Attorney General Bob McDonnell announced Friday that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will serve as Co-Chair of the Attorney General’s Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force.

In addition, McDonnell announced that Bolling will chair a newly created Working Group on Infrastructure in Virginia. The announcement was made at a full meeting of the Task Force, now operating in its second year. The meeting was held at the State Capitol in Richmond.

Bolling’s Working Group on Infrastructure in Virginia will begin by examining regulations within the Virginia Department of Transportation. The group will then focus on other key areas of infrastructure needs, such as the cost of construction of educational facilities.

The group will be free to work on any issues it determines are necessary to speed the development, and reduce the cost, of infrastructure in Virginia. Further, Bolling will be free to broaden the work of the group to encompass broader policy areas as he deems appropriate. The members of this Working Group will be announced at a later date.

Speaking about the announcement of Bolling as Co-Chair of the Task Force, and head of the new Working Group on Infrastructure in Virginia, McDonnell notes, “The regulatory and statutory burdens to promptly building roads, bridges, college buildings and other educational facilities must be evaluated. It takes too much time and money to build infrastructure in the modern age. Lt. Gov. Bolling has agreed to chair this important working group and to Co-Chair the Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force. I look forward to working with the Lieutenant Governor, and continuing to work with Chairman Jack Rust, as we go through the Virginia Administrative Code to identify and eliminate excessive, redundant and unnecessary government regulations. We are methodically improving our regulatory process in Virginia in order to make it better for both business and consumers so that Virginia’s progress will continue free from unnecessary government burdens. This is a long-term project, but it will have long-term results. Bill Bolling is committed to a government that is streamlined, efficient, and effective and I know he will bring strong leadership, energy and experience to this effort.”

Bolling remarks, “I am honored that Attorney General McDonnell has asked me to co-chair the Regulatory Reform Task Force and lead the Working Group on Infrastructure in Virginia. Bob McDonnell has been a leader in government reform and I am proud to work with him to look for ways to streamline regulations and their impact on Virginia’s families and businesses. The work of the Regulatory Reform Task Force is very important. Government is intended to work for the people of Virginia, not against them; but that is not always the case. Sometimes misguided regulations, or regulations that become antiquated over time, can serve as an impediment to building a better Virginia. I look forward to working with the members of the Task Force to weed out unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations and make certain that government is working for the people of Virginia.

“Likewise, the work of the new Working Group is very important. This new group will be focused on helping us find solutions to the challenges we face in Virginia today, with a particular emphasis on innovations in education and transportation infrastructure. By looking for ways to enact regulatory changes in these areas we can do more to make certain that our tax dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently when it comes to building infrastructure in Virginia.

“I look forward to working with the Attorney General, Chairman Rust and members of the Task Force and Advisory Council to help increase regulatory efficiency in these and other areas in the months to come. The work we do here will be an important part of helping us put together our blueprint for a better Virginia and make certain that Virginia remains the best managed state in the nation.”

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the full Task Force heard a presentation from Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., The Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Utt spoke about transportation infrastructure in the Commonwealth. Finally, the full Task Force was briefed on the of the Task Force’s earlier recommendation to streamline and improve Virginia’s Public Participation Guidelines to better facilitate citizen input and interaction with Virginia government.

McDonnell’s Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force was announced in August of 2006. It is conducting a systematic review of state regulations with the goal of minimizing adverse impacts on commerce and society while preserving the important public safety, health and welfare protections that many of the regulations provide.

To date, the Task Force has recommended 236 regulations for elimination or streamlining. The Task Force continues to seek citizen input. Any citizen who has a problem with a specific regulation, or a recommendation for the Task Force is encouraged to email: regreform@oag.state.va.us.

Mission of the Attorney General’s Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force:

- To review Virginia’s regulatory framework to find those regulations that can be improved, updated or amended in order to:
(1) Better involve the people in their government
(2) Ensure that regulations do not unnecessarily hinder free enterprise
(3) Ensure that regulations do not place undue costs on Virginia taxpayers

- Furthermore, the Task Force will consider and outline improvements to the process for implementing proposed new regulations and review of current regulations to allow for more thorough consideration and more public involvement in these important decisions.

Approach to Evaluating Regulations

- What is the purpose of the regulation?
- Does the regulation exceed its statutory authority?
- Does the regulation have a bona fide purpose that makes sense in the 21st Century?
- Does the regulation contribute to the health, safety and/or welfare of the Commonwealth?
- Are the benefits to the overall good of the people outweighed by the cost of the regulation to the public and the Commonwealth?
- Can the regulation be monitored and enforced in a manner that retains the benefit to the Commonwealth with a lower burden (e.g.-electronic reporting methods)?
- Does the regulation conflict with another regulation on the books?