Legislation that could significantly reduce major state regulations has cleared another legislative hurdle, passing out of the Senate Administrative Rules Committee.

“Basically, this requires that any major rule, which is defined as a rule with a $1 million impact over five years, must be pulled out and run as a single rule before the Legislature,” said state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair.

House Bill 2728, by state Rep. Gerrid Kendrix and Bergstrom, would create the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025.

Under the bill, a Legislative Economic Analysis Unit (LEAU) will be created within the existing Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) to independently review and assess the economic impact of major rules proposed by state agencies.

The legislation defines “major rule” to include any agency rule with an economic impact of $1 million or more over a five-year period.

Under HB 2728, a major rule with an impact of $1 million or more cannot take effect unless it is explicitly approved by both chambers of the Legislature.

The process proposed in HB 2728 is a dramatic shift from the current administrative-rules process.

Under current law, all state agency rules automatically go into effect unless specifically rejected by the Legislature. That process has resulted in an above-average regulatory burden in Oklahoma compared to many other states.

According to the 2024 edition of “Snapshots of State Regulations,” issued by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Oklahoma is the 17th-most regulated state in the country with 142,313 regulations on the books. In comparison, Idaho, the nation’s least-regulated state, has just 31,497 regulations in place.

So far, the reform measure has largely sailed through the Legislature, facing only minor opposition. HB 2728 previously passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on an overwhelming 86-3 vote, receiving bipartisan support.

That trend continued in the Senate as HB 2728 passed the Senate Administrative Rules Committee on a 5-1 vote without debate. It will next go to the Senate Appropriations Committee.