Agency designed by Kasich to cut red tape now backlogged

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio state agency designed by then-Gov. John Kasich’s administration to cut through state bureaucracy is now itself backlogged.

The Common Sense Initiative was formed in 2011 by Kasich’s administration to help make Ohio business-friendly. The Columbus Dispatch reports the agency’s backlog totaled 1,233 business regulation rules for review - hundreds of which had not been addressed by the agency.

Backlogged rules include rules on alcohol and drug testing, health-product standards, drinking-water standards and water-source protection.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who now runs the agency, notes the irony of a state agency designed to cut through bureaucracy getting caught up in bureaucracy itself. He has instructed his staff to wipe out the remaining backlog by April. As of Friday, 76 percent had been cleared.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com