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REINS-style state laws

️Wed Jan 29 2025

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What is the REINS Act?

The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS Act) is a legislative proposal aimed at increasing legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking by requiring legislative approval of agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations take effect. Click here to learn about the federal-level REINS Act.

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What are REINS-style state laws?
REINS-style state laws are state laws that increase legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking by requiring legislative approval or review of proposed agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective. They are modeled after a federal legislative proposal called the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS Act).

Click here to learn more about the federal legislative proposal.

Why does it matter?
REINS-style state laws are one of several other types of policy proposals designed to increase legislative oversight of agency regulations. REINS-style state laws provide state legislatures with more direct control over major agency regulations with significant economic impacts by granting lawmakers the preemptive authority to review and halt the enactment of certain regulations. They address the separation of powers between state legislatures and state executive branches in administrative rulemaking by undelegating executive branch authority.

What are the key arguments?
The REINS Act and related state laws are part of a broader debate surrounding the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches in relation to administrative rulemaking. Supporters argue that REINS-style state laws restore the separation of powers, make the legislative branch accountable for regulatory decisions, and increase transparency in the rulemaking process.

Conversely, opponents contend that the laws hinder the efficiency of regulatory agencies, delay necessary regulations, and undermine agencies' expertise in topics where state legislatures lack detailed knowledge. They also argue that it leads to increased political gridlock.

What's the background?
REINS-style state laws were effective in Florida (2010), Wisconsin (2017), Indiana (2024), and Kansas (2024) as of September 2024. Wisconsin and Indiana's REINS-style state laws were signed into law by Republican governors in states with Republican trifectas. Florida and Kansas' REINS-style state laws were enacted in states with divided governments by overriding a governor's veto. Click here to learn more about the details of these laws.

To track the progress of other proposed REINS-style state laws, view Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker.

Dive deeper
The article contains the following sections:

Background. This section includes background information about the federal REINS Act and the history of the proposed legislation in Congress.
REINS-style state laws. This section includes an overview of enacted REINS-style state laws and other REINS-style legislation from 2024.
Other types of legislative oversight. This section includes an overview of other forms of legislative oversight that differ from REINS-style laws.
Noteworthy events. This section includes a selection of legislative attempts at the state-level to enact REINS-style laws.

Background

This section includes background details regarding REINS-style state laws.

Timeline

Below is a timeline of all the enacted REINS-style state laws.

April 29, 2024
Kansas State Legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's (D) veto to enact the Kansas REINS-style state law. The state had a divided government at the time.
March 13, 2024
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb (R) signed the Indiana REINS-style state bill into law. The state had a Republican trifecta at the time.
August 9, 2017
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) signed the Wisconsin Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. The state had a Republican trifecta at the time.
November 16, 2010
Florida State Legislature overrode then-Republican Governor Charlie Crist's veto to enact the Florida REINS-style state law. The state had a divided government at the time.

Federal REINS Act

See also: Congressional Review Act • REINS Act

The REINS Act is a federal legislative proposal designed to amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) of 1996. The REINS Act was initially designed by Tea Party activist Lloyd Rogers in 2009. Rogers contacted former U.S. Representative Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) to propose legislation requiring that "all rules, regulations, or mandates that require citizens, state or local government financial expenditures must first be approved by the U.S. Congress before they can become effective." The proposal was incorporated into the Republican Party's Pledge to America legislative agenda leading up to the 2010 election cycle and was later introduced as legislation. It has since been introduced in the 112th Congress (2011-2013) through the 118th Congress (2023-2025).

Under the CRA, Congress has the authority to issue resolutions of disapproval to nullify certain agency regulations that it considers to be harmful. The REINS Act aims to expand the CRA to require congressional approval of certain major agency regulations before those regulations are implemented. Rather than issuing resolutions of disapproval after a rule takes effect, the REINS Act seeks to give Congress the preemptive authority to halt the initial enactment of certain regulations.^[1]

The REINS Act defines major agency regulations as those that have financial impacts on the U.S. economy of $100 million or more, increase consumer prices, or have significant harmful effects on the economy.^[1]

In addition, the REINS Act would require Congress to examine all existing regulations that have financial impacts on the U.S. economy of $100 million or more.

