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SUNSET CLAUSE

In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a provision in a statute or regulation that terminates or repeals all or portions of the law after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend it. Not all laws have sunset clauses; in such cases, the law goes on indefinitely.

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Origin

The roots of sunset provisions are laid in Roman law of the mandate. At the time of the Roman Republic, the empowerment of the Roman Senate to collect special taxes and to activate troups was limited in time and extent. Those empowerments ended before the expiration of an electoral office, such as the Proconsul. The rule, Ad tempus concessa post tempus censetur denegata is translated as, what is admitted for a period will be refused after the period. The same rules were applied in the Roman emergency legislation. The fundamental principle appeared in several areas of legislation and later codified in the Codex Iustinianus 10, 61, 1. The principle was broken when Julius Caesar became dictator for life.

Examples in American law

Sunset provisions have been used extensively throughout legal history. Some high-profile examples in American law include:

Sedition Act of 1798

Part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Sedition Act was a political tool used by John Adams and the Federalist Party to suppress opposition. The authors ensured the act would terminate at the end of Adams's term so that it could not be used by Democratic-Republicans against his own party.

USA PATRIOT Act

Under §224 of the USA PATRIOT Act, several of the surveillance portions originally expired on December 31, 2005 [1], these have since been renewed, but has expired on March 10, 2006. The USA PATRIOT Act is set to sunset the following provisions:

Assault Weapons Ban

In 2004 the sunset provision of the assault weapons ban terminated the law. At the time, President George W. Bush was subject to considerable criticism for failing to urge Republicans in Congress to renew the ban.

Estate Tax

In the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 the US Congress enacted a phaseout of the federal estate tax over the following 10 years, so that the tax would be completely repealed in 2010. However, a sunset provision in the Act reinstates the tax to its original levels on January 1, 2011. As of May 17, 2005, Republicans in Congress have tried to repeal the sunset provision, but their efforts have been unsuccessful. Uncertainty over the prolonged existence of the sunset provision has made estate planning more complicated.

Texas' Sunset Statute

Texas' Sunset process works by setting a date on which an agency (except those established by the Texas Constitution) will be abolished unless legislation is passed to continue its functions. This creates a unique opportunity for the Legislature to look closely at each agency and make fundamental changes to an agency's mission or operations if needed. Agencies are typically reviewed every 12 years. About 20 to 30 agencies go through the Sunset process each legislative session.

The Sunset process is guided by a 12-member body of legislators and public members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Assisting the Commission is a staff whose reports provide an assessment of an agency's programs, giving the Legislature the information needed to draw conclusions about the agencies under review.

Alabama has a similar review process with a more limited number of agencies and a review cycle of every four years. [2]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the income tax is legislated for afresh on a yearly basis by Act of Parliament. More recently, the inclusion of a 'sunset clause' caused mass political debate, and public interest in early 2005, during Labour's proposals of the 2005 Anti-Terrorism Bill.

Canada

In Canada all legislation enacted under Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the notwithstanding clause) has an implied sunset clause of five years.

Australia

In 2005, the Australian Government decided to legislate new Anti-Terrorism laws. These laws have a sunset clause of five years.

Germany

In the German legislation sunset provisions are applied on several federal levels. The German constitution rules a general sunset provision of six months for emergency legislation. Some federal states, e.g. Hesse and North Rhine-Westfalia sporadically add sunset provisions to bills.

Notes

  1. ^ http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/34499.pdf USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: Provisions that Expire on December 31, 2005
  2. ^ http://www.examiners.state.al.us/SunsetComm.htm

External links

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