State agencies will have to take added steps and meet higher standards to approve new rules, under legislation signed by Gov. Scott Walker Wednesday.
The measure allows a co-chairman of the Legislature’s rules committee to request that agencies hold public hearings before submitting scope statements on new regulations. In addition, under the bill, the state Department of Administration would also need to review an agency’s scope statement for proposed rules.
Since 2011, Walker and GOP lawmakers have given the governor more power over new environmental and other regulations, including a requirement that the governor sign off on a scope statement before new rules are written. The vetting by the administration department will now come before Walker’s review.
The proposal also requires the full Legislature to sign off any administrative rule that would make the public pay more than $10 million to comply with it.
In addition, the legislation allows the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules to object indefinitely to proposed rules and not just temporarily. A committee co-chairman can also contract with an outside group to analyze the compliance cost to the public of a new rule.