Restoring balance to SC’s regulatory system
For nine years, I have been working in the South Carolina General Assembly to reform how our state regulates businesses and citizens. Over that time, one lesson has become abundantly clear: excessive and outdated regulations don’t just burden businesses — they slow innovation, restrict opportunity, and ultimately reduce quality of life for the people we serve.
Our new Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act (House Bill 3021) is a decisive step toward restoring balance, accountability, and common sense to South Carolina’s regulatory system.
I recently spoke at the SC Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on this legislation, which is now on “special order” (priority) after passing the House of Representatives unanimously, 107-0.
That overwhelming bipartisan support reflects a shared understanding that regulatory reform is not a partisan issue — it is an economic and civic necessity.
Business-Friendly State
South Carolina prides itself on being a business-friendly state, yet 13 states currently have more favorable regulatory environments. That gap matters. A state that competes nationally and globally for jobs, capital, and innovation cannot afford to rely on reputation alone.
Economic research consistently shows that excessive regulation suppresses growth, while thoughtful reductions stimulate economic activity, job creation, and entrepreneurship. Our bill applies this research to practical, responsible policy.
At its core, the bill requires a comprehensive review of all state regulations every seven years. If a regulation is not affirmatively reauthorized by the General Assembly, it sunsets. This ensures that rules written decades ago — often for problems that no longer exist — do not remain in force simply because no one has revisited them. The Small Business Regulatory Review Committee will play a central role in this process, strengthening the voice of job creators and establishing a transparent review schedule.
Limits Agency Authority
The legislation also places reasonable limits on an agency’s authority to issue new regulations without legislative approval. Agencies will have three years to implement regulations authorized by new laws, after which that authority expires. Once the initial review cycle is complete, blanket authority for agencies to create regulations will end — thereby restoring accountability to the legislative process while preserving necessary exceptions for federal compliance, emergency rules, and funding requirements.
To promote discipline and restraint, the bill establishes a regulatory budget: for every new regulation proposed, agencies must identify two existing regulations for removal. This ensures that regulatory growth is intentional rather than automatic.
As chairman of the Regulations and Public Procedures, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity Committee, I have worked diligently to modernize oversight while encouraging innovation and economic freedom.
This legislation strengthens economic impact analysis, increases transparency in cost estimates, and requires legislative approval for regulations with an economic impact exceeding $1 million over five years.
It also restores fairness in administrative law by ending automatic judicial deference to agency interpretations, ensuring impartial review for citizens and businesses.
Speaker of the House Murrell Smith deserves recognition for his leadership on regulatory reform. By tasking me with helping reduce regulatory requirements by up to 25 percent, he has demonstrated a serious commitment to ensuring government serves — not stifles — the people of South Carolina.
Jeff Bradley is the representative for District 123 in the State House of Representatives.
