(The Center Square) – A new report says one of the reforms of the Scott Walker-era has slowed the growth of regulations in Wisconsin for the past six years.
The conservative Institute for Reforming Government recently released a report on The REINS Act.
“While the REINS Act may not have reduced the overall number of regulations that have gone into effect post-REINS, it has certainly played
a critical role in identifying extremely costly regulations that failed to
adequately factor in costs to industry, local units of government, or
ratepayers,” the report states.
Wisconsin’s REINS Act became law in 2017 and is modeled after the federal act that requires legislative approval for major rules introduced by the executive branch.
In Wisconsin that means lawmakers have to sign off on any proposal from the governor that would cost more than $10 million or have a $10 million economic impact on businesses in the state.
“Gone are the days of implied or perceived authority,” the report notes. “Additionally, for each proposed rule, the act required agencies to submit a “statement of scope” to the governor for review and prepare an economic-impact analysis relating to specific businesses, business sectors, public-utility ratepayers, local governmental units, and the state’s economy as a whole.”
The IRG reports says the REINS Act slowed, but did not stop, Wisconsin’s regulatory growth.
“The average number of permanent rules approved during the Walker Administration were significantly lower than the previous Doyle Administration. In the first year of the Walker Administration, the number of permanent rules was reduced by almost 100,” the report’s authors wrote. “Outside of 2019, the permanent rules approved during the Evers Administration have at times been equal to or even below the Walker Administration average.”
The report also includes original 2017 testimonies from a pair of Republican lawmakers and four conservative or business groups. It also includes just one bit of testimony, from the Sierra Club, that criticizes the REINS Act.
“The bill, which has a federal counterpart, has therefore been predictedby many to grind the regulatory process to a halt,” the Sierra Club said at the time. “Ultimately, this will result in far fewer regulations, many of which may be sorely missed.”
IRG’s Jake Curtis said the overall success of Wisconsin’s regulation slow down, and the REINS Act itself, is something that other states should notice, and perhaps copy.
“Wisconsin’s REINS Act demonstrates the state’s commitment to administrative rulemaking reform, establishing us as a national leader,” Curtis said. “The federal government and other states should look to Wisconsin when considering their own reforms to the administrative state.”
