Recently, Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes vetoed HB 587, which would have created an advisory committee to develop guidelines that the state Board of Natural Resources could use to determine whether the benefits of proposed environmental regulations would be worth the costs. The bill is a version of the "Economic Impact Statement Act" being circulated in state legislatures throughout the country by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In his veto message, Barnes argued that the expense of determining those costs would be prohibitive. He cited state Environmental Protection Division estimates, which show that subjecting last year's crop of 15 new environmental regulations to the analysis required by the bill would run up a tab of $1.5 million. The governor also said he was concerned that the measure could make it more difficult for the state to enforce federal clean air and water laws.

Ran 5/27/2002