Legislators propose sunset law on rules created by state agencies

Legislators are considering a bill to eliminate all the rules created by five state agencies by August 2013 unless the legislature re-authorizes them.

The bill directs each agency to submit a list of all its rules and show why the rules are not obsolete, unnecessary, or duplicative.

The agencies affected are the DNR, the Pollution Control Agency, the Environmental Quality Board, the Department of Agriculture, and the Board of Water and Soil Resources.

Director of Environmental Policy for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Tony Kwilas supports the bill.

"It establishes a way to go through and identify obsolete and duplicative rules," Kwilas said.

Critics say there's already a process to eliminate duplicative rules, and the bill would divert agency resources to defend rules that already went through a thorough public approval process.