Regulation without Representation

Harriet M. Hageman

Hageman & Brighton, P.C.

Current Financial Climate

Federal Government Debt Over $ 15 trillion dollars

110th Congress (01/07 to 01/09) increased debt by $1.957 trillion

111th Congress (01/09to 01/11) added $3.22 trillion to the overall debt. More than the first 100 Congresses combined.

$10,429.64 new debt per person in US

Three Branches of Government

Executive (President, Governor)

Leislative (Congress, State Legislatures)

Judicial

Executive Branch -- Where Regulations are Born

U.S. President Governors

Federal and State Agencies What happens once the legislation is

passed?

The “Real Governing Class”

Congress vs. Regulation

In 2009, Congress passed 125 bills

Over 3,500 Regs adopted by Federal Agencies

In 2010, Congress passed 217 bills

Over 3,500 Regs adopted

Regulations – A Primer

Regulations - Federal Endangered Species Act National Environmental Policy Act Clean Air Act Clean Water Act

Section 404 Permits “Waters of the United States” “Navigable Waters” “Interpretation”

Agency “interpretation” of Statutes

Limits of Federal Jurisdiction under Clean Water Act: To “navigable waters of the U.S.”

EPA interpretation as described by U.S. Supreme Court in Rapanos v. U.S.

Regulatory Expansion – From Bad to Worse Under a recent federal directive, the number

of health-care reimbursement categories will soon increase from 18,000 to 140,000, including 21 separate categories for “spacecraft accidents” and 12 for bee stings.

There are over 100,000,000 words of binding federal statutes and regulations, and states and municipalities add billions more.

Regulations – Costly and Contradictory Redundancy Federal Regulations - Examples

Clean Water Act Endangered Species Act National Forest Management

State Regulations Enforcement of the Clean Water Act Game and Fish Regulations Management of State Forest Lands

Redundant Redundancy (cont.)

EPA (federal); DEQ (state) Enforcement of CWA, CAA, stormwater runoff,

land quality, etc. Dept of Transportation (federal and state) Dept of Education (federal and state) Recently created by the President – An Office

of the Regulator of Regulators

Examples of Regulatory Overreach – have we gone crazy? Pythagorean Theorem……………………..24 words

First Amendment to the U.S. Const….......45 words

Lord’s Prayer ……………………………….66 words

Archimedes’ Principle……….....................67 words

10 Commandments …………………….. 179 words

Gettysburg Address………......................286 words

Have We Gone Crazy cont.

Declaration of Independence…………….1300 words

U.S. Govt. Regs on Cabbage CropInsurance …………………………………3500 words

U.S. Constitution (w/ 27 Amend) ………7,818 words

U.S. Govt. Regs on Special Rules for ExperimentalPopulations of T and E Wildlife and Plants ……...over 36,000 words

Have We Gone Crazy cont.

The federal worker-safety laws include some 4,000 rules dictating precisely what equipment shall be used and how facilities are built.

Embarrassingly self-evident: stairways shall be lit by “natural or artificial illumination.”

Hidden (indirect) Costs and Regulatory Burdens: The Real Definition of a Crises

1992- Regulation Costs: $400 billion 2008- Regulation Costs: $1.75 trillion SBA Reports:

2005 Regulatory Employee Cost: $7,647 2008 Regulatory Employee Cost: $10,585

2008 Costs do not include Obamacare Dodd/Frank financial “reform” EPA Regulations

Regulatory Costs cont.

2008 Regulatory Costs – nearly twice as much as all individual income taxes collected 2009 Americans paid $ 989 billion in income

taxes Income tax rate must be disclosed No similar requirement for costs of

regulations Unless have an “impact” of $ 100,000,000.00

or more

Regulatory Costs cont.

Given 2010’s actual Gov’t. spending of $3.456 trillion dollars, the regulatory “hidden tax” ($1.75 trillion) stands at an unprecedented 50.7% of the level of federal spending itself.

In absolute terms, the U.S. Gov’t is the largest government on planet earth.

Regulations and deficits each exceed $ 1 trillion per year.

Regulatory Costs, cont.

Regulatory costs exceed all 2008 corporate pre-tax profits of $ 1.463 trillion.

Regulatory costs dwarf corporate income taxes of $ 157 billion.