REINS Act and the nondelegation doctrine

See also: Reform proposals related to the nondelegation doctrine

The REINS Act was introduced as a reform proposal to address challenges related to enforcement of the nondelegation doctrine—an administrative law principle that holds that legislative bodies cannot delegate their legislative powers to executive agencies or private entities. Sponsors of the federal REINS Act argue that REINS Act legislation can be used to undelegate delegated authority by giving legislators preemptive authority to halt the initial enactment of certain regulations instead of issuing resolutions of disapproval after a rule takes effect.^[2]^[1]

REINS-style state laws

See also: Kansas REINS-style state law • Indiana REINS-style state law • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Florida REINS-style state law

REINS-style state laws refer to state laws with provisions similar to the federal REINS Act. These laws often require legislative approval or review of proposed agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective.

Enacted REINS-style state laws

The table below provides an overview of enacted REINS-style state laws. Click on the links below to view more information on each REINS-style state law.

REINS-style state laws overview
State	Passage details	State law details
Year enacted	Passage	Governor at the time	Trifecta status	Monetary/temporal threshold	Legislative involvement*	Oversight authority
Kansas	2024	Veto overridden	Laura Kelly (D)	Divided government	$1 million or more over five years	Requires legislative approval	State legislature
Indiana	2024	Gov. signed	Eric Holcomb (R)	Republican trifecta	$1 million or more over two years	Requires legislative review	Budget Committee of the State Budget Agency
Wisconsin	2017	Gov. signed	Scott Walker (R)	Republican trifecta	$10 million or more over two years	Requires legislative approval	Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules
Florida	2010	Veto overridden	Charlie Crist (former-R)	Divided government	$1 million or more over five years	Requires legislative approval	State legislature
*Laws requiring legislative approval of rules over a certain monetary threshold require the legislature to ratify or authorize rules before they are published. Laws requiring legislative review of certain rules include review by a legislative body as part of the rulemaking process for rules over a certain monetary threshold.

The table below lists legislation state REINS-style legislation since 2024. Click the column headers to sort the table by that field.

Other types of legislative oversight

REINS-style policies differ from other forms of legislative oversight, such as the legislative veto or the federal Congressional Review Act— which allow legislatures to retroactively nullify agency rules— and state statutes requiring legislative ratification or approval of all rules. They are designed to increase preemptive legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking by requiring legislative approval or review of proposed agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective.

Legislative veto

A legislative veto refers to a resolution by a legislative body that invalidates an action by the executive branch. At the federal level, the legislative veto refers to a resolution by one house of Congress, both houses of Congress, or a congressional committee that nullifies an executive action. Some state legislatures are authorized to issue legislative vetoes in certain cases by enacting a statute or passing a resolution.^[3]

Legislative ratification or approval of all agency rules

Another form of legislative oversight is state statutes requiring legislative ratification or approval of all agency rules, as seen in West Virginia. West Virginia Code § 29A-3-9 requires all proposed agency rules to be authorized by the state legislature before the rule is promulgated, regardless of the estimated monetary threshold of the rule. The text of the statute states:^[4]^[5]

“

When an agency proposes a legislative rule, other than an emergency rule, it shall be deemed to be applying to the Legislature for permission, to be granted by law, to promulgate such rule as approved by the agency for submission to the Legislature or as amended and authorized by the Legislature by law.^[6]

”

Idaho is another example of a state with this type of legislative oversight. The Idaho Administrative Procedure Act requires legislative approval by a concurrent resolution of the legislature for all new regulations. State law also includes provisions authorizing the legislature to "review an existing regulation at any point in time and reject those deemed inconsistent with legislative intent via concurrent resolution," according to a Cato Institute report.^[7]

Noteworthy events

This section tracks legislative attempts at the state-level to enact REINS-style laws.

Arizona voters defeat ballot measure to establish REINS-style oversight of agency rulemaking (2024)

Voters in Arizona defeated a ballot measure on November 5, 2024, related to legislative oversight of agency rulemaking.

The measure, Proposition 315, would have required legislative ratification of proposed rules estimated to increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 over five years before they could take effect. The measure was defeated by a vote of 53.2% - 46.8%, according to votes counted as of November 8, 2024.

Four Republican senators and three Republican representatives introduced the 2024 measure as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1012 (SCR 1012) on January 23. The Senate passed it 16-13 on February 22 in a party-line vote. The House passed it 31-29 on June 12, also along party lines.

