SECTION 1. PURPOSE. In the passage of this Act, the General Assembly is cognizant of the intent of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977, which provided for the termination of a number of State agencies on June 30, 1979, unless studies of said State agencies by Joint Interim Committees of the General Assembly, who were assigned in said Section 3 to make “Sunset reviews” of said agencies, determine that the continuation of certain said State agencies is in the public interest. During the interim between the adoption of Act 100 of 1977, and the convening of the 1979 Regular Session of the General Assembly, the respective Joint Interim Committees of the General Assembly have made studies and review of the purposes, activities, justifications, and needs for each of the State agencies enumerated in Section 3 of 1977, and have recommended the continuation of a number of said State agencies. It is, therefore, the purpose of this Act to provide for the continuation of certain of said State agencies, as enumerated in this Act, subsequent to June 30, 1979, and to provide that the provisions of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977, which would have provided for the termination of the State agencies enumerated herein on June 30, 1979, shall be of no effect, and that said State agencies be continued, and shall continue to function the same as if the provisions of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1979, which provided for their termination, had never been enacted.
SECTION 2. The following State agencies which under the provisions of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977, were scheduled to terminate on June 30, 1979, are hereby continued, and said State agencies shall continue to function, and shall perform the respective powers, functions and duties assigned to them by law from and after June 30, 1979, the same as they would have functioned if Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977 had never been enacted:
SECTION 3. The following State Agencies, which, under the provisions of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977, were scheduled to terminate on June 30, 1979, are hereby continued until June 30, 1981, for the purpose of enabling the appropriate Joint Interim Committee of the General Assembly, as designated below, to continue to review said agencies for the purpose of recommending to the 73rd General Assembly whether said state agencies should continue to function after June 30, 1981, or terminate on said date as provided herein:
SECTION 4. That the following Subsections of Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977, as hereby repealed:
Subsection (1) of Subsection (a) of Section 3; Subsections (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of Subsection (e) of Section 3; Subsection (7) and Subsection (13) of Subsection (g) of Section 3; Subsections (18) and (19) of Subsection (h) of Section 3; and Subsections (1) through (13) inclusive of Subsection (j) of Section 3.
SECTION 5. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is hereby found and determined by the General Assembly that Section 3 of Act 100 of 1977 provided for the termination of a number of State Agencies and programs to be effective on June 30, 1979, that it was the intention of said Act that each of said agencies and programs would be reviewed in the interim between the recess and adjournment and the convening of the 72nd General Assembly by the Legislative Joint Interim Committees of the General Assembly to evaluate the purposes, duties and accomplishments of said agencies and programs with the view that the General Assembly would take action to restore and continue those agencies and programs that were needed in the public interests, that other agencies and programs would be reorganized and that other agencies and programs would be allowed to terminate as provided by Act 100 of 1977; and, as a result of said studies during the interim prior to the convening of the 72nd General Assembly recommendations have been made to restore and continue the operations of numerous agencies and programs which were to terminate on June 30, 1979, and recommendations were made that other agencies and programs be extended for two more years for further study and to terminate on June 30, 1981 unless restored and continued by the 73rd General Assembly; that the immediate passage of this Act is necessary to restore and continue the various agencies and programs identified in this Act and that said action should be taken prior to June 30, 1979, at which time said agencies would be terminated under the provisions of Act 100 of 1977, it being the intent of this Act that the agencies and programs defined herein would continue to function. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.
APPROVED: April 2, 1979.