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State of Michigan eliminates 41 obsolete reporting requirements

For Immediate Release: June 29, 2018

Contact: Kurt Weiss, (517) 335-0050

Lansing - A total of 25 different House and Senate bills signed into law has resulted in the elimination of 41 obsolete reporting requirements, helping to reduce regulatory burden and make state government more efficient.

By legislative directive, several state departments are required to compose and provide certain reports. These can vary by topic and can include reports detailing anything from program success to licensing activity. While many of these reports are practical and reasonable, some no longer serve a legitimate purpose for the people of the State of Michigan.

“I am honored to work with our state government partners and the Office of Regulatory Reinvention as we eliminate inefficiency and continue Michigan’s reinvention,” said Office of Performance and Transformation (OPT) Executive Director Jeff Bankowski. “In partnership with the legislature, our administration is focused on a regulatory framework that works for all people of Michigan.”

Examples of obsolete reports that were eliminated today include a report for the State Food Stamp Distribution Act, which is no longer needed as food stamps are no longer issued; a report for the Firefighters Training Council Act, which is already covered in the Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council Annual Report, and a report on the Grade A Milk Law of 2001, of which no one has requested since its implementation.

The Office of Regulatory Reinvention (ORR), who spearheaded the project, began the process of identifying obsolete, unnecessary, or burdensome reports by asking each individual state department to submit reports for review. These department submissions were then screened by ORR for accuracy.

ORR’s criteria for identifying obsolete, unnecessary, burdensome, or duplicative reports is defined below:

  • Report is no longer in use or replaced with something newer
  • Report is considered unessential to the department’s mission
  • Amount of staff time to assemble the report outweighs the benefits derived it
  • Report contains information required by another report

The mission of ORR, which is part of OPT in the State Budget Office, is to simplify Michigan’s regulatory environment by reducing regulatory burdens and reduce unnecessary paperwork for state employees so more of their time is spent working for and responding to Michigan citizens.

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