that state agencies should have to seek legislative approval for at least some regulations they wish to impose.
- Half (50%) say all regulations should be approved by the Legislature, an additional 16% say any with an economic impact over $500,000, and still another 7% for any regulation with an economic impact over $10 million.
- Two-thirds (67%) favor requiring that any rule or regulation that has been in effect for more than seven years be reviewed by the Legislature to determine whether or not it should remain. Just 18% are opposed.
THE QUOTE:
“Wisconsin once set the standard for practical and common sense limits on an unelected bureaucracy. But in recent years, an activist Supreme Court and a progressive administration have undermined legislative oversight,” said Jake Curtis. “The proposals before the Legislature, including a regulatory budget and sunset review, are strong steps toward restoring Wisconsin’s leadership in administrative reform.”
WATCH THE HEARING:
The hearing was held at 10:00AM on Thursday in the Wisconsin State Capitol and streamed live on Wisconsin Eye.
About IRG Action
IRG Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) advocacy partner to the Institute for Reforming Government.
