If there’s one thing our general assembly does well, it’s renaming government control as “freedom.”
Introducing H3021, The Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act. Actually, it’s not a new bill because it already passed the House. But H3021 is a perfect example. Don’t you love that title? Regulatory and Freedom together in harmony. The title alone could make you feel patriotic enough to overlook that it’s a ten-page plan to expand bureaucracy.
The bill’s hero is the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee (SBRRC), a group that has been around for years, doing, well, not much. So naturally, the Legislature decided, let’s give this do-nothing committee the superpowers to cure regulatory overload, even though that is what they are already supposed to be doing.
Pause, let’s quickly explain the SBRRC. The Committee was established in 2004 within the South Carolina Department of Commerce. It is made up of 11 business owners who volunteer to review regulatory issues affecting small businesses. The Committee has the authority to direct agencies to prepare economic impact statements, regulatory flexibility analyses, and request final assessment reports on regulations. It can also petition agencies or contact legislative leaders for redress against regulations that unduly pressure small businesses. Members are appointed by the Governor, Senate President Pro Tempore, and Speaker of the House, with ex officio members from relevant legislative committees.
Under H3021, SBRRC’s new mission is to cut the “regulatory burden” by exactly twenty-five percent. Not twenty, not thirty, twenty-five. How they landed on that number is anyone’s guess. Perhaps it sounded scientific enough to appear serious, yet round enough to fit on a campaign bumper sticker.
Ready for more fun? If this bill passes as is, agencies will have to scramble to “reduce” rules by a quarter. But since most of those rules were written to comply with other regulations, the only practical way to hit that quota is to rename, merge, or recycle them, possibly. The bill doesn’t forbid that. So next year, your favorite regulation may reappear with a new number and an even longer title.
Section 3 adds a “two-for-one” deal. Every time an agency wants to add a new regulation, it must delete two others. Sounds bold until you realize not all regulations are equal. Nothing prevents an agency from tossing a useless rule about fax machine forms to make room for a sweeping new one on digital tracking systems. Congratulations, we’ve modernized tyranny.
Of course, there must be exemptions to regulations that are not subject to automatic expiration. Let’s see, anything tied to federal funding, constitutional authority, or an agency “directly managed by an elected official.” That last one is fascinating. “Directly managed” is never defined. Does it mean oversight, signature, or smiling for a photo with the agency head? It probably means whatever keeps the agency safe from interference.
Then there’s the part about automatic expiration. Regulations die after seven years unless agencies resurrect them through full rejustification rigmarole. Out with the old five-year review! In comes a seven-year doomsday clock. Expect more paperwork, meetings, and salaries.
And wait—more expenses. Every regulation must now include public transparency portals, standardized metrics, and machine-readable data sets. All so we can track exactly how efficiently the state is managing inefficiency.
Tip One: Words like “freedom,” “review,” and “efficiency” should immediately raise your suspicions.
Tip Two: That’s what we call increasing state control.
There’s also a trend here that Tip Three warns about: the use of positive buzzwords to mask state control. “Regulatory freedom” is enforced through legislative mandate and monitored by a committee that answers to no one except the Legislature itself.
Tip Four: The right questions would be: Who benefits? Who pays? Who enforces it?
If you’ve ever wanted a government that audits itself for progress on reducing itself, congratulations, this is your lucky bill.
The only thing missing is a line promising to “streamline liberty” and “digitize independence.” But give it time. The Senate hasn’t added amendments yet. They’ll probably find a way to make this bill even freer.
Gosh, why not put some real effort into repealing laws that create overregulation, which is the better solution than layering new “fix-it” measures on top of old ones?
Bottom line.
The bill is theater. Kill it in the Senate.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not constitute legal or professional advice. ConservaTruth assumes no liability for any actions taken based on this content. Read more.
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