Executive order equips Illinoisans to take on red tape
Gov. Bruce Rauner has ordered executive agencies to review all their regulations for necessity, clarity and statutory authority and to mark for repeal or revision rules that don’t meet those criteria.
Small businesses and would-be entrepreneurs have a tough time getting started in Illinois, largely due to the state’s heavy regulatory burden. But an executive order issued by Gov. Bruce Rauner Oct. 17 directs agencies to identify excessive regulations – and encourages Illinoisans to flag red tape that should be cut.
The new executive order mandates that Illinois’ executive bodies review all regulations for clarity, necessity and statutory authority as part of the governor’s Cutting the Red Tape Initiative. The governor has also urged all other state agencies to conduct a similar review.
The order introduces seven guidelines to ensure regulatory necessity, consistency and clarity, and to minimize needlessly burdensome requirements and prevent the processing delays that often accompany government regulations. The agencies have until May 1, 2017, to complete their comprehensive reviews, and current or proposed regulations that fail to meet the new criteria will be subject to revision or repeal at that time. The order also creates the Illinois Competitiveness Council, which will oversee the review process, establish cost-savings estimates, and solicit public feedback on existing regulations. An online conduit, the newly created Red Tape Reduction Portal, will allow Illinoisans to weigh in on the state’s regulations. Agencies will also have to post submitted regulations on this same site.
Overregulation and anti-jobs policies have made Illinois one of just four states with no private-sector jobs growth in the 21st century. And a survey from Chief Executive Magazine rated Illinois the worst state in the Midwest and fifth-worst in the nation in terms of taxes and regulation.
Burdensome and expensive regulation suppresses entrepreneurship and especially harms small businesses, which often cannot keep up with changing regulatory requirements or the cost of compliance. As opposed to serving the public interest, regulations often complicate business for entrepreneurs, increase consumer costs, and deter innovation and the creation of new enterprises – which means fewer jobs for Illinois.
As Illinois’ manufacturing sector continues to decline and the state’s workforce shrinks, lawmakers must stop regulating businesses out of existence and driving them out of state. Illinoisans cannot prosper while they’re tangled in red tape.
Illinois residents and businesses should take advantage of the Red Tape Reduction Portal to interact with policymakers and help trim the state’s excess regulations.