This is the third part of a three-part series looking ahead to N.C. legislative priorities for 2017. Follow the links to read part 1 and part 2.
Often the best thing government can do is get out of the way. We’ve seen the results of that type of approach over the last six years with less government regulation, fewer taxes and greater access to free markets. North Carolina’s economy is one of the strongest and fastest-growing in the country.
In 2013, the General Assembly passed a law requiring a review of each administrative rule from state agencies every 10 years. That process is under way. With more than 21,000 administrative rules, more than 6,000 have been reviewed to date. Of those, over 600 have been ruled unnecessary and eliminated. Continuing the review will mean thousands of rules will be rolled back or modified to reduce government’s stifling overreach into businesses and people’s lives.
While eliminating rules is one way to roll back job-killing regulations, putting the brakes on new rules is necessary as well. Legislative reformers proposed a legislative review for any government agency rule with substantial financial cost. They need to continue that conversation.
North Carolina has some of the most restrictive occupational licensing requirements in the country. Fifty-eight separate boards oversee hundreds of jobs and thousands of workers. High entry and renewal fees, along with training and apprenticeship requirements, create barriers for people to pursue the career of their choice, even penalizing some workers, making them unknowingly into criminals.
Protecting public health and safety is paramount, of course, but a common-sense approach, balancing protection with freedom to work, is needed. Sunsetting many of the small licensing boards with a complete review and evaluation is a good idea. Eliminating duplicative licenses, whether federal, state, local, or board-imposed, will clear the way for more people to enter professions of their choice.
Restructuring the licensing system in North Carolina to ensure transparency, oversight, and fairness is a good place to start with an eye toward consolidation where possible, updating where practical, and elimination where needed. Moving toward voluntary certification is a better way to ensure competency while removing barriers and ensuring North Carolinians are truly free to work.
North Carolina’s restrictive certificate-of-need laws, requiring that health care providers get a permission slip from the government before investing in new facilities and equipment, limit access and drive up health care costs. Many states have repealed their CON laws. North Carolina considered, but did not implement, a complete repeal during the 2016 short session.
What they did do, however, is issue a waiver for CON to build or convert mental health beds using funds from the sale of the Dorothea Dix property in downtown Raleigh. If it is important to remove the CON requirement for mental health patients, why not for kidney dialysis patients, neonatal intensive care unit babies, or older folks who need long-term care facilities? The time to renew health care freedom and repeal CON for all medical services in North Carolina is now.
One of the largest barriers to economic growth is the cost of energy. When the cost of energy goes up, the cost of everything goes up. That prevents businesses from investing in growth and discourages new industry from expanding in North Carolina. North Carolina’s job-killing requirement that a certain percentage of our energy must come from renewable energy sources has driven up the cost of energy. This “renewable portfolio standard” is set to increase that percentage requirement again in 2018. Policymakers must freeze or repeal the RPS to stop the escalation of energy costs.
Common sense, data, facts, and thoughtful analysis should prevail when faced with environmental challenges. Whether it is considering building terminal groins along the coastline, cleaning up coal ash basins, installing wind turbines in the path of military training and security airwave patterns, or authorizing ridge protection laws in the mountains, a balanced approach is needed.
Policymakers should consider safety, cost-effectiveness, and public benefit based on facts, not fear tactics, and with an eye toward alternative viable solutions. That is the best way to address these challenges.
As we reflect on the transformational reforms that have occurred over the last six years, and the continuation of that momentum during the recently concluded 2016 N.C. legislative short session, all of us should revel in the changes that have positioned North Carolina as a leader and model in economic strength.
Becki Gray (@beckigray) is vice president for outreach at the John Locke Foundation.