Gov. John Kasich pledged during his campaign that he would simplify state regulations, which he sees as an impediment to attracting and keeping businesses in the state.
"It takes longer (to get things done) than in other states. Regulations tend to go above and beyond," he told an audience at the City Club of Cleveland. "When you go into a small business and you hassle them and impose rules that don't make any sense, you're not hassling the business. You're killing somebody's job. So our regulatory system has been out of date."
Kasich used his first executive order as governor in January to establish his Common Sense Initiative, or CSI, to evaluate the economic impact of agency rules and regulations on small business in Ohio. He named Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor to lead the effort. The program borrows ideas started under former Gov. Ted Strickland.
On March 4, Kasich signed Senate Bill 2, legislation that puts the plan into law. The bill received bipartisan support in the legislature.
Among other things, the new law will require state agencies to develop customer-service standards and will require state agencies with a role in business development to review and adjust any rule or regulation deemed to be a hindrance to business development.
Getting the legislation passed and signed into law is significant progress toward fulfilling this promise. Now it"s up to Taylor and the new CSI office to follow through on implementation. Based on the bill signing, we keep the Kasich-O- Meter for this promise set on In the Works.
