Governor Gianforte Celebrates Red Tape Relief Progress

Nearly one-fifth of state regulations repealed or amended

• March 11 2024

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today celebrated a recent report that highlighted the progress of his Red Tape Relief Initiative, which has repealed or amended 1,861 regulations, or nearly one-fifth of all regulations since he office.

“When I took office, I promised Montanans we would cut red tape, make government more efficient and responsive, and create new opportunities,” Gov. Gianforte said. “For too long, government red tape has stood in the way of Montana reaching its full potential and this latest report shows we’re making great progress to remove those burdensome, outdated regulations so more Montanans can prosper.”

Gov. Gianforte, Lt. Gov. Juras, and legislators celebrate red tape relief during a bill signing ceremony at the State Capitol in 2023

In his first week in office, Gov. Gianforte established the Red Tape Relief Task Force through executive order to conduct a comprehensive, top-to-bottom review of regulations in every state agency.

Led by Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, the task force worked with legislators to introduce 188 red tape relief bills in the 2023 legislative session, over 100 of which were signed into law by the governor. Taken together, the bills simplify and modernize code, make government more efficient, and create greater opportunity for Montanans.

The Frontier Institute’s Red Tape Snapshot reveals:

• The 13 agencies under Governor Gianforte’s leadership have repealed or amended a total of 1,866 regulations, representing 16% of the 11,753 regulations originally on the books as of January 1, 2021;

• Montana saw a total reduction of 1,114 regulatory restrictions since 2021; and

• From 2021 to 2023, agencies that participated in the governor’s Red Tape Relief Initiative decreased their collective regulatory burden by 2.8%.

The report also notes, “Montana’s regulatory code had ballooned to over 4.7 million words and nearly 60,000 separate regulatory restrictions.”

And continues, “It would have taken a typical person nearly seven weeks to read every rule, assuming 40 hours per week at a normal pace of reading. Fast forward to 2024 and the Red Tape Initiative has successfully achieved some impressive regulatory relief that is sure to benefit Montana’s economy far into the future.”

Read the full report from the Frontier Institute here.