Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bill Allowing General Assembly To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing

On March 8, Republicans on the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee reported out two bills “reforming” the regulatory review process; one would allow the General Assembly to kill final regulations by doing nothing.

The bills include--

-- Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing: Senate Bill 188 (DiSanto-R-Dauphin) amending the Regulatory Review Act to authorize the General Assembly to kill “economically significant” regulations by doing nothing.

Senate Bill 188 would require legislative approval of any economically significant final regulation or final-omitted regulation that has an impact of $1 million or more on a regulated community.

The bill requires the Independent Fiscal Office to estimate the cost of the regulation.  There is no requirement to calculate the environmental or economic benefits of a regulation or compare the cost to doing nothing.

In order for a final regulation approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission to go into effect, the Senate and House would have to adopt a concurrent resolution approving the regulation.

If one or both of the chambers failed to act, the final regulation would be deemed NOT approved and would be prohibited from taking effect.

-- Three-Year Review Of Regulations: Senate Bill 190 (Brooks-R- Crawford) requiring an automatic three-year review of economically significant regulations in a process similar to what was called “sunset reviews” decades ago. That process was abandoned by the General Assembly because it became a costly, time-consuming exercise with little benefit. 

The bills will now go to the full Senate for action.

Bill Opposition

The PA Environmental Council and Environmental Defense Fund wrote to members of the Committee to oppose the bills--

Dear Senators:

 We urge you to oppose Senate Bill 188 and Senate Bill 190, which are scheduled for consideration by the Intergovernmental Operations Committee tomorrow.  

  Senate Bill 188 requires that, before any proposed rulemaking deemed “economically significant” (as defined in the legislation) can be finalized and implemented, the General Assembly must pass a concurrent resolution to approve it. In practice, this means that mere inaction of the General Assembly could negate a proposed rulemaking – even if it is expressly required by existing state or federal law. In addition, without explanation, this legislation subjects revisions of select general permits administered by the Department of Environmental Protection to this same concurrent resolution process.

  Given that the General Assembly already has the authority to adopt concurrent resolutions to abrogate a rulemaking, this legislation is unnecessary. Further, Senate Bill 188 will create considerable delay and uncertainty for an array of rulemakings (ranging from labor to environmental to education) already subject to extensive public input and review by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC).

  Senate Bill 190 requires agencies to periodically review existing “economically significant regulations” and issue reports to the IRRC. IRRC is then required to conduct a public comment period and issue its own findings on each subject regulation. While theoretically useful, this legislation places considerable time and capacity strain on agencies and IRRC without any new funding or support. These requirements are similar to a process (“sunset reviews”) once required and then abandoned by the General Assembly because it proved too costly, time-consuming, and resulted in little to no public benefit. 

  For these reasons, we ask that you oppose these bills. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

John Walliser

Senior Vice President, Legal & Government Affairs

Pennsylvania Environmental Council

 

Mandy Warner

Director, Pennsylvania

Environmental Defense Action Fund

Click Here to watch a video of the Committee meeting.

Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Bucks) serves as Major Chair of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1349 or through his website.  Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1141 or sending email to: tartaglione@pasenate.com. 

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[Posted: March 8, 2023] PA Environment Digest