Gov. Doug Ducey is pushing to reduce regulations at the state level using an online service called redtape.az.gov. Now at least one agency is reaching out to hear which rules need to be changed.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture’s Plant Services Division held a listening meeting Tuesday for stakeholders to comment on outdated rules.
It’s the first of three gatherings to help address plant-related rules that don’t work with current practices.
Tuesday’s meeting was about a rule that regulates citrus and plant inspections at an Arizona port-of-entry. The problem? There haven’t been state inspections at ports-of-entry since 2008.
Quarantine Program Coordinator Brian McGrew is with plant services.
“A lot of these rules, they’re outdated, they haven’t been updated in a number of years," he said. "So we’re trying to make the effort in making those current with our current practices.”
For example, one rule says nursery stock shipments aren’t allowed into Arizona during the weekends. And that, McGrew says, would be confusing because — there is no one at the state line to enforce it.
McGrew says regulations written almost 20 years ago need to be updated, like how plant products are currently inspected for unwanted pests.
“A number of years ago before 2008, we used to have port inspection stations. But since 2008, those port inspection stations haven’t been operational, so we’re trying to look into making sure we get updated the way our regulatory practices are now,” McGrew said.
There will be two more listening sessions for the plant services department, and McGrew hopes to see more suggestions on improving these outdated rules. Ducey's stated goal from earlier this year is to eliminate 500 old regulations.
