Arizona’s sunset review process is designed to hold state agencies accountable, ensuring they fulfill their missions effectively and efficiently.
However, the current debate over whether these reviews are being ‘weaponized’ in our divided government misses a critical point: the real risk isn’t that sunset reviews are too harsh under divided government, but that they’ve been toothless and ineffective during unified government.
During periods of divided government, as we have now, the legislature tends to actively scrutinize agency performance. Auditor General reports are taken seriously, and legislative committees hold agencies accountable for their shortcomings.
This fosters oversight and ensures state agencies run transparently and efficiently. But, when the same party controls both the executive and legislative branches (as we saw during the Ducey administration) the sunset review process becomes a formality, with little to no meaningful oversight.
The Arizona Auditor General’s Office (an arm of the state legislature) plays a vital role in finding agency deficiencies. Their reports are comprehensive and independent. For example, Auditor General reviews revealed systemic failures in the Arizona Department of Health Services’ nursing home complaint investigations during the Ducey era.
Their 2019 report highlighted unacceptable delays in investigating complaints, putting vulnerable residents at risk. The follow-up review found that the agency had reclassified 98% of high-risk complaints as low risk to give the appearance they had making process and performance corrections.
Despite the severity of these findings, the legislative review process during the Ducey administration largely ignored these issues (although a hearing was held), allowing the problems to persist unchecked (until the next administration took office).
This lack of accountability during unified government is a systemic issue. The legislative review committees, dominated by the governor’s party, often dismiss Auditor General findings as unimportant or inconvenient. Instead of using these reports to drive meaningful reform, they rubber-stamp agency operations, creating a dangerous lack of oversight.
In contrast, divided government forces a more rigorous review process. Legislators from the opposing party are motivated to scrutinize the executive branch’s performance, often shining a spotlight on agency performance.
For example, recent debates over agencies set to expire in 2025, as reported by the Arizona Capitol Times, show how divided government can lead to shorter leashes for underperforming agencies.
Agencies set to expire in 2025 will likely get ‘shorter leashes’ | Arizona Capitol Times
To strengthen the sunset review process and ensure it works effectively regardless of the political landscape, Arizona needs structural reforms like mandatory legislative hearings on Auditor General findings (regardless of the political composition of the government) independent oversight boards to review agency performance, and increased funding for the Auditor General’s Office.
The real danger of Arizona’s sunset review process isn’t that it’s too harsh under divided government—it’s that it becomes a rubber stamp under unified government.
Without robust oversight, agencies can fail the very people they’re supposed to serve. Ensuring meaningful accountability should be a bipartisan priority, safeguarding the public interest no matter who holds power.
