Sunset Act of 2019
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Sunset Act of 2019
This bill revises requirements governing congressional review of agency rules. Before implementing a new rule, agencies must (1) report to the Government Accountability Office on their rules, and (2) obtain congressional approval of the rule. The bill redefines rule to exclude (1) a rule of particular applicability (e.g., a rule that approves corporate or financial structures); (2) a rule relating to agency management or personnel; or (3) a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice that does not substantially affect the rights or obligations of nonagency parties.
This bill permits judicial review of whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements for a rule to take effect.
The bill terminates an agency rule 10 years after it was approved by Congress. The President may exempt a rule from termination if such rule is (1) necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal law, or for national security; or (2) issued to implement an international trade agreement.
The bill also requires each agency, each year for 10 years, to designate for review at least 10% of all agency rules in effect on the enactment date of this bill. Further, the bill terminates any agency rule that is in effect on the enactment date of this bill but that was not extended by Congress during the 10 years subsequent to such enactment date.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 30, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 25, 2019: Referred to the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Steve King (R-IA) introduced it on January 30, 2019. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 30, 2019, 2780 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2726 days ago, on March 25, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers