Rep. Patricia A. Serpa (D-Dist 27, West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick) applauded Gov. Gina Raimondo’s efforts to make the state more business friendly by signing an executive order to improve the state’s regulatory process.

“This is the second executive order she has signed since she was sworn in as governor,” said Serpa. “So that’s a signal to me that regulatory reform is a top priority with her. And that’s good because the business community has been waiting a long time for something to be done on this issue.”

The executive order outlines the following:

• Before any new regulation is written by an agency, this agency has to submit a draft to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Executive Office of Commerce (EOC).

• When submitting a draft regulation to OMB and EOC, the agency also has to prepare a cost-benefit analysis.

• This review process and the guidance associated with it will also set new standards for plain language in regulation, quality of analysis, and cooperation with state agencies.

Serpa, chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, has advocated changes to the regulatory process for years and is encouraged by the governor’s commitment to this issue.

“I’m particularly pleased that she’s going to dispatch her administration to the business community in the coming weeks to see which regulations are the most burdensome and whether they need to continue to exist,” said Representative Serpa. “Also, the governor indicated that the regulations that do need to remain are going to be rewritten in simpler language to eliminate confusion.”

Representative Serpa said she would also like to see the administration “drill down into the municipalities as well – where a lot of the confusion in regulations exists.” She would like to see the issue addressed in the upcoming budget and would support the funding of software that would allow better communications between the state and municipalities to replace software that is now outdated.