Sunset Clauses and Legislative Review
How legislatures build expiration dates into laws, conduct post-legislative scrutiny, and decide whether laws are working as intended.
Legislation with an Expiration Date
A sunset clause is a provision that causes a law to expire automatically after a specified period unless the legislature actively renews it. The concept forces a reassessment: is this law still necessary? Is it working? Are its costs justified by its benefits?
Sunset clauses are common in areas where circumstances change rapidly. US tax legislation frequently includes sunsets — the individual tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire in 2025, forcing a future Congress to decide whether to make them permanent. National security authorities, experimental programs, and regulatory agencies are other common targets. The US Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 had a ten-year sunset and was not renewed, expiring in 2004.
