Republican Bills Aim To Give Wisconsin A ‘Regulatory Reset’
The recently unveiled package targets rules put out by Wisconsin's executive branch.
Wisconsin State Capitol. Angela Major/WPR
GOP lawmakers are introducing a series of bills aimed at paring down what they call red tape in state-level regulations.
The package unveiled on Wednesday targets rules put forth by Wisconsin’s executive branch. Agencies have used those administrative rules to oversee issues ranging from business licensing to environmental protections to rules for childhood vaccinations.
“Wisconsin is in need of a regulatory reset,” said state Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, an author of one of the bills, during a news conference at the state Capitol. “Instead of trying to find compromise with the Legislature, Gov. Evers wants to govern through administrative rule, regulating as much as he can, as fast as he can.”
A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers did not say whether he would veto the bills if they end up clearing Wisconsin’s GOP-controlled Legislature.
Republicans are short of the supermajority that would be needed to override a veto without Democratic support.
GOP lawmakers say they drafted the proposals based on research from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative advocacy group.
The goal is to cut back on red tape that stifles competition and discourages entrepreneurship, sponsors of the proposals said.
“What we’re talking about, it’s more than just facts, figures and paperwork,” said state Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin. “We’re talking about the single mom trying to open a home day care who’s facing licensing hurdles. We’re talking about the small-town builder who’s watching costs skyrocket as he waits for a permit.”
Under one of the proposals, regulations would automatically expire after seven years unless a state agency takes steps to re-enact them. Neylon said that would make it easier to phase out outdated restrictions and force each regulation to “periodically justify its existence.”
Another bill would require the state to reimburse someone for legal costs if that person successfully challenges an administrative rule.
Also included in the package is a proposal that would require a state agency to put out a separate scope statement, laying out the purpose and potential effects of new requirements, to coincide with each proposed new permanent or emergency rule. That differs from the current practice in which a single scope statement can cover multiple, related rules.
Those changes will allow for greater transparency and public scrutiny, sponsors said.
“This bill also closes a loophole that lets agencies use a single scope statement for multiple rules, and once put into effect, these rules have no expiration date and can potentially exist on for perpetuity,” said state Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield.
The final bill in the package would mandate what’s known as zero-based regulatory budgeting — a system that sponsors say is based on similar reforms already adopted in Texas, South Carolina and Virginia.
Under that bill, before adding a new rule, officials would need to calculate how much complying with that rule would cost businesses, local governments and individuals. Then, that new rule could not be implemented unless the state first cuts another rule that offsets the estimated costs of the new proposal.
“It makes the cost of decisions made by the government the focus, not just an afterthought,” said state Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing.
The state Senate’s Democratic minority leader, Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton, was sharply critical of the proposals after they were announced this week.
“These bills are an attempt at a power grab, akin to what we are seeing from the Trump-Musk administration,” Hesselbein said in a statement. “The bills would, among other things, undermine the fundamental democratic principle of separation of powers. They are unnecessary, anti-democratic, and wholly wrong for Wisconsin.”
Republican bills aim to roll back state regulations was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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