Login | March 03, 2025
Bill would give the General Assembly oversight of administrative rulemaking
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 3, 2025
Government Oversight Committee members in the Ohio House of Representatives this week heard testimony from the sponsors of a bill crafted to give the General Assembly oversight of administrative rulemaking.
“As we all know, our country and our state were built on the idea that we have three co-equal branches of government, but in 2025, there is a quasi-fourth branch of government––an unelected bureaucracy, which is not elected by the people,” Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, said of the measure he has sponsored jointly with Powell Republican Rep. Brian Lorenz. “It is our job as elected representatives to express the voice of the people we represent, and under the current system of regulatory oversight, only 10 of the 132 elected legislators get the opportunity to review proposed rules.”
House Bill 11 would require the General Assembly to enact a bill to approve a proposed administrative rule if analysis of the rule indicates it would increase the proposing agency’s expenditures during the current biennium by $100,000 or more or that compliance with the rule would cost a directly affected person $100,000 or more.
The bill also specifies that an administrative rule approved by law would expire five years after the effective date of the authorizing law or five years after the effective date of the most recent law authorizing the rule’s renewal, analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission provided.
Analysis of the bill noted that current law requires legislative oversight in almost all instances in which an agency proposes adopting, amending or rescinding an administrative rule.
The process generally is completed by the proposing agency submitting the rule to the 10-member Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review for legislative review at least 65 days before adopting it.
“All the parts of this bill were created to ensure state agency accountability, by granting elected officials the chance to thoroughly review bureaucratic spending,” Lorenz said during the committee hearing. “Civil and public servants usually do great work, that is not in question, however, they are not elected by the people, we are. Therefore, it is my and my joint sponsor’s belief that there should be further checks in place to ensure taxpayer dollars are being put to good use.”
Ferguson said a more transparent government is always a good thing.
“Requiring major rules to be debated and approved by the full legislature provides citizens a greater opportunity to voice their concerns during the regulatory process and ensuring that unelected rulemakers cannot impose burdensome regulations without legislative consent creates an incentive for agencies to propose well-designed, cost-effective rules,” he said.
According to a news release, the sponsors modeled the legislation after the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS, Act, which has been proposed as federal legislation.
Ferguson said that HB 11 ultimately would empower the Ohio electorate.
“When elected, the people we vote for have the final say on major regulations then the voice of more Ohioans are heard,” the lawmaker said. “This is the best way to hear the perspectives of all of our local communities. Because a regulation may affect the people of one region or industry disproportionately, and every Ohioan deserves to have their elected representative advocating for their position when a rule is being considered.”
Fifteen House members have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, which awaits further consideration by the committee.
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