ATLANTA – A Republican measure that seeks to weed out state government rules that are burdensome or no longer relevant is closer to becoming law after passing a committee in the Georgia House of Representatives Wednesday.
The Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee voted along partisan lines to advance Senate Bill 28, called the “Red Tape Rollback Act.”
There are about 150,000 state agency rules on the books, said Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the chief sponsor of the measure.
“I don’t think these agencies are going through their existing laws with a fine-tooth comb with an eye toward making life easier on Georgia citizens,” he said. “I’m not telling you they’re intentionally making it more difficult, but what I am telling you is that, naturally, if left unchecked, government layers itself on top of each other.”
SB 28 would address that layering by requiring agencies to review their rules every four years with an eye toward trimming.
Agencies make rules to implement laws created by the legislature. The rules often go through a public vetting process, with hearings where the public can comment.
Dolezal’s legislation would affect proposed rules by requiring an impact analysis of any that could cost the public or local governments at least $3 million to comply with during the first five years.
And it would empower lawmakers to call for a review of the impact of any proposed legislation on businesses with 300 or fewer employees.
Dolezal’s fellow Republicans saw it as a pragmatic measure to keep bureaucracy in check. Democrats saw it as an assault on government that would cost taxpayers money.
At least 100 state agencies would be affected by the measure, and Rep. Lisa Campbell, D-Kennesaw, wanted to know how much the rules reviews would cost, in terms of both money and staff time.
When Dolezal responded that the cost was something that couldn’t be measured, Campbell said he’d just made her point.
“One of the things that I hear you saying is it’s impossible to account for the level of impact,” she said, “which is ironic because isn’t that exactly, essentially what you’re asking every single agency in the state of Georgia to do?”
Some agencies, such as the Department of Revenue, are exempted from the measure.
The House committee tacked on several changes, which means the bill must return to the Senate for final approval if the full House passes it as is.
One amendment, by Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, would reduce the measure’s scope. The version that passed the Senate last month had set the threshold for a compliance impact analysis at $1 million, but Dolezal agreed to her request to raise it to $3 million, and House Republicans on the committee went along.
Despite getting their GOP colleagues to approve that change and another about posting impact analyses online, Democrats voted against the final bill. SB 28 now goes to the House Rules Committee, which will decide whether to put it to a vote of the full House.