Email alerts will notify businesses of regulations changes, promise to make Colorado very business-friendly

WASHINGTON - This week, Colorado deployed an email-alert system that will notify Coloradoans of any and all proposed regulatory changes that might affect them. These alerts will allow residents of the state to see the pending regulatory changes and weigh in on them before those changes take effect.

The system, dubbed "Reg. Alert," is the first of its kind in the country. While the email alerts are expected to benefit small businesses the most, all Colorado residents will have the opportunity to sign up for them. The system will encompass all proposed rule changes from every state agency, including new regulations, amendments to existing regulations, and repeals of existing regulations.

"This is wonderful news from Colorado that could be a catalyst for similar innovations all across the country," said Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform. "Governor Owens deserves a lot of praise for implementing a regulation alert system that will help make Colorado a very business-friendly state; and when businesses do well, workers and consumers win."

Those who sign up for the email alerts will be able to flag which topics they want to be notified about such as education, agriculture, health, or taxation. If the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) receives enough of a public outcry, one of three things could happen to the proposed regulatory change:

• DORA could order the agency issuing the proposal to perform a cost-benefit analysis that would, in effect, reveal whether the benefits of the changes outweigh the costs
• The agency proposing the change could voluntarily revise the plan
• The legislature could be pressured to alter the underlying law

"Colorado\\\'s is a measure that has the power to force government bureaucrats to police themselves," continued Norquist. "This innovation will decrease the quantity of new regulations and help to eliminate bad regulations, both of which will reduce the costs of doing business and living in the state. If Colorado is willing to share a good idea, there are precisely 49 other states and one federal government that need it too."