GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1790, which would revamp Virginia's current requirement that agencies review all existing regulations to determine whether they continue to be effective and necessary.

The current process for review of regulations is robust. Independent citizen boards generally approve them. The Office of the Attorney General reviews them. The Department of Planning and Budget reviews them, including development of an economic impact analysis. A cabinet secretary and the Governor review them. They go through multiple rounds of public comment, open to any and all interested parties. And, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules has authority to opine on any regulation under consideration.

That there are too many regulations is a straw man that is not borne out by the facts. But even accepting that there is a problem with over-regulation in Virginia, House Bill 1790 would simply require more paperwork in an effort to identify paperwork that should be eliminated. This approach would only add costs without benefit—the very type of policy this bill seeks to avoid.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.