Sunset Advisory Commission

The Sunset Advisory Commission was created by the 2011 Legislature to periodically review state agencies and make recommendations on whether the agency should continue to exist. The law, called the Minnesota Sunset Act, establishes a schedule for periodic review and expiration of many state agencies (Minnesota Statutes, chapter 3D).

Most state executive branch agencies will be reviewed between 2012 and 2022, according to a schedule prescribed in law. Many agencies, including most state boards, councils, and commissions, expire automatically at the scheduled date unless a new law continues the agency.

The Sunset Advisory Commission must review agencies at the scheduled times and make recommendations to the legislature. The commission's recommendations are advisory - the commission does not have authority to extend an agency that is scheduled for automatic expiration or to abolish an agency that is not scheduled to expire automatically.