It is unclear whether Congress will codify the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recommendations for slashing wasteful spending, but the initiative has definitely sparked promising changes at the state level.
Several states have passed, or are considering, legislation that would weaken the power of the administrative state to impose onerous and unnecessary regulations on small businesses and individuals. A Forbes article by Patrick Gleason suggests that almost 25 percent of states will have REINS Act-style laws by next year.
The REINS (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) Act is a bill proposed at the federal level as well as in state legislatures. The purpose of the legislation is to take the power to enact rules and regulations that could negatively impact businesses from unelected bureaucrats and place them in the hands of the legislature.
In essence, it means elected lawmakers have more oversight over whether certain regulations are allowed to take effect.
From Forbes:
While the Trump administration continues to pursue reforms that reduce the federal regulatory burden, which now exceeds the combined cost of personal and corporate income taxes, governors and state lawmakers across the country are making progress this year when it comes to taming state regulatory burdens, namely by passing state-level versions of the REINS Act. The federal REINS Act, which would subject new regulations with a cost exceeding $100 million to congressional approval, is still awaiting consideration on Capitol Hill. In the meantime, the number of states with their own version of the REINS Act continues to grow.
Hannah Cox, president of Athens Media, explained why this legislation is important for everyday Americans.
"What a lot of people don't realize is that we have quietly lost representation in this country over the past couple of decades, in large part because our elected lawmakers are simply not doing their jobs," she said. "They're mostly going on TV and fundraising, and the vast majority of the rules and regulations that actually govern our lives are not voted upon, have nothing to do with the representatives we elected to represent us, but instead are passed by random bureaucrats whose names we don't even know."
You cannot claim we have a representative government when the people’s elected officials aren’t the ones making the rules.
— Hannah Cox (@HannahDCox) June 10, 2025
No taxation without representation - remember?
Fortunately, nearly a QUARTER of all states have passed the REINS Act to fix this issue and return power to… pic.twitter.com/7xDZaUEMKv
In Ohio, state lawmakers introduced House Bill 11, which requires that any proposed regulation projected to have a substantial economic impact undergo an extensive legislative review process before being approved by the state legislature. If passed, the bill would include three cost-trigger thresholds.
If a proposed regulation raises agency expenditures by $100,000 or more, costs the affected parties $100,000 or more in compliance costs, or causes an annual economic impact of $1 million or more, it will automatically be subject to scrutiny from state lawmakers.
The North Carolina REINS Act (House Bill 402) would require legislative approval for any regulation that would impose an economic impact of $1 million or more over a 12-month period.
The purpose of these measures is to ensure that unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats sitting in stuffy offices cannot arbitrarily force absurd or wasteful regulations that make it harder for people to do business in their states.
“The State REINS Act is the single greatest reform North Carolina and Ohio can enact to protect future generations from government overreach, strengthen their economies, and restore the separation of powers,” Eric Bott, Senior Regional VP for Americans for Prosperity, told Townhall.
Let’s face it, the administrative state has far too much power at the federal and state levels. Bureaucrats are free to act as miniature Emperor Palpatines, throwing out ridiculous rules and regulations that won’t affect them. It is the people on the ground who suffer. When small businesses are forced to spend oodles of hard-earned cash to comply with these decrees, it makes it harder for them to employ workers while growing their companies.
It’s time for this to end. REINS is a critical step in the right direction.
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