The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) is working to eliminate numerous regulations reviewed as part of the state government wide Red Tape Reduction initiative that were determined to be outdated, burdensome or unnecessary for the public.
Glisson
An additional 44 percent of the regulations reviewed by the Cabinet have been identified for updates.
Red Tape Reduction is an initiative spearheaded by Governor Matt Bevin to identify regulatory burdens that deter businesses from growing or locating within the state.
“While many of our statutes and regulations are adequately designed to protect the health and safety of Kentuckians, there are many others that serve as a barrier to doing business in Kentucky – and that isn’t good for the public either,” said CHFS Sec. Vickie Yates Brown Glisson. “In order to build a healthier and more successful Commonwealth, we have to evolve our statutory and regulatory frameworks to meet today’s needs and demands.”
The goal of the Red Tape Reduction initiative is to allow businesses to operate in a modernized regulatory system that provides them with the flexibility they need to serve their customers.
As part of its Red Tape Reduction, CHFS collaborated with the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2017 Session to address outdated and ineffective statutes. In this regard, Senator Ralph Alvarado (R-Winchester) sponsored two bills on behalf of CHFS targeting the red tape reduction initiative.
- Senate Bill 94 proposed to repeal 13 statutes, which were outdated and no longer necessary.
- Senate Bill 95 proposed to repeal 23 outdated statutes and update an additional 31 to eliminated excessive requirements that no longer provide value. For example, the cabinet was given the flexibility to provide information for specific programs upon request rather than through a statutorily mandated report. Several outdated boards or commissions were eliminated or were revised to meet current need.
- SB 94 and SB 95 were ultimately incorporated into House Bill 276 and passed by the General Assembly.
“We were able to repeal three dozen outdated statutes and bring almost that many more up-to-date,” said Sen. Alvarado. “We’re working to lift burdensome regulations so we can focus on streamlining services to Kentuckians.”
Representative Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill) also filed HB 158 on behalf of the cabinet to align the state and federal controlled substance schedules. Prior to this statutory change, state statutes and regulations could not align with federal schedules. This bill incorporates the federal drug schedules into Kentucky statutes while providing the Commonwealth with the flexibility to up-schedule drugs that the state identities for abuse. This legislation also provided CHFS with a way to consolidate multiple regulations on controlled drug schedules into one regulation.
Moser
“As a registered nurse and as the Northern Kentucky Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, I was proud to sponsor HB 158,” said Rep. Moser. “The simple alignment of state and federal controlled substance schedules, or categories, eliminates confusion and makes it easier for us to detect abuse.”
CHFS recently created the Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs within the agency. House Bill 226 from the 2017 legislative session established the new office, which coordinates activities related the Cabinet’s public policy initiatives and administrative and legislative agendas with other governmental and private agencies. The office will be responsible for coordination and oversight of over 660 regulations in the Cabinet on behalf of the Office of the Secretary, including Governor’s Red Tape Reduction.
“We continue to look for ways to streamline our processes so that the people doing business with our cabinet are not burdened with unnecessary or duplicative requirements,” concluded Sec. Glisson. “We commend all who have partnered with us in these efforts and look forward to continued input on ways to make government more efficient and easier to navigate.”
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CHFS
