Attendees at the 2015 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo (AIHce) meeting this week in Salt Lake City are networking and racking up certification maintenance points while Washington is experiencing one of its periodic “let’s trim back the regulatory thicket” periods. The attack on regs is due in part to the U.S. economy’s continuing difficulty to rebound from the Great Recession of 2007 -2088 and insipid GNP growth in recent quarters.

According to AIHA Government Affairs Director Aaron Trippler, “If there is one issue that seems to be on everyone’s radar in Congress it is ‘regulatory reform.’ Here is quick look at some of the proposals:

• Require federal agencies to submit rules that annual impact of $100 million or more to Congress for approval

• Require federal agencies to issue the “least costly” regulation

• Require agencies to cut or modify existing regulations before they can issue new ones

• Require any proposed regulation to include the internet address of a 100-word, plain-language summary

• Require publication of project costs and benefits for at least six months before a new rule can take effect

• Direct agencies to review existing rules to determine those that are obsolete, duplicative, unnecessary or conflicting with other rules

Trippler says he wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two of these bills passed and actually signed by the President.