JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A new audit report issued Friday shows that state agencies are keeping up with the statute requiring them to review their regulations.
“These reviews are important because they put the burden on the state and serve as a gut check on whether these regulations benefit citizens,” Auditor Galloway said. “They also discourage outdated or unnecessary rules that bog down government, making it harder for average Missourians to navigate the bureaucracy to get the services they need.”
Missouri law requires the 22 state agencies and government entities to review their laws every five years to make sure that none of the laws have become unnecessary or overly burdensome.
Six agencies were required to have completed their reviews by June 30, 2016, and the audit shows that all have completed the necessary requirements, with each agency locating a few rules that they consider to be unnecessary.
Here are the six agencies and their corresponding reports:
Title 1 – Office of Administration – 122 rules reviewed, 1 found unnecessary
Title 2 – Department of Agriculture – 316 rules reviewed, 28 found unnecessary
Title 3 – Department of Conservation – 184 rules reviewed, 1 found unnecessary
Title 4 – Department of Economic Development – 441 rules reviewed, 63 found unnecessary
Title 5 – Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – 172 rules reviewed, 16 found unnecessary
Title 6 – Department of Higher Education – 71 rules reviewed, 29 found unnecessary
The next round of reviews, which includes the Departments of Transportation, Labor and Industrial Relations, Mental Health, and Natural Resources, is due to be completed by June 30 of this year.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
