COLUMBUS — Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) called for additional reforms of Ohio’s regulatory environment during a speech Wednesday.

He was joined by Dr. James Broughel of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, who recently completed a study on the number of regulatory restrictions the state imposes, and Robert Alt, President and CEO of the Buckeye Institute.

The Mercatus Center has studied the regulatory environments of 22 states so far as part of its ongoing “State RegData” project. Their study concluded that Ohio is one of the most heavily regulated states they have analyzed, trailing only New York and Illinois, and far surpassing the neighboring states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.

“Unnecessary red tape and regulation is stifling the potential of Ohio’s small businesses, which in turn limits job opportunities for Ohioans,” Obhof said. “The legislature has a responsibility to make sure any rules or regulations created by state government have a specific purpose and intent to protect our citizens and do not create needless barriers to growth and opportunity.”

“With more than 246,000 regulatory restrictions on the state’s books, policy makers in Ohio should be considering regulatory reform as a way to boost growth,” said Dr. James Broughel of the Mercatus Center.

In response to the study, Obhof highlighted the opportunity to reduce red tape bureaucracy while continuing to provide Ohioans with necessary health and safety protections. He identified a number of ways the legislature could consider modernizing Ohio’s Administrative Code and reducing cumbersome regulations, including:

Tracking and accounting of the total number of restrictions in Ohio:

Allowing for a more thorough review process of which regulations are effective and which are outdated or duplicative.

Setting a reduction goal to bring Ohio more in-line with the national average, and consider placing a cap once that goal is achieved.

Consider eliminating two rules for every new one that is created for the next three years, or until the reduction target is met.

The NFIB, Farm Bureau, Ohio Society of CPAs and others supported Obhof’s call for additional regulatory reform in Ohio.