Regulatory modernization has been a topic of nationwide interest in recent months. With its recently revised Circular A-4, the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has embraced an approach that could potentially lead to a massive expansion in the regulatory state. At the same time, the Commonwealth of Virginia has been pursuing a very different approach. Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order, EO 19, which strives to reduce regulatory burdens by 25% while promoting more transparency in the process and better regulatory analysis.

This panel, which includes the Director and Deputy Director of Virginia’s Office of Regulatory Management as well as leading scholars in the regulatory space, will consider the reforms that Virginia is pursuing and examine whether and how they might work in other states and at the federal level. They will consider the challenges and opportunities associated with regulatory economic analysis and a regulatory budget, look at how the Virginia reforms have fared over the last year, and explore what it might mean to implement similar reforms in other jurisdictions.

Additional Reading:Reeve T. Bull, Virginia's Model: The Commonwealth Leads the Way on State Regulatory Modernization, Washington Legal Foundation, July 13, 2023, available at: https://www.wlf.org/2023/07/13/publishing/virginias-model-the-commonwealth-leads-the-way-on-state-regulatory-modernization/

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.