THE PROBLEM
The Administrative State has outsized power in Tennessee. Unelected state agencies can impose major costs through administrative rulemaking without full legislative approval or sufficient input from the businesses and industries affected by such rules. These rules can carry significant compliance costs, reshape entire industries, and function like laws, but are imposed without a vote by the entire legislature. Unchecked regulatory costs hinder the ability of Tennesseans to work and make a living. For businesses large and small, these costs manifest as higher prices, fewer jobs, stagnant wages, and slower economic growth. In addition to these costs, Tennessee’s regulatory landscape is immense, consisting of roughly 8.3 million words and 122,000 regulations. Such size signals a systemic need to rein in the unchecked power of the Administrative State. In a state that prides itself on limited government and legislative accountability, allowing unelected state bureaucrats to impose large-scale economic burdens without input from affected industries or direct approval from the legislature gives state agencies an outsized influence over the cost of living and doing business in Tennessee.
OUR SOLUTION
Tennessee stands for protecting individual freedom over government control. That’s why the Tennessee Regulatory Freedom Act seeks to rein in the unchecked power of the Administrative State and slow the growth of government. State agencies should be required to seek input from industries affected by rules they promulgate to ensure that regulatory costs are accurately captured and considered. The entire legislative body should vote on any rules with high costs on business and industry, and it should be easier to shrink government by repealing rules.
HOW IT WORKS
State agencies must post notification of newly proposed rules and make the best effort to notify any trade associations or organizations within the regulated community about the proposed rules a minimum of 45 days before the public commentary period begins. State agencies must draft fiscal impact statements after the public comment period has occurred, and in each fiscal impact statement, cite where feedback was sought from relevant business and industry associations/organizations. The Joint Government Operations Committee will continue to review all proposed rules. The bill creates a REINS-style backstop where rules with an estimated negative fiscal impact of at least $1,000,000 over five years must be approved by a full vote of the House and Senate. Executive Branch agencies are given the authority to repeal their own rules/regulations without approval from the Joint Government Operations Committee.
STATUS: The bill has been filed as SB 2199 (Johnson) / HB 1913 (Boyd).