My column for the Washington County Daily News is online. Here you go:
With all of the news emanating from Madison about the wrangling over the state budget and the Foxconn incentive package, one could be excused for missing the fact that the legislature passed, and Governor Walker signed into law, one of the most significant government reforms since ACT 10. The Wisconsin REINS (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) Act is a significant reform for preventing the inexorable bloating of government.
When we all learned about government in Civics 101 — or from Schoolhouse Rock — the process seems fairly simple. The legislature passes a bill and then the executive signs it into law. But that is only part of the process. Laws, as written, are usually written rather broadly. It is then up to the bureaucracy in the Executive branch to take that law and put it into action. They do this by interpreting the law and creating all of the detailed rules and regulations to promulgate and enforce it. It is the necessary and proper role of the bureaucracy.
Throughout the decades, however, as the size and scope of government has grown, so has the bureaucracy and its power. Too many unelected bureaucrats deep in the bowels of state government have taken it upon themselves to use their regulatory latitude to advance their own agendas. Protected as civil servants and relaxed in the knowledge that elected officials come and go as the bureaucracy remains, these bureaucrats passed massive and costly regulations with barely a hint of legal authority to do so.
When the Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker swept into power in 2010, one of the first reforms they made was to restrict the power of the bureaucracy with 2011’s Act 21. This law narrowed the rule making authority of state agencies and injected some more oversight by the governor and the Legislature into the rule-making process. It also importantly allowed state rules to be challenged in any of Wisconsin’s 72 counties — not just liberal Dane County.
The REINS Act is the next advance in moving power away from the bureaucracy and into the hands of elected officials. The REINS Act accomplishes three major reforms.
First, the REINS Act increases public input into any proposed rule. The law now requires that an agency get affirmative approval from the governor of a scope statement describing the statutory authority for the rule and the impact of the proposed rule on people. After approval, either chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) may require that the agency open a comment period and hold a public hearing. All public input must then be included in the published rule analysis.
Second, the REINS Act puts up an additional barrier if a proposed rule will cost more than $10 million for people to comply with it. Under the new law, if a proposed rule is projected to cost businesses, local governments, and individuals more than $10 million during a two-year period in compliance costs, then the agency must halt all work on the rule. The only ways for the new rule to then proceed is for the legislature to enact a bill specifically authorizing the rule or for the rule to be rewritten to bring the compliance costs below $10 million.
Third, the REINS Act authorizes the JCRAR to permanently suspend a proposed rule by majority vote if the committee objects to it for a statutory reason. For example, if the committee decides that the agency lacks statutory authority to create the rule, then the committee can stop them from doing so. Of course, the committee can always be overridden by the full legislature.
The growth of government happens in many ways. Some of it happens through big laws debated and passed by the legislature. But much of it happens deep below the sightline of the public and hidden from scrutiny in the greasy gears of the bureaucracy. The REINS Act goes a long way toward injecting light and accountability into our state government. Congratulations to Gov. Walker and the Legislature for passing this important reform.
As someone who has spent time in the belly of the beast, this is great.
One problem the REINS Act did not address is these same bureaucrats consistently lie to elected officials. I would like to see bureaucrats’ statements/reports taken under oath similar to Sarbanes/Oxley. Of course, that does make a second problem. Finding a judge that will sentence them to jail time but that is a topic for another day.
I sure hope the REINS Act takes a long and hard look at the Foxconn deal cooked up by WEDC. If anything need scrutiny that sure does.
The REINS Act, (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny), and FoxConn proposal are two different topics. Hope I was able to help Le Crotte du Nord.
bill:
WEDC is an executive agency and has been in the mix all along, and don’t have much of a track record to brag about. Or don’t you keep up with the news?
White nationalist trolls have no standing to criticize other commentators.
Sadly, Le Crotte du Nord is unable to comprehend where to post comments on specific topics. However, I do disagree characterizing this troll as a white nationalist. Webster’s defines white nationalists as “one of a group of militant whites who espouse white supremacy and advocate enforced racial segregation.” Please correct me if I am wrong but I am not aware of many posts of that nature.
Dave’s Computer Tips dot com has an interesting article, Does Anonymity Embolden the Trolls? Bottom line, and I agree with his solution, do not reply to any comment left by one of these individuals. It only acknowledges that you have read what they had to say and that seems to be one of their main goals. Bye, bye, now.
Now, back to the REINS Act. I have to wonder if our Legislature realized when they passed this that they will actually have to do the work they were elected to do?
King of the North is recognized by the ADL as a code word for WN hate.