Bending the rules.

• Author: Mooneyham, Scott
• Position: CAPITALGOODS

You don't have to look hard to find a business owner, be it a big-time developer or a small retailer, with a story about unwanted government regulation. A good friend of mine, a Raleigh restaurant owner, has complained for years about the equipment requirements for his eatery--heavy-duty industrial refrigerators when a residential fridge would do; a one-piece, stainless-steel sink when a three-piece one used to be the norm.

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After winning historic legislative majorities, Republicans came to Raleigh in January pledging to respond to complaints such as my friend's. It took six months, but GOP lawmakers finally claimed their first victory on that front by overturning Gov. Beverly Perdue's veto of the Regulatory Reform Act of 2011 in July. The sweeping legislation requires state agencies to, among other things, adopt only rules mandated by the federal or state government, review statutes annually to repeal outdated regulations and to cut any that overlaps those of another agency. But overall, its language is complicated and vague, leaving gaping holes for differing interpretations. And it may take years to figure out whether this victory causes more problems, lives up to expectations or has no effect at all. The reasons: No one is sure how the bill will work in practice, how state and federal agencies will respond or if any lawsuits will be filed against it.

Supporters say it will reduce redundant state regulations and make clearer the requirements for businesses when they build, expand or otherwise interact with government regulators. "We're just trying to make this process friendlier, clearer, so you understand what [the rules] are and can abide by them," state Sen. Harry Brown, a Jacksonville Republican, said when the legislation cleared his chamber in June. Environmentalists, however, predict calamity. "State agencies have been handcuffed from fulfilling their statutory obligation to create effective safeguards to protect North Carolina families and communities," Molly Diggins, director of the Sierra Club's North Carolina chapter, said after Perdue's veto was overturned.

The governor's veto didn't have much to do with either of these arguments or the wider purposes of the legislation. She said the bill, in some cases, would take authority away from state agencies and give it to the Office of Administrative Hearings, the state's administrative-law agency, which she labeled as unconstitutional. That's a bit of a stretch...