Phoenix, Arizona - As part of efforts to shrink red tape that gets in the way of job creation, Governor Ducey last year set the goal of eliminating 500 unnecessary regulations by year’s end, and invited Arizona citizens to submit their ideas for cutting needless regulations through a new web portal:
“Our team will do the research, and if a rule or regulation is not protecting consumers, public safety or public health, it’s time for it to go. Our goal: To wipe out 500 total regulations by the end of this year.” Governor Ducey, 2017 State of the State address.
With input from the public and stakeholders, Arizona agencies met and exceeded that goal, eliminating 676 regulatory burdens by year’s end and saving Arizona businesses over $48 million in lost productivity.
“Clearing out over 600 needless regulations last year saved real people $48 million,” said Governor Ducey. “That’s the equivalent of a $48 million tax cut - without costing the general fund a dime. But our work is not done. For too many years, regulators have added more and more rules to our books, putting more and more obstacles in the way of our citizens and businesses. It’s time big government took a backseat to the people. If a regulation does not protect public health or safety, we want it gone.”
Governor Ducey’s first official act in office was to issue a moratorium on all new regulatory rulemaking by state agencies, putting a halt on adding new, onerous regulations. Earlier this week, he reissued that executive order for the fourth consecutive year.
Highlights of regulations eliminated in 2017 are listed below.
Department of Transportation
R17-5-9XX: Commercial Programs, Transportation Service Providers
Outdated ADOT rules did not differentiate between the regulation of Transportation Network Companies (TNC), such as Uber or Lyft, and Vehicles for Hire, such as taxis. This change replaced those outdated rules with ones consistent with statutory changes that lessened regulatory requirements on TNCs. The improved rules benefit taxi companies through reduced regulatory burdens and costs and have allowed companies like Uber and Lyft to flourish.
Department of Environmental Quality
R18-6-60X Reclaimed Water Conveyances October
Previous regulations restricted technological advancements related to uses of recycled water, stifling the ability of communities to deal with water shortages. This change removes the previous restriction while establishing a new permitting process to ensure safety for consumers. Rural areas, which suffer the most from water shortages, particularly benefit from this rule change.
Game and Fish Department
R12-4-501 Boating and Water Sports
Previously, a person was only able to obtain a duplicate watercraft registration by mail or in person at a Department office. As a result, individuals who discovered they misplaced their registration on a weekend or holiday were not able to obtain a duplicate registration any sooner than the next business day. This rule improvement allows individuals to obtain a duplicate registration online via the Department's online watercraft registration system. Also, watercraft registration can now be completed through third-party retailers.
Arizona Department of Health Services
R9-25-60X Stroke Care
This change eliminated outdated rules related to the coordination of stroke care services between emergency medical services providers and replaced them with rules that are consistent with state statutes. Significantly, the rules now have acute stroke-ready hospitals and comprehensive stroke centers on the list of emergency receiving facilities, and clarify that emergency stroke care protocols may include education about the identification of stroke patients who may have an emergent large vessel occlusion. This improvement will allow for the more effective triage and transport of stroke patients to appropriate facilities.
R9-16-40X Registration of Sanitarians
To address a statewide shortage in registered sanitarians and eliminate a threat to public health and safety, the Department amended rules to expand the eligibility criteria for persons qualified to take the sanitarian exam, simplified the application process, and adjusted the sanitarian examination fee to cover the actual cost of the examination.
Department of Administration
R1-6-XXX Rulemaking
An improved rule makes it easier for individuals to petition the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council about possible unfair or illegal promulgation of rules by state agencies. Previously, a complex and overly restrictive process meant many individuals needed to hire an attorney to assist in this process. The improved and less restrictive process for administrative rulemaking increases the accessibility of public administration to the public. In addition, through this change, members of the public are also no longer required to submit petitions in person at the Council’s office and can submit petitions via email.
Registrar of Contractors
R4-9-104: General Provisions, Dual Contractor License Classifications and Scopes of Work
Of the 37,221 active current contractor licensees, 11,040 currently hold a dual license for both residential and commercial work. An improved rule allows dual licensees to switch from a dual license to either a commercial or residential license, providing significant savings for licensed contractors who only want to work on commercial or residential projects. On average, a current licensee holding a dual license classification would save $485 per year by choosing to opt out of the dual classification in favor of a commercial-only license or $355 per year by choosing to opt to a residential-only license.
Board of Pharmacy
R4-23-1104: Pharmacy Technicians
The Pharmacy Board eliminated a prohibition against the use of technology in the verification of the accuracy of medications prepared for dispensing. The Board’s rules now enable the process to be more efficient by enabling a licensed pharmacy technician, who has completed training and works under the supervision of a pharmacist, to use technology by scanning a barcode and visually comparing the prepared medication with the result on a computer screen. In addition, 260 pharmacies are expected to achieve productivity gains from pharmacy technicians that exceed $2,000.
Department of Revenue
R15-10-30X: Authorized Transmission of Funds
In fiscal year 2017, 39,304 non-individual taxpayers (businesses paying TPT, luxury tax, etc.) remitted $10.1 billion via electronic fund transfers while filing their tax forms on paper. Through this rule change, these businesses can now file and pay their taxes online, providing significant cost and time savings.
Department of Environmental Quality
R18-2-326.01 Emissions-Based Fee Increase Related to Individual Permits for Fiscal Year 2011
R18-13-2701 Special Waste Management Fees for FY 2011
R18-13-2702 Increased Landfill Registration Fees for FY 2011
R18-13-2703 Solid Waste Facility Plan Review Fees for FY 2011
These fees hadn’t been charged by the Department in over five years but remained on the books, thereby confusing stakeholders and the public, leading to the Department's expiration of the rules.
Department of Revenue
R15-2C-304 Lottery Winnings
Lottery winners were eligible to deduct lottery installment payments from Arizona Gross Income prior to March 22, 1983. As installments last for 30 years, this rule became obsolete in 2013 yet remained on the books years later. This rule was eliminated.
Department of Economic Security
R6-7-716 Interstate Collections in UIFSA Cases
DES repealed a rule requiring the Department to follow a specific state law that the agency was required to follow regardless of whether this rule existed or not.
Department of Administration
R2-6-102 Availability of Funds Required
The State’s Benefits Division repealed a rule stating the obvious truth that the State of Arizona cannot purchase insurance for State employees unless it has been appropriated the funds to do so.
Industrial Commission
R20-5-3XX Talent and Modeling Agencies
Following legislation signed into law to deregulate talent agents, the Industrial Commission eliminated 29 rules that no longer applied and caused confusion to stakeholders.