The Kansas State Senate voted 27-12 on April 29, 2024, to override Governor Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of House Bill 2648—a bill to require legislative approval of administrative rules with implementation and compliance costs of $1,000,000 or more over a five-year period.
The bill is a REINS-style state law, which is a legislative proposal modeled after the federal Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. It is designed to increase legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking by requiring legislative approval of agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective.
Elizabeth Patton, the Kansas state director of Americans for Prosperity, released a statement arguing that the “vote to override the Governor’s veto is a triumph for common sense and accountability in government. This action will stimulate economic growth, encourage entrepreneurship, and create more jobs across our state.”
Kelly wrote in her veto message on April 12 that the act “would insert bureaucratic red tape intended to legislatively interfere with the timely implementation of necessary and important rules and regulations. Many of these regulations are for the protection and safety of Kansans.”
Kansas is the second state to enact a REINS-style state law in 2024. Indiana signed Senate Bill 4 into law in March to require legislative approval of rules with implementation and compliance costs of $1,000,000 or more over a two-year period. Ballotpedia has identified two other states in which REINS-style state laws have been enacted. Florida enacted a law with similar provisions to the REINS Act in 2010 and Wisconsin enacted a version of the REINS Act in 2017.
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