Regulatory costs absorb 11.9% of the U.S. GDP (estimated at $14.649 trillion in 2010)

Combining regulatory costs with federal FY 2010 outlays of $ 3.456 trillion reveals a federal gov’t whose share of the entire economy now reaches 35.5%.

EPA Regulation of Carbon

Destroy 1.4 million U.S. jobs and cost the economy up to $141 billion by 2014

200,000 American manufacturers could lose their jobs

Historically, $ 1 billion worth of investment = 15,500 jobs

2015 to 2026 average annual impact of carbon regulation would be more than 500,000 jobs, and by 2029 the total economy-wide cost would be close to $7 trillion (roughly ½ of America’s current GDP)

EPA Regulation of Carbon

“No significant impact on reducing global GHG emission growth” (American Council for Capital Formation)

Obama’s Executive Order on Regulations Announced in January, 2011: “A government-wide

review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regs that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive.”

1 rule repealed last year – spilled milk is no longer considered an “oil spill.”

By Nov., 2011, 508 new rules deemed “significant” – meaning will cost in excess of $ 100 million each (minimum impact: $50,800,000,000)

By December 2, 2011, 760 new rules deemed “significant” (minimum impact: $ 76,000,000,000)

Regulatory Burden 2011 – A Summary Pages of regulations published in the Federal

Register (2011) 53,630 as of 9/10/11 67,036 as of 10/31/11 70,320 as of 11/17/11 75,770 as of 12/2/11

Million hours of annual paperwork burden 65.1 million hours as of 9/10/11 88.2 million hours as of 10/31/11 116.3 million hours as of 11/17/11 119.4 million hours as of 12/2/11

2011 Regulations – Administration Estimates Obama Administration’s cost estimate for the

427 proposed or enacted regulations for 2011 was $ 69.1 billion ($69,100,000,000.00)

Administration announced in August that it is considering 7 new regulations that will cost the economy more than $ 1 billion per year.

2011 cont.

The Administration estimates that one EPA rule alone will cost the economy between $19 billion and $ 90 billion ($19,000,000,000.00 to $90,000,000,000.00).

July, 2011 (during “debt-ceiling” debate) - Administration proposed 229 new rules and finalized 379 rules Agencies’ Estimated Cost: $ 9.5 billion

Regulatory Burden – End of January, 2012 381days since Executive Order on

Regulations 0 Rules repealed this year 55 Rules deemed “significant” $ 8.3 Billion – cost of regulatory burdens from

new rules this year 5680 pages in the Federal Register this year 30.6 million hours of annual paperwork

burden

Regulatory Burden – February 17, 2012 395 days since President’s Executive Order

on Regulations 0 Rules repealed this year 119 Rules deemed “significant” $ 24.3 Billion – cost of regulatory burdens

from new rules this year 9514 pages in the Federal Register this year 44.1 million hours of annual paperwork

burden

Regulatory Burden – March 2, 2012

409 days since President’s Executive Order on Regulations

0 Rules repealed this year 153 Rules deemed “significant” $ 24.9 Billion – cost of regulatory burdens

from new rules this year 12,980 pages in the Federal Register this

year 46.1 million hours of annual paperwork

burden

February 16, 2012 - EPA

The EPA published the Utility MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rule on Thursday, February 16, 2012. EPA estimates the costs of Utility MACT to be $9.6 billion The cost of the rule exceeds the benefits

by between 1,600 and 19,200 to 1. Rule threatens electric reliability

Costs of Overregulation – Not Just Monetary Destruction of our National Forests

2001 Roadless Rule Pine Beetle Outbreak

Routt National Forest – ground zero GAO Studies

Balanced Approach is Critical

If we destroy our economy we cannot protect our environment

When the government directs its resources to doing things it should not be doing, it becomes incapable of doing those things that it should

A government that is closest to the governed is more responsive and accountable

Real Solutions

Regulation must be radically simplified

Individual accountability must replace bureaucratic micromanagement

Mandatory sunsets

Small entities must be regulated differently

Source: Philip K. Howard, Common Good

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Harriet M. Hageman Wyoming Conservation Alliance Colorado Resource Alliance Hageman & Brighton, P.C. 222 East 21st Street Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 (307) 635-4888 hhageman@hblawoffice.com