Since the mid-1990’s, there has been significant changes to the rulemaking process in Washington state. Unfortunately, these changes have not been enough to reduce the regulatory burden facing employers.
In 1995 landmark regulatory reform legislation, HB 1010, was passed. It require state agencies to base new rules on specific criteria and specific legislative authority. Require state agencies to justify the need for new rules which exceed federal standards. Encourage state inspectors to stress education before enforcement. To allow small business to recover limited attorney fees for successfully challenging a state rule and to require state agencies to coordinate new rules with existing local, state and federal laws.
Despite these reforms, Washington State continues to be a heavily regulated state, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. In the 2001 report from Governor Locke’s Competitiveness Council, regulatory reform was highlighted as why our state is non-competitive. Recommendations to increase legislative authority, appoint a secretary of regulatory reform, establish timely permit decision making, create a pilot program for permit streamlining, require DOE to formally promulgate its 401 certification rules, expand the Master business license program to cities, ensure the state’s energy policy maintains Washington’s competitive advantage in supplying low-cost reliable electricity to the region, and changing the venue in which agency rule challenges are brought are some of the recommendations the Council made.
The legislature passed several of these recommendations in the 2003 session that were vetoed by Governor Locke. Other bills that were signed into law, such as the requirement for notice of new rules, did not fully implement the Competitiveness Council recommendations since it only applied to a limited number of agencies.
The benefits of HB 1010 have not been fully realized by the business community. In addition many Administrative Procedures Act (APA) questions were raised in the WE CARE v. Department of Labor and Industries case before the state Supreme Court however these questions were not answered as a result of I-841 passing the ballot and the case being declared “moot.” Ongoing efforts for meaningful regulatory reform through legislative and administrative changes are still needed.
For futher information:
Legislative Objectives
