Which State Law Would You Strike?

Have you ever wanted to get rid of a state law? Just rip that page right out of the state statute book?

Well, here’s your big chance.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday signed Executive Order 37, which invites public comment on state laws that are more than four years old in an effort to streamline regulations and increase efficiency and transparency.

“We’re committed to making state government more efficient, more transparent and more responsive, and engaging Connecticut’s citizens and businesses in a public conversation about state regulations is an important part of that effort,” Gov. Malloy said in a news release.  “We’ve made progress on this front since I took office. Permits that used to take more than ninety days to get approval now get approved in 30 days.  Regulations that were nearly impossible to find in hard copy can now be found online.  

“It’s a great start, but there is much more that we can and must do. This Executive Order is another important step toward making government more responsive and more transparent.”

The governor wants your opinions on regulations that are “obsolete, duplicative, excessively burdensome, or otherwise ineffective or unnecessary,” according to the release.

To submit your comments on state laws you’d like to strike or change, send an email to governor.regulations@ct.gov or submit them via web form at www.governor.ct.gov/regulations. The state will also host forums around the state at times and places that have yet to be announced.

The executive order also spells out the following guiding principles for agencies in redrafting their regulations after public comment:

• clearly identifying their policy goals and how the proposed regulations seek to achieve those goals;
• accounting for the anticipated impact on economic growth that will be hampered or helped by creating the regulation;
• utilizing best practices for regulation, including using the least burdensome tools to  achieve regulatory goals;
• writing regulations in clear easy to understand language.

The governor had announced in July that all state regulations would be posted online at www.ct.gov/eregulations.