Senate kills legislation to rein in state regulators

Tuesday the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee killed Senate Bill 11-118, legislation to rein in state regulators and help businesses deal with burdensome regulations sponsored by Senator Mark Scheffel, R-Parker, on a party-line vote.

"State agencies issued over 500 new rules in 2010 running to over 3,600 pages, and many of them impose substantial compliance costs on business," said Senator Scheffel. “This bill would have eased the regulatory burden imposed on business so they can continue creating jobs in Colorado.”

Scheffel's bill would require the committee of the legislature to approve any new regulation issued by a rule-making agency before it could attain permanent status. If the committee found that the rule was not consistent with the underlying legislation and did not meet a fair cost-benefit test, it could eliminate the rule. That would require the rule-making agency to go back to square one with additional public hearings.

"This legislation was created after businesses across the state met with Republican leadership to discuss measures the General Assembly should take to lower the cost of doing business in our state,” said Scheffel. “It’s disappointing that the job creating business community will once again have to wait for their voice to be heard.”