Harrisburg – With Pennsylvania’s employment rate lagging behind those of other states emerging from the pandemic, the state Senate this week approved several bills to rein in job-stifling regulations, Senator Dush said.
The bills increase legislative oversight of a process too often influenced by unelected bureaucrats, adding special scrutiny for the costliest proposed regulations.
The Senate approved the following regulatory reform measures:
- Senate Bill 28 – Ensures transparency in permitting. The bill would require all agencies that issue permits to post information about the permits on an accessible tracking system for applicants to check the status of their applications.
- Senate Bill 126 – Provides for an automatic review after three years of all regulations with an economic impact or cost to the Commonwealth, local governments and the private sector exceeding $1 million.
- Senate Bill 426 – Provides additional legislative oversight of the regulatory review process. The goal of the legislation is to ensure state agencies are implementing the law and not trying to make the laws themselves.
- Senate Bill 520 – Requires the General Assembly to approve all regulations with an economic impact or cost to the Commonwealth, local governments and the private sector exceeding $1 million.
“Any time government exercises its force against the citizens it is an inherently political decision. For over 60 years the legislature has been delegating those political responsibilities to those who don’t get the feedback from The People that our elected officials do.” said Senator Dush. “In my six years in the House and my tenure in the Senate the thing that is most common among the complaints I receive from individual constituents, school districts, townships and boroughs has to do with regulations coming from unaccountable bureaucrats to which the legislature has unwisely delegated these abilities without proper oversight.”
The regulatory reform bills were sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
CONTACT: Zach Ankeny, zankeny@pasen.gov