IRG finds the current process to approve Wisconsin environmental regulations gives unelected bureaucrats complete control with essentially no opportunity for proper oversight
The Center for Investigative Oversight (CIO) at the Institute for Reforming Government released a report analyzing the Wisconsin Legislature’s ability to exercise oversight over State Implementation Plans (SIPs) required under the federal Clean Air Act. While the Legislature has at times tried to exercise some oversight over SIPs, the complex nature of the requirements under the Clean Air Act and the ongoing threat of the EPA imposing Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) has resulted in many rules approved with little input from the Legislature.
Click here to read our new report.
Key Recommendation: Model legislation proposed in this report would lead to robust oversight of the SIP process. This new model legislation we proposed returns the balance of power back to the people and ensures that elected officials can effectively exercise oversight over proposed environmental regulations.
Our Findings: We reviewed eleven proposed rule revisions. The overall health of oversight is concerning. Eight out of eleven, roughly 73%, of the analyzed revisions did not achieve any of the three legislative oversight benchmarks detailed in the report. The Legislature did not take executive action on these eight, did not modify any of them, and did not hold a public hearing, or if a hearing was held, none of the committee members attended the hearing.
Why It Matters: Revisions to Wisconsin SIPs are proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and go through a review process conducted by the Legislature. It is crucial that rule revisions, which affect Wisconsin businesses and families, go through strong oversight from the Legislature to ensure that they avoid evolving into unduly burdensome regulations and unjust policies.
In addition to state level reforms, the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress should reform the Clean Air Act to give states more flexibility to implement Clean Air Act requirements consistent with state capabilities. The threat of federal implementation plans should not be used as leverage to force the adoption of state implementation plans that exceed state capabilities and/or result in significant economic impacts and implementation costs.
