Liberty
Matters News Service
July 17, 2007
"Regulation Without Representation"
The Competitive Enterprise Institute's report, "2007 Ten Thousand Commandments," shows just how much government regulations are costing the American taxpayer each year. Economist Mark Crain estimates regulatory costs hit $1.142 trillion in 2006. These off-budget costs (hidden taxes) now approach half of the level of federal spending and more than quadruple the $248 billion budget deficit. Regulatory costs exceed the estimated 2006 individual income taxes of $998 billion and dwarf corporate income taxes of $277 billion. From 1996 to 2006 over 48,000 final rules were issued in the Federal Register. Over 4,052 regulations appear in the 2006 Unified Agenda. 139 of those are "economically significant" meaning they each will cost at least $100 million a year to implement; that's $13.9 billion annually. The Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency account for 44 percent of all the rules in the Agenda. 787 of the new regulations affect small businesses. Congress must require agencies to reveal the costs of regulations; a "regulatory report card." Congress must also stop delegation of legislative power to unelected agency personnel and assume fiscal responsibility to end "regulation without representation." ".... [m]aking Congress directly answerable to the voters for the costs that agencies impose on the public would best promote accountable regulation," states the report.
Cost of Federal Regulation
Exceeds $1 Trillion
Oregon Politicians Try another Land Use Measure
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is backing another land-use measure that will appear on the November ballot. Measure 49 re-writes Measure 37, which was passed by over 60 percent of Oregon voters in 2004. "We are not seeking to repeal Measure 37," Kulongoski explained. "We are working to fix Measure 37." Measure 37 was approved by voters who wanted relief from Oregon's draconian land-use laws that often forbid people to develop their properties, preventing them from realizing the full value of their land. There are currently more than 150 lawsuits arising from the law and more than $15 billion in claims against the government to compensate Oregon landowners for losses. Measure 49 would allow a property owner to build up to three houses, but would curb larger subdivisions and industrial development; all designed to gut Measure 37, say opponents. "Our challenge," said Ross Day, an attorney with Oregonians in Action, the property rights group that opposes Measure 49, "is to get people to sit down and read the measure. Measure 49 could increase fees for Measure 37 claimants and nullify the efforts of some property owners who have already invested significant time and money to develop their land under existing law."
Oregon Property Rights Campaign
Begins
Lawmakers Plan Eminent Domain Reform
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Ca, rarely sides with Republicans on any issue, but last week she joined Rep. James Sensenbrenner R- WI, to introduce the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2007. The bill seeks to counter the effects of the disastrous Supreme Court's Kelo decision of 2005. The Act would withhold economic development funds from state and local governments that use eminent domain for private development. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a similar measure in 2005, but never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Federal protections from eminent domain abuse are long overdue," said Bert Gall, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. "Even though the majority of Americans oppose the abuse of eminent domain for private development, the federal government still funds that abuse," he continued. The public remains steadfast in its opposition two years after the Supreme Court announced its astonishing decision. Forty-two states have since addressed the decision passing laws, but most have come up short of actually correcting the wrong-headed decision. In May, Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed one of the better eminent domain protection laws that was nearly unanimously passed by the Texas Legislature. Apparently, Perry wants no roadblocks to slow down his Trans Texas Corridor. "Your security in your home, business or church should not depend on your zip code," said Dana Berliner, Institute of Justice senior attorney. Susette Kelo, the woman who took her case to the Supremes, said: "My battle started to save my little pink cottage, but it has rightfully grown into something much larger - the fight to restore the American Dream and the sacredness and security of each one of our homes."
Property Owners Still Left
Unprotected from Federally Funded Abuses
Texas Animal ID Plans
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is pitching a new regulation, 4 TAC section 43 (n), that will require all dairy cattle moved within the state to carry "[an] official identification device approved by the Commission." The new regulation is necessary, states the Commission, because of the risk of tuberculosis (TB) from untested dairy cattle. Those who oppose the regulation say it is unnecessary because TAHC itself admits the TB risk emanates from out-of-state cattle. The agency should concentrate on entry requirements and testing cattle before they reach their destinations rather than further burden in-state producers, opponents contend. Furthermore, it is suspected by many that the agency is using the proposed regulation as a means to drag Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag requirements in through the back door. Detractors point to the "policy decision" of the Michigan Department of Agriculture whose tuberculosis program requires National Animal Identification System (NAIS) RFID tags as well as premises registration, as evidence that Texas could demand the same standards, without more regulations or even notice. Judith McGeary, of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, warns that this proposal must be stopped because the agency will then require RFID tags for all other livestock and poultry. TAHC is accepting comments on the proposal until Monday, July 23. Send them to: Delores Holubec, Texas Animal Health Commission, 2105 Kramer Lane, Austin, Texas 78758; by fax: 512. 719. 0721, or by e-mail: comment@tahc.state.tx.us.
ACTION ALERT: Take Action Now to
Stop Intrastate Identification of Dairy Cattle