Regulatory reform

Lawmakers at all levels have delegated a great deal of their authority to an unelected bureaucracy. After legislators in Washington, D.C., or Carson City pass the laws, it is up to an army of career functionaries in the executive branch to actually write the rules and regulations required by the statutes.

The result isn't always what lawmakers intended, nor is it always done in the light of day.

"I presumed that once we worked a bill through both houses and we worked out the kinks and it got signed into law that everything went forward according to plan," said state Sen. Valerie Wiener, a Las Vegas Democrat.

Instead, she said, studies showed that many agencies sometimes adopt regulations that run counter to legislative goals.

So Sen. Wiener has brought forth Senate Bill 267, which unanimously passed the upper house last month and is now before the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.

The measure would give lawmakers a bit more supervision of the bureaucracy by requiring the Legislative Commission -- comprising six legislators from either house and charged with acting on behalf of the Legislature when it is not in session -- to either approve or reject any regulatory revisions issued by state agencies. Under the current system, the regulations become effective automatically unless the commission specifically kills them.

In addition, the bill demands that state open meeting laws apply when agencies revise such rules. State agencies will have to hold public hearings on the new regulations, at which documents relating to the changes must be available. Members of the public will also have access to workshops and any other gatherings at which the new regulations are formulated.

"Often the very heavy lifting is done in the workshop setting when you are actually just discussing how a regulation is going to get formulated," said Jeanette Belz of the Nevada Chapter of Associated General Contractors, testifying in support of the bill. "It's shocking to me that that wouldn't be subject to public notice."

Indeed. Given the extent to which the Nevada Revised Statutes has expanded in recent years, this legislation is long overdue. Not only does it encourage accountability from the unelected rulemakers by better opening the process, it encourages lawmakers to take a more active role in policing regulatory agencies.

The Assembly should waste little time passing SB267.