Lawmakers in Minnesota have repealed a number of obsolete and unnecessary laws as part of an “unsession” initiative. In addition, they also implemented several reforms aimed at cutting bureaucratic red tape, simplifying filing of tax returns and speeding the business permitting process, among other reforms.
From the Pioneer Press, Minnesota ‘unsession’ dumps 1,175 obsolete, silly laws:
It’s no longer a crime in Minnesota to carry fruit in an illegally sized container. The state’s telegraph regulations are gone. And it’s now legal to drive a car in neutral — if you can figure out how to do it.Those were among the 1,175 obsolete, unnecessary and incomprehensible laws that Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature repealed this year as part of the governor’s “unsession” initiative. His goal was to make state government work better, faster and smarter.”I think we’re off to a very good start,” Dayton said Tuesday at a Capitol news conference.In addition to getting rid of outdated laws, the project made taxes simpler, cut bureaucratic red tape, speeded up business permits and required state agencies to communicate in plain language.”We got rid of all the silly laws,” said Tony Sertich, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board commissioner who headed Dayton’s effort.
Legislators also did away with a number of unnecessary advisory boards and other government panels, the Pioneer Press reported. Some unsession ideas were submitted by state employees and Minnesota citizens.
Legislators launched an initiative that got rid of more than 30 advisory boards, councils and task forces that had outlived their usefulness.Dayton thanked the “hundreds of state employees and thousands of Minnesota citizens” who submitted unsession ideas.
Democrat or Republican, no matter to me – I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this in other states.
You can hear more about the initiative in this CBS Minnesota News video report below.
h/t HotAir
[Featured image: CBS Minnesota News video]
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