RICHMOND -- Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Wednesday that he will spearhead a multiyear review of state government regulations with an eye toward reducing unnecessary and obsolete provisions that affect businesses and citizens.

"This is probably one of the most important things I'll ever do as attorney general of Virginia," McDonnell said as he announced the creation of a task force that will conduct an extensive examination of Virginia's regulatory framework.

McDonnell is hardly the first state official to wage a battle against government red tape. But the Republican attorney general said this review will be sweeping in scope, describing it as "a systematic march through the entire Administrative Process Act."

McDonnell announced the initiative at a press conference standing next to stacks of volumes containing the nearly 24,000 pages of the Virginia Administrative Code.

"Regulations and the compliance with those regulations cost individuals and businesses a lot of time and money," McDonnell said. "This is also about making sure that government is as efficient and as effective as can be."

McDonnell said the task force will conduct its review with the goal of minimizing the adverse effect of regulations with jeopardizing protections for public safety, health and welfare. In evaluating the regulations, the task force will consider whether they still serve a public purpose, whether they can be effectively monitored and enforced, and whether their benefits justify their costs, among other things.

McDonnell tapped 25 people to serve on the task force and another 37 to serve on affiliated working groups. The appointees include legislators, lawyers and representatives of major Virginia business sectors. Former state Del. Jack Rust of Fairfax County will chair the task force. Nancy Agee, the chief operating officer for Carilion Health System, is the only Roanoke Valley representative on the panel.

McDonnell has asked three working groups to examine regulations affecting agriculture, small business and health care.

He said those groups could issue recommendations by early next year.

He said the group also will solicit public input and accept recommendations via e-mail at regreform@oag.state.va.us.