Regulation without Representation Harriet M. Hageman Hageman & Brighton, P.C. June 15, 2012 Current Financial Climate Federal Government Debt Over $ 15.779 trillion dollars (6/13/12) $ 50,000 per citizen $ 138,000 per taxpayer Increases approx. $ 3.9 billion every day U.S. Federal Spending as of May, 2012 (appropriated and spent): $3,651,577,063,000 110th Congress (01/07 to 01/09) increased debt by $1.957 trillion 111th Congress (01/09to 01/11) added $3.22 trillion to the overall debt. More than the first 100 Congresses combined. Three Branches of Government Executive (President, Governor) Legislative (Congress, State Legislatures) Judicial Statutes vs. Regulations – A Primer Statutes – Legislative Branch Endangered Species Act National Environmental Policy Act Clean Air Act Clean Water Act Regulations – Executive Branch (President, Governors) Developed by the agencies The “Real Governing Class” Congress vs. Regulation In 2009, Congress passed 125 bills; over 3,500 Regs adopted by Fed Agencies In 2010, Congress passed 217 bills; 3,573 Regs adopted by Fed Agencies In 2011, Congress passed 81 bills; 3,807 Regs adopted by Fed Agencies (6.5% increase over 2010) Almost 66,840 Final Rules issued since 1995 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Congress Federal Agencies Nerd Gas – just one example Nerd Gas has 209 total employees. 129 Federal, State, County and City agencies touch their companies. Federal Red Tape Army Corps of Engineering BLM Census Bureau Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Department of Housing and Urban Development (Federal Housing Administration) Department of Labor Department of Veterans Affairs EPA Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Housing Finance Authority as Receiver for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Federal Reserve (HMDA Data reporting) Federal Unemployment Internal Revenue Service (IRS) National Mortgage Licensing System Federal Red Tape, cont. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Housing Finance Authority as Receiver for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Federal Reserve (HMDA Data reporting) Federal Unemployment Internal Revenue Service (IRS) National Mortgage Licensing System U.S. Department of Agriculture (Rural Development Administration) U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Department of Treasury U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs U.S. Forest Service U.S. Internal Revenue Service United States Department of Agriculture (Rural Development Administration) USDA State Red Tape Alaska Department of Natural Resources Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Colorado Department of Revenue Department of Transportation in nearly every Western U.S. state Illinois Department of Revenue Minnesota Department of Revenue Nebraska Child Support Payments Center Lincoln, NE Nebraska Department of Revenue North Dakota Department of Employment North Dakota Department of Health North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner Nuclear Regulatory Commission Port Authority: Texas (Houston), Louisiana, Seattle, Alaska State Collection & Distribution Unit Las Vegas, NV State of Texas Child Support State of Wyoming State of Wyoming Office of State Lands & Investments University of Wyoming State Red Tape, cont. Various State Income Tax Agencies Wyoming Board of Control Wyoming Business Council Wyoming Department of Banking Wyoming Department of Child Support Wyoming Department of Employment Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Wyoming Department of Insurance Wyoming Department of Labor Wyoming Department of Revenue Wyoming Department of Transportation Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Wyoming Employment Department Wyoming Game & Fish Department State Red Tape, cont. Wyoming New Hire Reporting Center Wyoming Office of State Lands Wyoming Oil & Gas Commission Wyoming OSHA Wyoming Secretary of State Wyoming State Emergency Commission Wyoming State Engineer's Office Wyoming State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) Wyoming Unclaimed Property Division Wyoming Unemployment Wyoming Workers and Safety Compensation Division Redundant Redundancy EPA (federal); DEQ (state) Dept of Transportation (federal and state) Dept of Education (federal and state) Dept of Labor (federal and state) Dept of Agriculture (federal and state) Regulations – Costly and Contradictory Redundancy Federal Regulations - Examples Clean Water Act Endangered Species Act National Forest Management State Regulations Enforcement of the Clean Water Act Game and Fish Regulations Management of State Forest Lands Federal Cost to administer and police the regulatory enterprise: $ 55 billion dollars per year Number of federal regulatory employees: 291,676; up 17% under Obama Agency “interpretation” of Statutes EPA interpretation as described by U.S. Supreme Court in Rapanos v. U.S. JP Morgan – Recent loss of $ 2 billion Dodd/Frank White House Position: Regulations not finalized; so trading that resulted in the loss not prohibited. Either the trades were illegal or were not; regulations shouldn’t be used to legislate. Health-care law – power of Secretary of Health and Human Services Examples of Regulatory Overreach – have we gone crazy? Pythagorean Theorem……………………..24 words First Amendment to the U.S. Const….......45 words Lord’s Prayer ……………………………….66 words Archimedes’ Principle……….....................67 words 10 Commandments …………………….. 