Sunset review
Definition
Sunset review is a process where a state agency, board, or law automatically expires on a set date unless the legislature affirmatively votes to renew it. A review body evaluates performance beforehand and recommends renewal, reform, consolidation, or termination.
Why it matters
Sunset review is designed to force periodic accountability on agencies that might otherwise operate for decades without scrutiny, but the review itself can become a lobbying target, since industries regulated by a board often have the strongest incentive and resources to influence whether it survives intact. Regulated industries sometimes prefer weak or eliminated oversight boards, making sunset hearings a recurring flashpoint for capture.
Seen in the wild
Texas's Sunset Advisory Commission conducts a roughly 12-year review cycle for state agencies, and its evaluations have led to the abolition or consolidation of numerous boards, including past reviews that restructured oversight of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.