THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 1995 TAG: 9503080531
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
A House panel endorsed part of a package of regulatory reform measures on Tuesday. But its members remained divided over how much authority to give the state legislature to review fisheries, environmental and other rules before they become law.
With only one vote against, the House Judiciary I Committee recommended approval of a bill that would require an economic analysis of proposed rules. The measure has an estimated $5 million effect on the economy and would require state agencies to give additional advanced notice of potential new rules. Rep. H.M. ``Mickey'' Michaux, a Democrat from Durham, was the committee's sole dissenter.
The bill will now head to the House floor for debate.
The panel could not agree, however, on whether to expand the authority of an existing committee to allow its members to approve new rules adopted by state agencies and their governing boards; or to require legislative approval of all new rules before they can be implemented.
After about an hour of debate over that issue, committee Chairman N. Leo Daughtry, a Johnston County Republican, referred the matter to a three-member subcommittee that is scheduled to report its findings next week.
``It's clear that we've got some problems with this bill,'' Daughtry said. ``And the biggest problem is who's going to do the veto of controversial rules.''
The package of bills seeks to make sweeping changes in the way state agencies and their governing boards and commissions adopt regulations affecting not only marine fisheries, but rules governing coastal development, sewage disposal, purification of drinking water and some utilities commission actions.
The bills appeared headed for quick approval by the committee last Tuesday. Then lobbyists for the state's businesses and industries told the committee that regulatory reform measures before the state legislature would lead to a more careful review of proposed rules before they become law.
Two days later, the panel heard from five opponents of some of the proposals, including Marine Fisheries Commission Chairman Robert V. Lucas. Lucas said requiring the General Assembly to review and approve fisheries rules before they can be implemented would be devastating to the state's fish populations.
State boards now enact rules after they have undergone public scrutiny either at hearings or during a public comment period.
These rules are reviewed by a Rules Review Commission, whose authority is limited to recommending that the boards reconsider rules that are thought to be unconstitutional or outside the jurisdiction of the board or commission which enacted the rule.
But under a compromise proposal offered Tuesday by Rep. E. David Redwine, a Brunswick County Democrat, the membership of the Rules Review Commission would be changed and its powers enhanced to give the commission veto authority over rules approved by regulatory panels.
A legislative oversight committee composed of senators and House members would have the authority to review state regulatory programs and the rule-making process for their effectiveness. But committee members would not have the authority to review rules before they became law.
Redwine said this version of the bill is an intermediate step that would strengthen the review of administrative rules, but stops short of being the more restrictive measure requiring legislative approval of rules.
``It's another way of doing the same thing,'' Redwine said. ``I've always said that sometimes you have to make compromises in order to reach a consensus among the 170 members of the legislature.''
While some members of the judiciary committee approved of the compromise, others said they would prefer that a review of rules be in the hands of the legislature.
``I'm a little bit concerned with the change that has been made,'' said Rep. George M. Holmes, a Yadkin County Republican. ``I would hope that you would delay it until we have time to digest this.''
Some legislators, including Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, have called for a moratorium on administrative rules, similar to the one in place for the Marine Fisheries Commission, while state lawmakers study the administrative rule-making procedure.
Debate on the legislature's authority over administrative rules and other regulatory reform measures will continue in the House judiciary committee. A vote could come as early as Thursday. by CNB