Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee

Sunset Review Process (1998)

Connecticut's Sunset Law is spelled out under Title 2c of the Connecticut General Statutes. It lists entities and programs to be terminated unless specifically recreated by an act of the General Assembly. The program review committee is responsible for conducting a performance audit of each entity or program in the year preceding its scheduled termination. In conducting the review, the committee is required to consider but is not limited to the statutory criteria contained in C.G.S Sections 2c-7 and 2c-8.

The committee's study of the Sunset Law in 1998 focused on Connecticut's experience in carrying out the law from 1979 through 1984. Of particular concern was the use of the Sunset Law as an oversight mechanism, the changes made in the entities and programs evaluated during the process, and the potential thrust of Sunset in the future. The committee concluded the law should be continued. The recommendations of the committee were aimed at modifying the selection of entities and programs for review, the review criteria, the length of the review cycle, and the source of staff.

All of the committee's recommendations were incorporated into a bill (HB 1177 of the 1999 legislative session). The bill was sent to the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee, which chose to take no action. This terminated the recommendations. A summary of the key recommendations and their current status is shown in the table below.

     

Summary of Compliance with Committee Recommendations

Recommendation

Status

Comment

Continue Connecticut's Sunset Law.

Full

The law remains in the statutes, and the Sunset review cycle is scheduled to begin in 2003.

Modify Connecticut's Sunset Law as follows:

  • eliminate from the list all entities and programs whose primary purpose is to provide advice, policy guidance, or direct services;
  • add to the list all entities and programs that either regulate individual practitioners or enforce state-approved standards;
  • require each listed entity and program to prepare a report addressing the Sunset criteria 20 months prior to scheduled termination;
  • after reviewing each report and holding a joint public hearing, the program review committee, in consultation with the Government Administration and Elections Committee and the relevant subject matter committees, shall determine which entities or programs need a further review by the program review committee;
  • add a provision requiring the Sunset review to determine whether the entity or program has complied with state rules and procedures, including but not limited to such matters as Uniform Administrative Procedure Act, human rights statutes, and freedom of information requirements;
  • increase the review cycle from five to eight years;
  • staff resources be provided primarily from the program review committee, with assistance from the Offices of Fiscal Analysis and Legislative Research; and
  • program review committee manage the review process and make recommendations to the legislature.

None

The bill containing the recommendations did not pass. It died when the GAE committee took no action.

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