Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is pictured in this file photo. (Photo by Wade Payne, Special to the News Sentinel)NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam says changes in Tennessee’s regulatory culture, rather than an actual overhaul of state rules, are what’s needed to address most business complaints about red tape in state government.
In a series of roundtables with business leaders last year, “most of the feedback we got on state regulations was more attitudinal in nature rather than actually regulatory driven,” the Republican governor told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in a recent interview. “It’s more about a customer service mentality rather than ‘there’s a lot of broken regulations.'”
Haslam also said he expects to delay revamping dozens of state regulatory boards and commissions.
“It’s a varied and complex task to address those,” Haslam said. “We’re going to make some suggestions this year on ways to redo some boards and commissions. We’re not ready to do comprehensive [changes] because there are so many out there and the long-term changes, I think, are pretty complex.”
He did indicate he’ll pursue changes to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which oversees many private utilities, including Tennessee American Water, which serves Chattanooga. He declined to go into specifics.