× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

A Republican bill unveiled Monday would set an expiration date for all state administrative rules — a proposal conservative business groups cheered and Democrats worried would overburden state agencies.

The new system would upend the process for reviewing both nettlesome regulations that businesses say stifle the state’s economic growth and longstanding protections for consumer health and workplace safety.

Under the proposal from Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, and Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, new regulations would expire after seven years unless in the year before an expiration date a state agency flagged the regulation for review.

Legislators on certain committees would be able to object to rules being extended, which would then require the rule to be rewritten and go through the normal rule-making process.

Existing regulations would sunset on a timeline to be set by the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. The bill also requires agencies to eliminate the use of words and phrases that are outdated or that are now understood to be derogatory or offensive.