Key facts:
- North Carolina’s regulatory environment is poor, especially in comparison with other states’.
- Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a new executive order to modify the rulemaking process and help reduce the costs of regulation.
- The executive order applies only to executive bodies in which the governor has oversight, including all Cabinet agencies.
- The executive order does several good things to reduce excessive regulation, including:
- Mandates cost/benefit analysis of regulations
- Requires agencies to identify alternatives to regulation
- Creates an annual review process of existing regulations to determine if the regulations should be reformed, expanded, or repealed
- Requires agencies to support their regulations with sound data
- Gives the state Office of State Budget and Management necessary oversight to ensure that agencies do what is expected of them
- The executive order does have some weaknesses, however. They include:
- Some of the requirements are drafted in a vague manner, thereby allowing agencies to wiggle out of the requirements.
- It does not include protection for small businesses from one-size-fits-all regulation. Most states (35) and the federal government adjust regulations to meet the unique needs of small businesses, but this executive order does not address that issue.
- It does not protect against agencies exceeding statutory authority.
- The executive order is a good start, but much will depend on how it is implemented in practice.
- For true regulatory reform, the legislature needs to build upon the executive order and apply reforms to all agencies.
Spotlight 401 Perdue’s Regulatory Executive Order: A step in the right direction