美国“日落立法运动”的理念、过程与得失

On the Sunset Legislative Movement in the United States:Concept,Process and Effects

"日落立法运动"是20世纪70年代美国政府改革的重要组成部分。它的主要目标是,通过为政府机构设定运行的期限,强制它们接受立法机关的审查,来实现提升行政效率、遏制政府规模扩张的目标。经历了短暂的兴盛后,这一运动在20世纪80年代初开始回落。尽管影响巨大,但是该运动的目标并未完全实现,"日落法"未在全美各州得到普及,也未被美国国会接受,其实施的效果也不尽如人意。这一运动的回落并不是理念的失败。高昂的审查成本、不切实际的法律条款以及欠缺中立的审查过程才是导致其回落的主要原因。

The Sunset Legislative Movement is an important component of the governmental reform in the United States in 1970 s.Its principal goal is to improve administrative efficiency and to curb the rampant expansion of the government by setting the time limits for governmental institutions and forcing them to go through the legislative examination.After a short golden period,this movement started to decline in the early 1980 s.Although it has significant impact,the goal of this movement is not fully accomplished.Sunset legislation is neither accepted by all the 50 states nor did the National Congress of the United States.Its effect is far from satisfactory.However,it should be pointed out that its decline does not mean the failure of the ideology;the main reasons for its failure are the costly examination,unrealistic legislative design and the interference of interest groups.