The measures' opponents argued, "It undermines the autonomy of state agencies by shifting accountability for spending from the governor's and state attorney's offices to the legislature." Supporters of the measure argued it would return "legislative powers to the legislature and, by extension, to The People of Arizona."^[8]^[9]

The ballot measure contained provisions modeled after the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act—a federal legislative proposal designed to increase legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking. Proposition 315 marks the first attempt to use a ballot measure to enact REINS-style provisions in a state.

The Arizona State Legislature passed nearly identical REINS-style state laws in 2023 and 2024. Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed both bills. The legislature would have required a two-thirds vote to override the governor's veto. Republicans hold a 53% majority in the Senate and a 52% majority in the House.

Kansas enacts state-level REINS Act (2024)

The Kansas State Senate voted 27-12 on April 29, 2024, to override Governor Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of House Bill 2648—a bill to require legislative approval of administrative rules with implementation and compliance costs of $1 million or more over a five-year period.

The bill is a REINS-style state law, which is a legislative proposal modeled after the federal REINS Act. It is designed to increase legislative oversight of administrative agency rulemaking by requiring legislative approval of agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective.

Elizabeth Patton, the Kansas state director of Americans for Prosperity, released a statement arguing that the “vote to override the Governor’s veto is a triumph for common sense and accountability in government. This action will stimulate economic growth, encourage entrepreneurship, and create more jobs across our state.”^[10]

Kelly wrote in her veto message on April 12 that the act “would insert bureaucratic red tape intended to legislatively interfere with the timely implementation of necessary and important rules and regulations. Many of these regulations are for the protection and safety of Kansans.”^[11]

Arizona governor vetoes REINS-style state law (2024)

Arizona lawmakers on April 10, 2024, again sent a state-level version of the REINS Act to Governor Katie Hobbs' (D) desk.

This bill would require the state legislature to ratify any state agency rule that, according to the text, is "estimated to increase regulatory costs in this state by more that $500,000 within five years after implementation" before the rule can take effect. This bill was sponsored by Senators Anthony Kern (R), Jake Hoffman (R), Wendy Rogers (R), and Justine Wadsack (R), along with state Representatives Laurin Hendrix (R), Rachel Jones (R), Alexander Kolodin (R), and Austin Smith (R).^[12]^[13]

The state House voted 31-28 and the state Senate voted 16-10 to approve the bill along party lines. Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill on April 16, 2024.^[14]

Arizona governor vetoes REINS-style state law (2023)

Arizona lawmakers on May 15, 2023, sent a state-level version of the REINS Act to Governor Katie Hobbs’ (D) desk.

The Arizona bill, sponsored by state Representative Justin Wilmeth (R), would require the state legislature to ratify any state agency rule that, according to the text, is “estimated to increase regulatory costs or have an adverse impact on economic growth in the state by $500,000 or more within 5 years” before the rule can take effect.

The state House voted 31-27 and the state Senate voted 16-14 to approve the bill along party lines. Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill on May 19, 2023.^[15]

Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds enforcement of state REINS Act (2019)

On November 20, 2017, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit against Tony Evers, the Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, alleging that Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) were in violation of the state's REINS Act. WILL’s lawsuit was filed as an original action with the Supreme Court of Wisconsin and asked the court to issue a declaratory judgment ordering Superintendent Evers to comply with the state REINS Act. WILL filed its suit on behalf of two school board members and two public school teachers.^[16]^[17]^[18]

On April 13, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced its decision to hear WILL's case against Evers and DPI.^[19] In preliminary oral arguments on May 15, 2018, the court considered whether or not Superintendent Evers can select his own legal representation in the case or must be represented by the state attorney general and Department of Justice as ordered by Governor Scott Walker (R).^[20]^[21] It ruled that Evers could choose his own lawyers in the case on June 27, 2018.^[22]

The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on April 10, 2019.^[23] On June 25, 2019, the court ruled that the state superintendent must follow the REINS Act and submit new rules to the governor before they can go into effect.^[24] The court held that the Wisconsin Constitution allows the state REINS Act to apply to the DPI because the power to make rules is legislative and controlled by the legislature.^[24] For more information about this case, see this page.

External links

Footnotes

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Bibliography	"Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008)

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