Should North Carolina state government agencies be allowed to pass rules unilaterally, without full General Assembly approval?
That’s a question being addressed by a new bill filed today in the North Carolina House (HB 402).
Often referred to as a REINS Act (Regulation from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny), this bill would require the General Assembly to ratify a bill of approval for any new proposed agency rules deemed to have a significant economic impact.
A significant economic impact is defined as “an aggregate economic impact on all persons affected of at least one million dollars” over the course of 12 months. The agency proposing the rule will be required to produce an estimate of the rule’s economic impact.
This bill has long been advocated for by the Locke Foundation and is a big step toward curbing burdensome red tape and bureaucracy. An unelected bureaucrat’s costly rule shouldn’t take effect if it wasn’t first debated and okayed by legislators accountable to the people.
Red tape and fussy bureaucratic rules prevent the state’s economy from growing as fast as it could, holding back small businesses, domestic industries, and local entrepreneurs. More lightly regulated industries grow much faster and produce at much greater rates than more regulated industries.
This bill would strike a blow against bloated state agencies, excessive red tape, and excessive regulations by unelected bureaucrats.
