“Cuts on Main in Winchester: Ground Zero for fighting, I think the technical term is, ‘silly regulations’ in the state of New Hampshire, and we have a lot of them,” Sununu said just prior to signing the order. “We really need to take an approach that we are changing New Hampshire. Taking this step today is not the end of the story, but it really is just the beginning.”
The executive order, which went into effect immediately, is the second Sununu has signed since becoming governor in January. It also creates the Regulatory Reform Steering Committee to oversee further reform efforts.
An executive order is issued by the governor to the state’s executive branch and has the force of law.
The regulations eliminated Thursday include duplicated or obsolete rules neither mandated by law “nor essential to the public health, safety or welfare,” according to the executive order.
The regulations affect a variety of realms, such as banking, environmental services, employment security, health and human services, insurance, revenue administration and safety, said Sununu’s legal counsel, John Formella. Most are duplicate rules, he said, covering the same issue, but that have languished for years due in large measure to inattentiveness, such as duplicates regarding electrician safety or financial institutions, among others.
As an example, Formella said there are federal regulations that were connected to federal funding, and the funding has since been eliminated. Therefore, the regulation could be eliminated if it was no longer useful.
“This signing is (Sununu’s) desire for regulatory reform, which has been getting rid of useless rules,” Formella said. “He can’t change the regulatory culture overnight, but he will be looking to change it over time. And we can do that through executive orders. We can do that through appointments he makes to these boards because he appoints all these boards.”
There are two openings on the cosmetology board that the governor is reviewing, Formella said.
Lounder said she was grateful for the governor’s visit and the executive order because it sends a pro-small business message, which she said is “sorely needed.”
“I think it’s a wonderful step,” Lounder said. “I think taking the time to go through things and eliminate some of the ones that aren’t really helpful is important. He was saying the regulation that my business fell under was ‘willfully misleading the public.’ You can’t remove that law, but you can enforce smartly.”
Sununu agreed with Lounder that the law is a good one. It just wasn’t initially enforced in Lounder’s case using common sense, he said.
After signing the executive order, Sununu visited two other small businesses in Winchester: New England Sweetwater Farm & Distillery at 136 Main St. — where he sampled the maple whiskey and then purchased a bottle — and a wholesale brewery, The Outlaw Brewery Co., at 215 Scotland Road.
“I think one of the most important things happening today is the governor saying we want to be an easier government to deal with and we want to help build small business; that’s what, us, as small businesses, need,” said Rick Horton, owner of The Outlaw Brewery Co.
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