Governor Charlie Crist vetoed the rule-making reforms that would have limited the ability of state agencies to pass new regulations by requiring approval from the legislature for any rule that would cost the state more than $1 million in economic growth over 5 years.
Supporters of HB 1565, which passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously, said it would help businesses by giving them greater say over proposed regulations that would impose costs on them. State agencies and environmentalists had called for Crist to veto the bill, saying it would politicize the rule-making process and undermine efforts to protect the environment.
In the letter accompanying his veto, Crist wrote that the bill would undermine the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.
“I am concerned about the costs of regulation on business, particularly small businesses,” he wrote, but the bill would require “nearly every rule” to be ratified by the Legislature. “This could increase costs to businesses, create more red tape, and potentially harm Florida’s economy.”
Read the full veto letter here:
Crist signed dozens of bills Friday, including the state budget. He exercised his veto pen on several line-items, including a reduction in Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes and a proviso that would have required millions of dollars in education funding to be drawn from the state’s transportation trust fund.