179 words Gettysburg Address………......................286 words Have We Gone Crazy cont. Declaration of Independence…………….1300 words U.S. Govt. Regs on Cabbage Crop Insurance …………………………………3500 words U.S. Constitution (w/ 27 Amend) ………7,818 words U.S. Govt. Regs on Special Rules for Experimental Populations of T and E Wildlife and Plants ……...over 36,000 words Have We Gone Crazy cont. The federal worker-safety laws include some 4,000 rules dictating precisely what equipment shall be used and how facilities are built. Embarrassingly self-evident: stairways shall be lit by “natural or artificial illumination.” Under a recent federal directive, the number of health-care reimbursement categories will soon increase from 18,000 to 140,000, including 21 separate categories for “spacecraft accidents” and 12 for bee stings. We are crazy New HHS Regulation: “Administrative Simplification: Adoption of Authoring Organizations for Operating Rules and Adoption of Operating Rules for Eligibility and Claims Status” Hidden (indirect) Costs and Regulatory Burdens: The Real Definition of a Crises 1992-Regulation Costs: $ 400 billion 2001-Regulation Costs: $ 843 billion 2005-Regulation Costs: $ 1.1 trillion 2008- Regulation Costs: $1.75 trillion These costs do not include: Obamacare Dodd/Frank financial “reform” Recent EPA Regulations Regulatory Costs cont. 2008 Regulatory Costs – nearly twice as much as all individual income taxes collected 2009 Americans paid $ 989 billion in income taxes 2012 income taxes – Over $ 1.1 trillion Income tax rate must be disclosed No similar requirement for costs of regulations Unless have an “impact” of $ 100,000,000.00 or more (defined as “economically significant”) Regulatory Costs cont. Given 2011’s actual Gov’t. spending of $3.598 trillion dollars, the regulatory “hidden tax” ($1.75 trillion in 2008) stands at an unprecedented 48.7% of the level of federal spending itself (actual % is higher). In absolute terms, the U.S. Gov’t is the largest government on planet earth. Regulations and deficits each exceed $ 1 trillion per year. Regulatory Costs, cont. Regulatory costs exceed all 2009 corporate pre-tax profits of $ 1.317 trillion. Regulatory costs dwarf corporate income taxes of $198 billion. Regulatory costs absorb 11.9% of the U.S. GDP (estimated at $14.649 trillion in 2010) Combining regulatory costs with federal FY 2011 outlays of $ 3.598 trillion reveals a federal gov’t whose share of the entire economy now reaches 36%. Projected outlays for 2012 ($ 3.575 trillion) + regulatory costs = EVEN HIGHER SHARE EPA Regulation of Carbon Destroy 1.4 million U.S. jobs and cost the economy up to $141 billion by 2014 200,000 American manufacturers could lose their jobs Historically, $ 1 billion worth of investment = 15,500 jobs 2015 to 2026 average annual impact of carbon regulation would be more than 500,000 jobs, and by 2029 the total economy-wide cost would be close to $7 trillion (roughly ½ of America’s current GDP) EPA Regulation of Carbon – Wyoming Effects By the year 2020, average annual household income would decline by b/w $ 894 to $2898 By the year 2030, average annual household income would decline by b/w $ 3678 and $6707 Wyoming would stand to lose b/w 2,000 and 3,000 jobs by 2020 Wyoming would stand to lose b/w 6,000 and 8,000 jobs by 2030 States GDP would decline by as much as $ 1.4 billion/year EPA Regulation of Carbon “No significant impact on reducing global GHG emission growth” (American Council for Capital Formation) EPA Spying on Citizens Drone use in Nebraska and Iowa Drone use for enforcement of “CWA” Obama’s Executive Order on Regulations Announced in January, 2011: “A government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regs that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive.” 1 rule repealed last year – spilled milk is no longer considered an “oil spill.” By Nov., 2011, 508 new rules deemed “significant” – meaning will cost in excess of $ 100 million each (minimum impact: $50,800,000,000) By December 2, 2011, 760 new rules deemed “significant” (minimum impact: $ 76,000,000,000) Regulatory Burden 2011 – A Summary Pages of regulations published in the Federal Register (2011) 53,630 as of 9/10/11 67,036 as of 10/31/11 70,320 as of 11/17/11 75,770 as of 12/2/11 Million hours of annual paperwork burden 65.1 million hours as of 9/10/11 88.2 million hours as of 10/31/11 116.3 million hours as of 11/17/11 119.4 million hours as of 12/2/11 2011 Regulations – Administration Estimates July, 2011 (during “debt-ceiling” debate) - Administration proposed 229 new rules and finalized 379 rules Agencies’ Estimated Cost: $ 9.5 billion Administration announced in August that it is considering 7 new regulations that will cost the economy more than $ 1 billion per year. The Administration estimates that one EPA rule alone will cost the economy between $19 billion and $ 90 billion ($19,000,000,000.00 to $90,000,000,000.00). Regulatory Burden – January 27, 2012 374 days since Executive Order on Regulations 0 economically significant rules repealed this year 44 Rules deemed “significant” $ 7.7 Billion – cost of regulatory burdens from new rules this year 4456 pages in the Federal Register this year 25.3 million hours of annual paperwork burden Regulatory Burden – February 17, 