(THE CENTER SQUARE) – Ohio plans to launch a website state lawmakers believe will give more transparency to the process of making business regulations. It comes as the General Assembly has spent the past two years whittling away at regulations that have made the state one of the most restrictive in the nation.
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, plan a news conference Monday morning to unveil “Cut Red Tape Ohio,” a website developed by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review and the business community. The two say the site is expected to provide more openness to the rule-making process.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University conducted a state RegData project, which analyzed regulations in 44 states and Washington, D.C., Ohio ranked in the top five, behind only California and New York as being the most restrictive states.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Ohio followed what some called a historic reduction in business regulations in 2000 with another effort in 2021 when Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, introduced a bill that reduced regulations by 30% by 2024. That effort received support from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and The Buckeye Institute.
It passed and was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
