Ohio’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review doesn’t typically get a lot of attention, but it does important and far-reaching work: approving or rejecting the rules and regulations that give shape to new laws.
So forgive the panel’s chairman, Republican Rep. Ross McGregor of Springfield, for indulging in a useful bit of drama last week.
He’s sick of state agencies shirking their statutory responsibility to review rules every five years and submit reports to the committee, so he engineered a pointed reminder: He summoned agency officials to explain to the panel why they haven’t submitted those mandatory reviews on time.
Some have missed the deadline by more than a decade. To sharpen the point, McGregor reminded the tardy officials that his committee has the authority to invalidate — simply strike from the books — any rule that has gone unreviewed for more than five years.
Brandishing a container labeled “JCARR Bucket of Invalidation,” he randomly drew out slips of paper listing outdated rules.
Agency officials responsible for those rules had to go up, before an atypically jam-packed hearing room, and explain why they were years late on their rule reviews.
Not many had good reasons.
Reviewing rules might sound bureaucratic, but it actually is a defense against unnecessary red tape.
The 5-year-review requirement is in place because, as time passes and circumstances change, a rule that seemed sensible upon its passage may become obsolete. Regular review can clear the books of rules that no longer make sense, and can allow tweaks that help a law remain effective.
Commendably, McGregor stressed that he doesn’t intend for the committee to invalidate rules willy-nilly, acknowledging that such a move could be “careless.” Among the 15,000 or so rules on the books are those dealing with how residents of facilities for the developmentally disabled can be treated, hunting and trapping regulations, equal-employment opportunities and requirements for a loan officer’s license.
Said Larry Wolpert, the committee’s executive director and a former state representative, “They can impact everyone’s business, home and personal life. They need to be looked at every five years to see if they’re outdated.”
About 2,400 of those rules have gone beyond five years with no review.
Last week's episode is a reminder of the little-known but important role the committee plays in Ohio life, even when not putting the squeeze on agencies to follow the law. Only a small portion of the population — the type who watch C-SPAN or make their living as lobbyists — pays much attention to the rules that pass before the committee, most of which are approved.
But, when a law is passed, the rule-making often is where the rubber hits the road. Rules that can affect all Ohioans’ lives are passed every day with few people aware.
It’s the same on the federal level.
So tardy state agencies should heed McGregor’s Bucket of Invalidation and keep those rules up to date, as the law requires.