2012 395 days since President’s Executive Order on Regulations 0 economically significant rules repealed this year 119 Rules deemed “significant” $ 24.3 Billion – cost of regulatory burdens from new rules this year 9514 pages in the Federal Register this year 44.1 million hours of annual paperwork burden February 16, 2012 - EPA The EPA published the Utility MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rule on Thursday, February 16, 2012. EPA estimates the costs of Utility MACT to be $9.6 billion The cost of the rule exceeds the benefits by between 1,600 and 19,200 to 1. According to the EPA: It is “its most expensive rule ever.” Electrical Rates to Skyrocket 2015 Capacity Auction $ 136 per megawatt 8 times higher than the price for 2012 ($ 16 per megawatt) Mid-Atlantic Region - $ 167 per megawatt Northern Ohio - $ 357 per megawatt According to PJM Interconnection (electric grid operator for 13 States): “Capacity prices were higher than last year’s because of retirement of existing coal-fired generation resulting largely from environmental regulations which go into effect in 2015.” These are not estimates, projections or computer models; they are actual prices that electrical distributors have agreed to pay. Europe’s Folly – Why follow such nonsense? Opportunity cost for the UK’s subsidy system for renewables estimated to be 10,000 jobs b/w 2009 and 2010 Planned offshore wind farm estimated to cost $8972 per household Cost of conventional energy – 5% of that amount ($ 448.60) Spain’s subsidies for renewable energy (which increased 5-fold b/w 2004 and 2010) led to the loss of 110,500 jobs Regulatory Burden - March 30, 2012 437 days since President’s Executive Order 0 economically significant rules repealed this year 212 Rules deemed “significant” (minimum impact $21,200,000,000) 19520 Pages in the Federal Register 81.36 million hours of annual paperwork burden. Regulatory Burden – April 27, 2012 465 days since President’s Executive Order 0 Rules repealed this year 257 Rules deemed “significant” (minimum impact $25,700,000,000) 25348 Pages in the Federal Register 85.9 million hours of annual paperwork burden Regulatory Burden – May 18, 2012 486 days since President’s Executive Order 4 economically significant rules repealed this year 299 Rules deemed “significant” (minimum impact of $29,900,000,000) 29852 Pages in the Federal Register 109 million hours of annual paperwork burden Costs of Overregulation – Not Just Monetary Destruction of our National Forests 2001 Roadless Rule GAO Reports Risk of catastrophic forest fires Total # of acres burned as of 06/13/12: 1,012,419 (not all on federal land) Risk of beetle outbreak Routt National Forest – ground zero Selective Enforcement Impact on Oil and Gas Development $1 BLM = $40 in royalty, rent, & bonus revenue 531 leases in FY 2010 79% drop from the 2,499 leases issued in FY2005 First two years of the Obama Administration 76% fewer acres than the first two years of the Clinton administration 71% fewer acres than the first two years of the Bush administration Wyoming Wyoming BLM issued 314 leases in FY 2010, a 61% drop from the 797 leases issued in FY2005 Since FY2008, 90% of offered parcels have been protested Real Crisis – remains largely unrecognized Regulatory burden at local, state and federal level Regulatory burdens are creating “fuel poverty” Destroying our economic freedoms and the ability for our next generation to prosper Our ability to protect our environment is dependent upon our economic prosperity If we destroy our economy we cannot educate our young people, provide necessary services, etc. Balanced Approach is Critical When the government directs its resources to doing things it should not be doing, it becomes incapable of doing those things that it should A government that is closest to the governed is more responsive and accountable to the people that it was established to serve Converse is also true Regulation w/out representation cannot work Real Solutions Regulation must be radically simplified Individual accountability must replace bureaucratic micromanagement Mandatory sunsets Small entities must be regulated differently Source: Philip K. Howard, Common Good Additional Solutions Change the timing of when regulations are drafted and become effective Ensure Congressional and Legislative oversight for proposed regulations (mandatory review before they become effective) Require Congressional/Legislative approval before any regulation costing in excess of $_______ be implemented NEVER PAY A REGULATOR BY THE HOUR What can you do? Demand a Legislative Solution Participate Participate Participate Participate Participate Wyoming Conservation Alliance and Colorado Resource Alliance What is it? Why did we create? Our Goals: To increase participation in the federal and state regulatory process To disclose what is happening in this Country To educate the public on what regulations are, their impact, and the manner in which they undermine our Republic and our entire structure of Government To work with organizations such as WEA QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Harriet M. Hageman Wyoming Conservation Alliance Colorado Resource Alliance Hageman & Brighton, P.C. 222 East 21st Street Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 (307) 635-4888 hhageman@hblawoffice.com Source documents and citations available upon request