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Administrative state 2025 legislation: Enacted legislation highlights

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August 20, 2025
By Ballotpedia staff

Administrative State
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Five Pillars of the Administrative State
•Agency control
• Executive control
• Judicial control
•Legislative control
• Public Control
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Enacted legislation highlights

This section breaks down enacted legislation, including top-line numerical analysis, specific bill highlights, and analysis by the five pillars of the administrative state and state trifecta status.

Highlights

Lawmakers in 42 states passed 337 bills related to the administrative state.

  • 144 reduced agency power.
  • 128 increased agency power.
  • 56 did not clearly increase or decrease agency power.
  • 9 afford agencies power in some ways and restrict it in others.

Enacted legislation reducing agency power

37 states passed 144 bills reducing agency power.[1]

  • 19 Republican trifectas passed 92 bills (64%).
  • 10 Democratic trifectas passed 26 bills (18%).
  • 8 divided governments enacted 26 bills (18%).

The top 10 states that passed the most bills decreasing agency power are shown on the chart below, shaded by their trifecta status.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many

Enacted legislation increasing agency power

Lawmakers in 37 states passed 128 bills increasing agency power.[1]

  • 18 Republican trifectas enacted 73 bills.
  • 11 Democratic trifectas enacted 36 bills.
  • 8 divided governments enacted 19 bills.

The top 10 states that passed the most bills increasing agency power are shown on the chart below, shaded by their trifecta status.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many

Legislation enacted through veto overrides

Legislatures in four states overrode gubernatorial vetoes for seven administrative state-related bills in 2025 so far.

  • Kansas legislators overrode Gov. Laura Kelly (D)’s vetoes of three administrative state-related bills. The Kansas House of Representatives has 88 Republican and 37 Democratic members, and needs 84 votes to override a gubernatorial veto. The Kansas Senate has 31 Republican and 9 Democratic members, and needs 27 votes to override a veto.
    • HB 2291 establishes a general regulatory sandbox program, under which participating businesses may offer new products or services with a temporary reduction in regulatory requirements.
    • HB 2240 requires agencies to receive legislative approval to institute a public assistance program waiver.
    • SB 29 restricts disease control rulemaking authority.
  • Oklahoma legislators overrode Gov. Kevin Stitt (R)’s vetoes of two bills. The Oklahoma House of Representatives has 81 Republican and 20 Democratic members, and needs 68 votes to override a gubernatorial veto. The Oklahoma Senate has 40 Republican and 8 Democratic members, and needs 32 votes to override a veto.
    • HB2769: This bill modifies eligibility requirements for the office of Adjutant General.
    • HB2164: This bill modifies state ethics laws by requiring heads of state agencies, boards, bureaus, trusts, commissions, councils, departments, systems, or authorities to complete an ethics course.
  • North Carolina legislators overrode Gov. Josh Stein (D)’s veto of HB 402, which establishes a REINS-style legislative review requirement for major agency rules. The North Carolina House of Representatives has 71 Republican and 49 Democratic members, and needs 72 votes to override a gubernatorial veto. The North Carolina Senate has 30 Republican and 20 Democratic members, and needs 30 votes to override a veto.
  • Wyoming legislators overrode Gov. Mark Gordon (R)'s veto of SF 127, requiring cost-benefit analyses for rules estimated to have an annual economic impact exceeding $100,000, significant adverse effects on competition or employment, or substantial social and cultural impacts. It requires it to issue a copy to every legislator, and legislators can introduce legislation to prohibit the rule from taking effect. The Wyoming House of Representatives has 56 Republican and 6 Democratic members, and needs 42 votes to override a gubernatorial veto. The Wyoming Senate has 29 Republican and 2 Democratic members, and needs 21 votes to override a veto.

Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker

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Keeping track of the latest administrative state developments in all 50 state legislatures with Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker.

Ballotpedia's Administrative State Legislation Tracker allows you to track, query, and analyze hundreds of bills and resolutions affecting the authority and influence of agencies and agency rulemaking. Whether you're watching for specific reform policies, looking for trends, or keeping up-to-date on the changes in the administrative state landscape, our administrative state legislation tracker is your easy-to-use and flexible solution.

See also

v • e
The Administrative State
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Pillars
Reporting
Laws
Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases
Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States
Terms
Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large
Bibliography
Agencies
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Many state bills that increase or decrease agency power do so for a specific topic, agency, industry, or program, while others – such as those addressing REINS, judicial deference, rulemaking processes, and oversight – affect all or most agencies in the state.
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