Gov’t Meddling Reaching Excess

“We’re from Olympia, and we’re here to help you.”

In business circles, those nine words are a joke. In government circles, they’re a motto.

And that’s a problem. It points to the central issue in last fall’s political uprising: Who’s more trustworthy? Government? Or individuals?

In the Constitution, the founders created a divided government with limited powers, reserving other powers to “We, the people.” Initially they considered a bill of rights unnecessary because they couldn’t imagine an American government that would infringe on private property, religion, speech, press …

How times have changed. Government meddles everywhere. Even in the press. Federal housing authorities and their word police bring suit if want ads contain such politically incorrect phrases as “adults,” “bachelor pad,” “desirable neighborhood.” (Back off, Big Bro. This is an editorial, not an ad.)

Most regulations do begin with good intentions.

But there is no regulation, and no enforcement agency, that should exist unquestioned and in perpetuity.

In Congress, legislation to stop unfunded federal mandates begins the battle to roll back government.

In Washington state, rule writers are so full of themselves they simply ignore the Legislature. Or try to bamboozle it.

For example, the Department of Labor & Industries decided without legislative permission to regulate the hours of teen employment. Behind the scenes, cynics can’t help but notice the enthusiasm of L&I’s friends in Big Labor, which might find it easier to unionize the fast food industry without all those part-time teens in the way. Indeed, as legislators have learned, L&I’s rules are so annoying that some restaurants now avoid hiring young people.

The new Legislature will serve the people, if not the puppeteers behind their executive branch, if it rescinds the rules and returns decisions about work hours to the capable, cooperative judgment of teens, parents, schools and employers.

The Legislature mustn’t stop there. It also must pass an aggressive regulatory reform bill, such as HB1010, to secure its rightful authority and begin a serious nose job on Olympia’s bureaucracy and budget.

HB1010 requires substantial evidence of need, and specific legislative permission, before a rule can be made. It subjects rules to a seven-year sunset. It attacks the redundancy and inconsistency that drives the private sector nuts.

State agencies are staging an exaggerated panic attack over the prospect of a leash. They claim they’d need $37 million and 249 more employees to implement the bill and cut back on their meddling. Huh? It’s no coincidence that 66 percent of that phony request for added staff came from Labor & Industries, the poster child for reform.

The Legislature’s regulation cutters should consider the screams a sign their aim is on the money.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board