House Committee Embraces Pro-Growth Reforms

On Tuesday the House State Government Committee voted to advance regulatory reforms that could restart Pennsylvania’s stagnant economy.

Legislators advanced three bills included in a regulatory reform package introduced by House Republicans in January. The bills aim to reduce Pennsylvania’s regulatory burden in different ways:

• House Bill 1959, sponsored by Rep. Greg Rothman, creates an online tracking system for state permits to provide more predictability to entrepreneurs who spend countless hours navigating a broken permitting process.
• House Bill 1792, sponsored by Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, gives the General Assembly the ability to initiate the repeal of existing regulations through a concurrent resolution. Under current law, the legislature can only prevent the implementation of new regulations through a resolution.
• House Bill 209, sponsored by Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill, establishes an Independent Office of the Repealer to review and reduce or modify existing regulations.

Rep. Dawn Keefer’s House Bill 1237 is another regulatory reform that should be on the radar of legislators and taxpayers. It passed committee earlier this year. The bill requires the General Assembly to approve any “economically significant” regulation. Sen. John DiSanto has introduced a similar proposal in the Senate.

The committee also approved Rep. Steve Bloom’s legislation, House Bill 1849, to prevent discrimination against merit shop contractors. The bill would bar “project labor agreements” that require union labor for public construction projects, which drive up project costs and prevent qualified non-union shops from bidding on projects.

These proposals, along with other pro-growth ideas like the Taxpayer Protection Act and tax reform, will stimulate our economy and make Pennsylvania a destination state.