A committee of Pennsylvania lawmakers plans to introduce five pieces of legislation in response to an in-depth report on regulatory overreach in state government.

Citing the House State Government Committee’s Regulatory Overreach Report, the lawmakers — led by Chairman Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th — will take aim at “the ever-increasing injustices of Pennsylvania’s restrictive regulatory environment.”

Metcalfe said the report, which was created using the findings from public hearings with employers, organizations and policy experts, shows the need for restrictions to be rolled back.

“Without question, this report clearly demonstrates that it’s long past time for the Legislature to avenge the ever-increasing injustices of Pennsylvania’s restrictive regulatory environment,” Metcalfe said. “Overregulation caused by unelected government bureaucrats is killing family-sustaining jobs, strangling opportunity and crippling economic growth.”

The report indicates Pennsylvania has 153,000 regulatory restrictions on the books. Additionally, the report notes the state’s Regulatory Review Act does not give the Legislature authority to repeal a regulation without the governor’s approval.

Additionally, the report cites a study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia and the World Bank which finds the negative impact of regulations on economic growth to be as high as 2.3 percent.

In response, House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre/Mifflin, has introduced HB 1792, which would allow the General Assembly to initiate the repeal of any state regulation.

“State government has a history of piling on unnecessary, costly regulations that, in the end, only hurt everyday Pennsylvanians,” Benninghoff said. “Every dollar that is spent dealing with Pennsylvania’s overzealous state agencies is a dollar that could have, and should have, been spent hiring a new employee, increasing wages, buying new equipment or giving back to the local community.”

Another bill, HB 209, would create the Independent Office of the Repealer, which would review existing regulations and make recommendations for repeal.

It would also create a moratorium on new regulations and require the repeal of existing ones before new codes are introduced. A cap on regulations would also be put in place.

Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-York/Cumberland, has introduced HB 1237, which would require the General Assembly to vote to approve “an economically significant regulation” totaling $1 million or more in fiscal impact on the government or private sector before it can go into effect.

Keefer said the goal of the bill is to “transform the Commonwealth into a less bureaucratic state and ... enhance the review of proposed regulations that stifle economic growth.”

In addition to setting standards for regulations, two additional bills will focus on how they are applied and enforced, and aim to speed up the permitting process.

The Pennsylvania Permit Act, HB 1959, would require state agencies to create an online permit tracking system and back up permit denial with specific legal citations. It would also establish timeliness for completion, and allow for third-party review.

The second portion, HB 1960, would require agencies to appoint a regulatory compliance officer to provide education on new regulations and requirements before they take effect. Brian Ellis, R-11th, is sponsoring that bill, which also asks for a yearly progress report given to the General Assembly.

Metcalfe said he hopes the proposed legislation will “encourage, rather than discourage the entrepreneurial spirit of hard-working job creators.”