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Posted 1/26/12 by Common Good

Missouri House Tackles Outdated Regulations

Obsolete law and regulation plague our federal and state governments, preventing progress by gumming up the works with legal detritus. It’s a problem not often addressed, in part because every outdated law has a special interest behind it. But there’s good news this week from Missouri, where the state House has called for regular reexamination of state regulations:

Seeking to help the state's small businesses, the Missouri House voted Wednesday to require periodic reviews of certain state regulations.

State agencies would need to evaluate whether a new administrative rule is necessary, obsolete, duplicative and could be more narrowly tailored while accomplishing the same purpose. Existing rules would expire on a rolling schedule that starts in 2015, and a similar calculus would be required if a state agency wants to renew its expiring regulations. Every state administrative rule would need to be examined at least once per decade.

In addition, state agencies now be required to respond within 60 days when someone requests a rule be adopted, altered or repealed. State departments would have to explain how the rule complies with the new requirements.

State Republicans, who support the bill, present it as a boon for small business, while Democrats worry about the potential for uncertainty and protracted debate around regulations. We can’t say for certain how effective the bill would be if adopted, but we’re glad to see a real commitment to fighting outdated regulation.