Hesse Bureaucracy Reduction: Car Rules Simplified

Hesse's Minister Simplifies Car Rules, Aims to Slash Bureaucracy

Hesse's Minister for Bureaucracy Reduction, Manfred Pentz, has been driving efforts to simplify regulations and reduce red tape. His latest achievement, a bill passed in the Bundesrat, streamlines liability rules for vehicle owners and eliminates documentation requirements for company and rental cars. Pentz's collaborative approach has led to parliamentary, organizational, and procedural successes.

Pentz's vision extends beyond mere digitization. He advocates for abolishing procedures altogether, rather than simply moving them online. In Hesse, a comprehensive bureaucracy reduction package is being developed, involving stakeholders at the federal and EU levels. Pentz has fostered a mindset shift towards bureaucracy reduction through initiatives like the 'Bureaucracy Reporting Tool', 'Sounding Board', and 'Alliance Against Bureaucracy', engaging businesses, associations, and citizens.

Pentz believes that while digitalization can make processes faster and more efficient, it does not eliminate the obligation to carry them out. He aims to ban 'gold-plating'—the practice of adding unnecessary national rules to EU directives—in Germany. Pentz welcomes the EU's action on the Supply Chain Act and sustainability reporting but prefers a suspension or abolition of these regulations to provide more bureaucracy relief for businesses, especially SMEs.

Pentz's work is part of a broader effort to reduce 'gold-plating'—excessive or exaggerated regulation and bureaucracy. Through collaboration with the federal government and the EU, Hesse can implement measures like efficiency checks, digitalization, stakeholder involvement, and the use of EU initiatives to achieve this goal. Pentz's achievements and approach demonstrate a commitment to making bureaucracy work smarter, not harder.