Ballotpedia Reports: 30 States Pass 88 Bills in 2024 to Decrease Administrative State Agency Power

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Aug 21, 2024, 08:37 ET

MIDDLETON, Wis., Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ballotpedia today released its first annual "Administrative State 2024 Legislation Report," which presents findings and analysis from 2024 state legislative sessions on administrative state-related legislation.

Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker shows legislators in 44 states considered 583 bills and resolutions in 2024 related to administrative agency authority and action. More than a third of these bills address the balance of power between state agencies and state legislatures.

Ballotpedia's legislation tracker covers bills across all 50 states that increase or decrease administrative agency authority and influence or otherwise affect the administrative state. It categorizes bills according to topic and subtopic, bill status, sponsor, state trifecta status, bill number, and more. The tracker also features custom summaries, written in layman's terms, of each bill.

2024 Enacted State-level Administrative State Legislation
Thirty-eight states passed 129 bills related to the administrative state.

88 bills in 30 states reduced administrative agency power.
- 13 Republican trifectas passed 44 of these bills (50%).
- 10 Democratic trifectas passed 20 of these bills (23%).
- Seven divided governments enacted 24 of these bills (27%).

Examples of bills reducing administrative agency power:
- Legislative oversight reforms, such as REINS-style laws and sunset review acts
- Prohibitions on judicial deference to agencies
- Regulatory sandboxes
- Deregulation of permitting and licensing
- Public notice and commentary requirements
- Creation of regulatory reduction agencies and adjudication agencies

9 bills in 8 states increased administrative agency power.
- 4 Democratic trifectas enacted four of these bills (50%).
- 2 Republican trifectas enacted three of these bills (25%).
- 2 divided governments enacted two of these bills (14%).

Examples of bills increasing administrative agency power:
- Creating new agencies
- Granting new authority or creating new roles and offices in state agencies
- Allowing state agencies to implement rules that exceed federal regulations when that had previously been prohibited

32 bills in 20 states did not clearly increase or decrease agency power.
- 8 Democratic trifectas enacted 16 of these bills (50%).
- 7 Republican trifectas enacted 8 of these bills (25%).
- 4 divided governments enacted 8 of these bills (25%).

Examples of bills that neither increase nor decrease agency power:
- Requiring or allowing remote participation in public agency meetings
- Appropriating funding to certain agencies or departments
- Reorganizing certain agencies

Three bills of the 129 were enacted through veto overrides in states with Republican-controlled legislatures and Democratic governors. All three bills limited agency power.

Wisconsin and Arizona legislators referred ballot measures designed to reduce agency power to the August and November ballots, respectively.

Click here to read the full report.

About Ballotpedia Legislation Trackers
Ballotpedia's legislation trackers provide a free (no login or sign-up required) and centralized hub that makes staying on top of legislation and legislative reforms across all 50 states easier than ever. Founded on Ballotpedia's hallmark principle of being neutral on the issues but passionate about the facts, our legislation trackers are updated in real-time and designed to be easily searchable. Used as a go-to resource for voters, reporters, researchers, academics, and activists, they capture any bill introduced on the given topic across all of the 50-state legislatures and track bill movement every step of the way.

About Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia, the encyclopedia of American politics, is the nation's most trusted source of unbiased information on politics, elections, and policy. Founded in 2007, Ballotpedia has grown from a small group of dedicated volunteers working on a handful of ballot measures to an essential resource for voters, media, and researchers. Ballotpedia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the public interest in creating an educated, engaged electorate, and building a strong, healthy democracy. For free access to 520,000+ encyclopedic, professionally authored, and curated articles, visit Ballotpedia.org.

SOURCE BALLOTPEDIA