Recently, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty released Wisconsin Regulation in Focus, a reporti highlighting the scope of Wisconsin’s regulatory state. That report helps call attention to the magnitude of Wisconsin’s regulations, especially when compared with our neighboring states. It also suggests some simple reforms which could be helpful to rein in our ever-growing regulatory state.
This follow up report adds some detail to those reforms while also suggesting some additional ones which could be implemented in order to ensure Wisconsin’s regulatory environment is as efficient and transparent as possible. As discussed herein, we suggest: (1) automatically sunsetting regulations over time; (2) independent reporting on regulations before they’re promulgated; (3) ensuring all new regulations are net-zero in cost by requiring cost savings whenever new costs are imposed; (4) allowing only one rule per scope statement to be promulgated; (5) reforms to the emergency rulemaking process; and (6) changes to public oversight of regulations, making it easier for private individuals to hold government accountable. The following sections of the report describe each of these proposals in greater detail.