To reduce the salaries of Members of Congress and the amounts available for the salaries and expenses of offices of Members, committees, and the leadership of Congress by 50 percent, to provide for further reductions in the salaries of Members of Congress to the extent that Congress is in session for more than 60 days during any session of a Congress, and for other purposes.

Summary: Citizen Legislator Act of 2012 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (LRA) to reduce the salaries of Members of Congress to 50% of the ordinary rate for pay periods occurring during FY2012, as adjusted by statutory pay adjustments.

Amends the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act to limit for FY2013 the aggregate amount made available for the following entities to 50% of the amount appropriated or otherwise made available for FY2012: (1) Members' Representational Allowances; and (2) salaries and expenses of congressional leadership offices, Senate offices, and congressional standing and joint committees.

Amends the LRA to reduce by 10% the annual rate of pay for Members of Congress for every five days over 60 that their respective chamber is in session, unless its solely on a pro forma basis, during a session of Congress.

Amends Rule XXV (Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance Gifts) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow Members of the House to earn outside income attributable to a calendar year that exceeds 15% of the annual rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule, as of January 1 of that calendar year. (Currently outside income exceeding 15% of that annual rate is prohibited.)

Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) to prohibit such Members, officers, or employees from deriving any outside earned income resulting from the privilege of their office.

Amends Rule XXXVII (Conflict of Interest) of the Standing Rules of the Senate to allow a Senator compensated at a rate in excess of $25,000 per annum and employed for more than 90 days in a calendar year to: (1) affiliate with a firm, partnership, association, or corporation to provide professional services for compensation; (2) authorize the use of his or her name by such an entity; (3) practice a profession for compensation to any extent during regular office hours of the Senate office in which employed; or (4) serve without compensation as an officer or member of the board of any publicly held or publicly regulated corporation, financial institution, or business entity, under specified conditions. (Currently such affiliation and activities are prohibited.)

Allows a Senator whose rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120% of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule to: (1) receive compensation for affiliating with or being employed by a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity which provides professional services involving a fiduciary relationship; (2) authorize the use of his or her officer's or employee's name to be used by any such entity; (3) receive compensation for practicing a profession which involves a fiduciary relationship or for teaching, without the prior notification and approval of the Select Committee on Ethics; and (4) serve for compensation as an officer or member of the board of any association, corporation, or other entity. (Currently such affiliation and activities are prohibited.)

Allows a Member of the House, who served as a Member before the enactment of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2004, to opt out of participating in the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS).

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Citizen Legislator Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. 50 PERCENT REDUCTION IN MEMBER SALARIES AND IN EXPENSES FOR 
              MEMBER OFFICES, LEADERSHIP OFFICES, AND COMMITTEES.

    (a) Member Salaries.--Section 601(a)(1) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31(1)) by striking the matter 
following subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: ``shall be 50 
percent of the rate determined for such positions for pay periods 
occurring during fiscal year 2012, as adjusted by paragraph (2).''
    (b) Salaries and Expenses of House Offices.--
            (1) Members representational allowance.--Section 101 of the 
        House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical 
        Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 57b) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 
                (f); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (d) the following 
                new subsection:
    ``(e) Limitation on Aggregate Amount.--During fiscal year 2012 and 
each succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated or 
otherwise made available for all Members' Representational Allowances 
may not exceed 50 percent of the aggregate amount appropriated or 
otherwise made available for such Allowances for fiscal year 2012.''.
            (2) House leadership offices.--During fiscal year 2013 and 
        each succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated 
        or otherwise made available for the salaries and expenses of 
        House leadership offices may not exceed 50 percent of the 
        aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available for 
        the salaries and expenses of such offices for fiscal year 2012. 
        For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``House leadership 
        office'' means, with respect to any fiscal year, an office of 
        the House of Representatives for which the appropriation for 
        salaries and expenses of the office for the year involved is 
        provided under the heading ``House Leadership Offices'' in the 
        act making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the 
        fiscal year involved.
            (3) House committees.--During fiscal year 2013 and each 
        succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated or 
        otherwise made available for the salaries and expenses of 
        committees of the House of Representatives, including joint 
        committees for which the amounts disbursed for salaries and 
        expenses are disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of 
        the House of Representatives, may not exceed 50 percent of the 
        aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available for 
        the salaries and expenses of such committees for fiscal year 
        2012.
    (c) Salaries and Expenses of Senate Offices.--
            (1) Personal offices.--During fiscal year 2013 and each 
        succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated or 
        otherwise made available for the salaries and expenses of 
        offices of Senators may not exceed 50 percent of the aggregate 
        amount appropriated or otherwise made available for the 
        salaries and expenses of such offices for fiscal year 2012.
            (2) Senate leadership offices.--During fiscal year 2013 and 
        each succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated 
        or otherwise made available for the salaries and expenses of 
        Senate leadership offices may not exceed 50 percent of the 
        aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available for 
        the salaries and expenses of such offices for fiscal year 2012. 
        For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``Senate leadership 
        offices'' means the offices of the President pro Tempore, 
        Majority and Minority Leaders, Majority and Minority Whips, 
        Conferences of the Majority and of the Minority, and Majority 
        and Minority Policy Committees of the Senate.
            (3) Senate committees.--During fiscal year 2013 and each 
        succeeding fiscal year, the aggregate amount appropriated or 
        otherwise made available for the salaries and expenses of 
        committees of the Senate, including joint committees for which 
        the amounts disbursed for salaries and expenses are disbursed 
        by the Secretary of the Senate, may not exceed 50 percent of 
        the aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available 
        for the salaries and expenses of such committees for fiscal 
        year 2012.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN MEMBER SALARIES FOR YEARS DURING WHICH CONGRESS 
              EXCEEDS 60 DAYS IN SESSION.

    Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 
U.S.C. 31) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter following subparagraph 
        (C), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraphs 
        (2) and (3)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Reduction for exceeding 60 days in session.--
                    ``(A) Reduction.--For every 5 days on which a House 
                of Congress is in session during a session of a 
                Congress, each annual rate referred to in paragraph (1) 
                which applies to members of that House shall be reduced 
                by 10 percent.
                    ``(B) Exemption for first 60 days and pro forma 
                sessions.--In determining the number of days on which a 
                House of Congress is in session during a session of a 
                Congress for purposes of subparagraph (A), there shall 
                be excluded--
                            ``(i) the first 60 days on which that House 
                        is in session; and
                            ``(ii) any day on which that House is in 
                        session solely on a pro forma basis.''.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF LIMITATION ON OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME FOR MEMBERS, 
              DELEGATES, AND THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER.

    (a) House of Representatives.--(1) Clause 1(a) of rule XXV of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended to read as follows:
    ``1.(a)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (b), an officer or 
employee of the House may not have outside earned income attributable 
to a calendar year that exceeds 15 percent of the annual rate of basic 
pay for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 
5, United States Code, as of January 1 of that calendar year.
    ``(2) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or 
employee of the House may not receive any honorarium, except that an 
officer or employee of the House who is paid at a rate less than 120 
percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15 of the General 
Schedule may receive an honorarium unless the subject matter is 
directly related to the official duties of the individual, the payment 
is made because of the status of the individual with the House, or the 
person offering the honorarium has interests that may be substantially 
affected by the performance or nonperformance of the official duties of 
the individual.''.
    (2) Clause 1(b) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by striking ``a Member, Delegate, Resident 
Commissioner, officer, or employee'' each place it appears and 
inserting ``an officer or employee''.
    (3) Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by redesignating clause 18 as clause 19 and by inserting after 
clause 17 the following new clause:
    ``17. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or 
employee of the House may not derive any outside income as a result of 
the privilege of their office.''.
    (b) Senate.--(1) Paragraph 5 of rule XXXVII of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate is amended--
            (A) in subparagraph (a), by striking ``Member, officer, or 
        employee'' and inserting ``officer or employee''; and
            (B) in subparagraph (b), by striking ``Member or''.
    (2) Paragraph 6 of rule XXXVII of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
is amended--
            (A) in subparagraph (a), by striking ``Member, officer, or 
        employee'' each place it appears and inserting ``officer or 
        employee''; and
            (B) in subparagraph (b), by striking ``A Member or an'' and 
        inserting ``An''.

SEC. 5. RESTORATION OF ELECTION OF MEMBERS NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN 
              FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

    Section 8401(20) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
striking all that follows ``System'' and inserting a semicolon.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
January 1, 2013.