Report urges yearly sunset for all government regulations following Idaho success

A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report urges an annual sunset date for all government regulations, offering a case study on this reform already implemented by Idaho.

“In 2019, Idaho pioneered zero-based regulation, an orderly approach to statewide regulatory reform,” explained report author Alex J. Adams, former administrator of the state’s Division of Financial Management and an architect of the reform. “Like zero-based budgeting, zero-based regulation starts with the presumption that existing regulations may be unnecessary and therefore they must be periodically re-justified….”

“In just a short time, Idaho’s reform led to a 38 percent statewide reduction in regulatory volume, demonstrating the effectiveness of the reform,” added Ryan Young, CEI regulatory policy expert.

Key reform components included:

• A sunset date for all regulations, a deadline for agencies to re-promulgate the regulations to be retained;
• A mandate on agencies to track progress.
• A 5-year review of regulations;
• Incentives such as a “Golden Scissors” trophy award to top performing agencies.

Key outcomes of reform included:

• Every agency cut regulations, especially related to economic development, natural resources, and health and human services.
• Agencies collectively eliminated 3, 235 pages of regulations through 2024, a 38 percent statewide decrease compared to 2018.
• The two agencies that had the largest volume of regulatory pages in 2018 saw cuts of 30.8 percent and 63.3 percent, respectively.
• A true transformation of the regulatory environment in the state.

“Other states should follow Idaho’s lead and adopt zero-based regulation laws,” said Young.

>  View the report, The Beauty of Regulatory Sunsets by Alex J. Adams