A Bill Being Filed Today in the Delaware House of Representatives Seeks to Change Delaware’s Regulatory Process
A bill being filed today in the Delaware House of Representatives seeks to change Delaware’s regulatory process. Regulations created by state agencies carry the weight of the law, but unlike the lawmaking process, citizens have little ability to impact or influence the rules before they are adopted and no options for changing them once they are on the books. The bill’s lead sponsor, Jeff Spiegelman, State Representative in the Townsend, Smyrna area said he is introducing the Regulatory Reform Act to mend a broken system. Under the proposed legislation, all state regulations would expire annually, with the General Assembly needing to renew them. A new bipartisan legislative committee – the Joint Committee on Oversight of Agency Regulations – would be charged with reviewing and overseeing state agency regulations. The committee would take public input, hold hearings on disputed rules, and make recommendations to the General Assembly to modify regulations or allow them to expire.
This bill has now been filed as House Bill 5 as part of today’s prefile: https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=141760
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“Citizens elect state senators and representatives to be their voice in Legislative Hall,” he said. “When those constituents take issue with measures being considered in Legislative Hall, they contact their elected officials and express their misgivings. And because these officials owe their seats to these citizens, those concerns are taken seriously and acted on.”
Rep. Spiegelman said that is not the case with regulations. State agencies craft and propose regulations that must first be published in the Delaware Register of Regulations, a publication little known outside of state government. If they see the prospective rule, citizens have a limited opportunity to comment on it. Sometimes, depending on the proposal’s scope, public hearings are held so people can express their views directly to agency officials. However, while agencies must submit to the notification and comment process, their actions are not necessarily guided by that input, even when public opinion is clear and overwhelming.
For instance, in November 2023, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) announced it had finalized regulations mandating the increased sale of new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) while aggressively reducing the availability of new fuel-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Under the regulations, starting with model year 2027 (Fall 2026), 43% of all new cars and trucks vehicle-makers ship to Delaware will be required to be ZEVs. That percentage will increase annually to 82% by model year 2032.
DNREC adopted the regulations despite broad public opposition. Of the 4,426 individual public comments submitted to DNREC as part of the promulgation process, nearly 95% opposed the regulatory restriction on selling new gasoline and diesel vehicles.
“Let me be clear: this bill isn’t about the EV sales mandate, but it’s a good example of the disconnect that can exist between public input and an agency’s action. It illustrates the flaws in the current system,” Rep. Spiegelman said.
“In other instances, agencies have promulgated rules that were later overturned in court because they were unconstitutional or violated state procedures,” Rep. Spiegelman continued. “Under my proposal, citizens will continue to have the ability to challenge state agency regulations through civil lawsuits, but this is an extreme and costly mechanism. This reform bill will provide another, better avenue to hold agencies accountable. Delawareans should have a forum that is receptive to listening to their concerns about regulations, and if those concerns are credible, have an opportunity, through their elected officials, to take corrective action.”
Under the proposed legislation, all state regulations would expire annually, with the General Assembly needing to renew them. A new bipartisan legislative committee – the Joint Committee on Oversight of Agency Regulations – would be charged with reviewing and overseeing state agency regulations. The committee would take public input, hold hearings on disputed rules, and make recommendations to the General Assembly to modify regulations or allow them to expire.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re following the lead of states like Colorado and Utah, that have similar mechanisms for regulatory oversight,” Rep. Spiegelman said. “This should be a bipartisan bill, protecting all Delawareans by providing a prudent legislative check against unrestrained executive branch authority.”
