DLEG Deleted. Snyder Administration Consolidates the Regulators

Alphabet Soup

Governor Rick Snyder signed two executive orders last week causing a major reorganization of state functions. Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) is no more. In its place is the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) that will focus on licensing and business regulation.

Under the change, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will inherit job development and training programs, energy promotion programs, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the Michigan Next Energy Authority (MNEA).

The new Department of LARA will be taking control of the Bureau of Health Professions (BHP), the Bureau of Health Systems (BHS), and the Controlled Substances Advisory Commission (CSAC), from the Department of Community Health (DCH).

The orders also place job development programs into a new Workforce Development Agency (WDA), within the MEDC, create a sate centralized Michigan Administrative Hearing System (MAHS), and abolish the position of Automobile and Home Insurance Consumer Advocate (AHICA), as well as the Chief Energy Officer (CEO) position.

Other changes transfer the Disability Concerns Commission (DCC), Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH), Pacific American Affairs Commission (PAAC), and Hispanic/Latino Commission (HLC) to the Department of Civil Rights (DCR); the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategies (BLMIS) to the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB); and the State Land Bank (SLB), to the MEDC.

Bottom line: when the dust settles, there should be fewer regulatory agencies and fewer regulators. That would send a good message to job creators.