In just a couple of weeks, Kansans will go to the polls and select our lawmakers. However, there’s another group whose rules we all have to live under: government bureaucrats. Yet while legislators have to earn our votes, unelected officials answer to no one.
That needs to change.
HCR 5014 is one of two constitutional amendments on November’s ballot, and it will allow the legislature to overrule regulatory decisions by a simple majority vote. During a debate earlier this month with her Democratic challenger, Rep. Barb Wasinger talked about why it is crucial that we reform the way regulatory matters are handled.
“There are so many regulations that have overstepped their boundaries,” Wasinger said. “I’m a first-hand witness to agencies trying to pass laws through regulation.
“A good example is the Department of Labor,” she continued. “They changed workman’s comp law with eight regulations. I got the attorney general’s office to revisit those regulations, and they determined that four of them were not constitutional.
“Sorry, but the administration should not be passing laws,” Wasinger insisted, adding that she wants to see regulatory reform aimed at making it easier for farmers and small businesses to get by in tough times. She also pointed to how regulatory reform is needed to alleviate the childcare crisis that Kansas faces.
The simple fact is that overly complicated and unnecessary regulations raise prices, waste taxpayer dollars, and drive opportunities away from Kansas. HCR 5014 will empower legislators to do away with rules that are needless or can be fixed with common sense revisions.
What’s more, our founding fathers understood that a government’s legitimacy is derived from the consent of those it governs. And since bureaucrats aren’t elected, they need to operate with the consent of those who are.
Adam Peters, Ellis County GOP Chairman