Gianforte Celebrates Red Tape Relief Progress
Gov. Greg Gianforte last week celebrated a recent report that highlighted the progress of his Red Tape Relief Initiative, which has repealed or amended 1,861 regulations, or nearly one-fifth of all regulations since he took office.
“When I took office, I promised Montanans we would cut red tape, make government more efficient and responsive, and create new opportunities,” Gianforte said. “For too long, government red tape has stood in the way of Montana reaching its full potential and this latest report shows we’re making great progress to remove those burdensome, outdated regulations so more Montanans can prosper.”
In his first week in office, Gianforte established the Red Tape Relief Task Force through executive order to conduct a comprehensive, review of regulations in every state agency.
Led by Lt. Governor Kristen Juras, the task force worked with legislators to introduce 188 red tape relief bills in the 2023 legislative session, over 100 of which were signed into law by the governor. Taken together, the bills simplify and modernize code, make government more efficient and create greater opportunity for Montanans.
The Frontier Institute’s Red Tape Snapshot reveals: The 13 agencies under Gianforte’s leadership have repealed or amended a total of 1,866 regulations, representing 16 percent of the 11,753 regulations originally on the books as of Jan. 1, 2021; Montana saw a total reduction of 1,114 regulatory restrictions since 2021; and From 2021 to 2023, agencies that participated in the governor’s Red Tape Relief Initiative decreased their collective regulatory burden by 2.8 percent.
The report also notes, “Montana’s regulatory code had ballooned to over 4.7 million words and nearly 60,000 separate regulatory restrictions.” The report continues, “It would have taken a typical person nearly seven weeks to read every rule, assuming 40 hours per week at a normal pace of reading. Fast forward to 2024 and the Red Tape Initiative has successfully achieved some impressive regulatory relief that is sure to benefit Montana’s economy far into the future.”
