With all of the complaining about the growth of government and spending and taxes and regulation, why does this not appear on any of the Republican candidates' list of ideas?
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2009How Long Should Legislation Remain Law
Depending on who happens to be in power, it appears that laws will either be enforced or circumvented or ignored.
I have a better idea. Let's create sunsets for our laws. This is obviously not an original idea. But it does have merits. Consider this:
- Unfunded programs - implemented upon funding or rescinded after 2 years if not funded [including unfunded "mandates"]
- Funded programs - 4 years and must be specifically funded, not funded by diversion of funds collected for other purposes
- Commerce legislation - 15 years
- Criminal legislation - 25 years
- Treaties - 30 years maximum
At the end of each appropriate time limit, current legislators would be called upon to renew the legislation or ignore it and allow the law to expire.
- National security legislation - 30 years
The effect would be two-fold:
- Elimination of unnecessary or inappropriate laws
The maximum time for laws to be in effect would not preclude legislation to repeal any laws.
- Minimizing time spent on passing new unnecessary and inappropriate laws
How often do laws just "fade away?" You can argue the merits of the template above with regard to the specifics, but the concept of the second or third look is sound. There are always arguments for passing the legislation initially, but then the reasons for the legislation get forgotten or ignored once it has become law. Rather than waiting for someone to lead the charge against onerous or ill-fated legislation, this provides an escape valve.
If it can't pass the second time, perhaps it shouldn't have passed the first.
This would be different from the "sunset provisions" specifically written into a law; they would apply to all laws and not require specific language in the law except to identify the category of law to determine which sunset period applies.