State Regulatory Processes Are Ripe for Reform

Want to open a bacon-processing plant in California? Better buy a fax machine. That’s right: A California regulation from 2005 still requires swine slaughterhouses to provide a working fax number for their annual registration with the state. Texas requires them too: A 2001 regulation mandates that horse racing managers communicate strictly via fax or face gambling violations. And since 2003, North Carolina has required financial advisers to have a fax on hand to communicate with state regulators.

It’s no secret that state regulations play a major role in our everyday lives — dictating what we can eat, creating paperwork and record-keeping hurdles, and often increasing the cost of living. It’s not just about what the rules require: State laws dictate how to create, update, and when necessary, challenge regulations. Good process can make it easier for citizens to participate when state bureaucrats make and enforce new rules.

Read the full piece in Governing.