AUSTIN – Texas Public Policy Foundation experts Kathleen Hartnett White and Josiah Neeley co-authored an article in the latest issue of the Texas Tech Administrative Law Journal.
The article, Who Regulates the Regulator? Cost-Effectiveness Analysis In Texas State Agency Rulemaking, 14 Tex. Tech Admin. L. J. 401 (2013), examines how appropriately structured regulatory impact analysis can increase the transparency of rulemaking, reduce costs, and enhance the effectiveness of environmental rules.
“Most states and the federal government already require fundamental transparency about the purpose, cost, and anticipated result of new regulation,” said Kathleen Harnett White. “Requiring a simple cost-effectiveness analysis for all new environmental rules in Texas would eliminate this regulatory gap. When wisely structured, regulatory impact analyses assist regulators as they design rules that are proportionate.”
Josiah Neeley added, “The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has done a good job meeting environmental goals without unduly burdening Texas businesses or the public, but so long as Texas continues to lack a meaningful requirement that TCEQ perform a cost-effectiveness analysis for new environmental regulations, this issue will continue to have relevance for state lawmakers.”