The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) on Aug. 21 voted to repeal two outdated regulations.
One regulation pertained to blasting, demolition, fireworks and explosives. Regulatory powers had been transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Department of Labor and Industry was no longer enforcing the regulation. Upon repeal, the DEP will be the sole agency to enforce it.
“Pennsylvanians are already subjected to a bevy of unneeded regulations,” state Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover) said after the vote. “The vote by IRRC to clean up some of the regulations is certainly a step in the right direction. I thank the commission and the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of State for their efforts. This action should be seen as the start, not the end. A lot more work must be done to roll back regulations and clean up the books.”
During the 2021-22 session, as House State Government Committee chairman, Grove led an initiative to clean up regulations. He also was chairman of five other House committees that requested that IRRC conduct a review of regulations to determine which should be repealed or amended.
IRRC worked with agencies to review regulations and ordered adjustments as needed.
“This initiative prompted state agencies to review their own regulations so that the public has access to better, more up-to-date regulations,” Grove said. “Agencies make rules and then forget about them. Over the years, laws change, yet rules aren’t updated to reflect the changes. It is my hope this effort will carrying on for years to come.”
The attorney general will review the recent changes and then they will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin to inform the public.