S. 1046 

One Hundred Tenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eight 

An Act 

To modify pay provisions relating to certain senior-level positions in the Federal 

Government, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Professional Performance 

Act of 2008’’. 

SEC. 2. PAY PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN SENIOR-LEVEL POSITIONS. 

(a) LOCALITY PAY.—Section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, 

is amended— 

(1) in subsection (g), by amending paragraph (2) to read 

as follows: 

‘‘(2) The applicable maximum under this subsection shall 

be level III of the Executive Schedule for— 

‘‘(A) positions under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (h)(1); and 

‘‘(B) any positions under subsection (h)(1)(C) as the 

President may determine.’’; and 

(2) in subsection (h)— 

(A) in paragraph (1)— 

(i) by striking subparagraph (A); 

(ii) in subparagraph (D)— 

(I) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

(II) in clause (vi), by striking the period at 

the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

(III) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(vii) a position to which section 5376 applies 

(relating to certain senior-level and scientific and 

professional positions).’’; and 

(iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and 

(D) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; 

and 

(B) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

(i) in clause (i)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (C)’’ 

and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’; and 

(II) by striking ‘‘or (vi)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vi), 

or (vii)’’; and 

(ii) in clause (ii)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(D)’’ and inserting 

‘‘paragraph (1)(C)’’; and 
S. 1046—2 

(II) by striking ‘‘or (vi)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vi), 

or (vii)’’. 

(b) ACCESS TO HIGHER MAXIMUM RATE OF BASIC PAY.—Section 

5376(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (B) and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), not greater than the 

rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive 

Schedule.’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3) In the case of an agency which has a performance 

appraisal system which, as designed and applied, is certified 

under section 5307(d) as making meaningful distinctions based 

on relative performance, paragraph (1)(B) shall apply as if 

the reference to ‘level III’ were a reference to ‘level II’. 

‘‘(4) No employee may suffer a reduction in pay by reason 

of transfer from an agency with an applicable maximum rate 

of pay prescribed under paragraph (3) to an agency with an 

applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under paragraph 

(1)(B).’’. 

(c) AUTHORITY FOR EMPLOYMENT; APPOINTMENTS; CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS.—Title 5, United States Code is amended— 

(1) in section 3104(a), in the second sentence, by striking 

‘‘prescribes’’ and inserting ‘‘prescribes and publishes in such 

form as the Director may determine’’; 

(2) in section 3324(a) by striking ‘‘the Office of Personnel 

Management’’ and inserting: ‘‘the Director of the Office of Personnel Management on the basis of qualification standards 

developed by the agency involved in accordance with criteria 

specified in regulations prescribed by the Director’’; 

(3) in section 3325— 

(A) in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by striking 

‘‘or its designee for this purpose’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘on the basis of standards developed by the agency 

involved in accordance with criteria specified in regulations 

prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel 

Management’’; and 

(B) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(c) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall 

prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the 

purpose of this section.’’; and 

(4) in section 5108(a)(2) by inserting ‘‘published by the 

Director of the Office of Personnel Management in such form 

as the Director may determine’’ after ‘‘and procedures’’. 

(d) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.— 

(1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period 

beginning on or after the 180th day following the date of 

enactment of this Act. 

(2) NO REDUCTIONS IN RATES OF PAY.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this section may not result, at the time such amendments take 

effect, in a reduction in the rate of basic pay for an individual holding a position to which section 5376 of title 

5, United States Code, applies. 

(B) DETERMINATION OF RATE OF PAY.—For the purposes 

of subparagraph (A), the rate of basic pay for an individual 
S. 1046—3 

described in that subparagraph shall be deemed to be the 

rate of basic pay set for the individual under section 5376 

of title 5, United States Code, plus any applicable locality 

pay paid to that individual on the day before the effective 

date under paragraph (1), subject to regulations that the 

Director of the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe. 

(3) REFERENCES TO MAXIMUM RATES.—Except as otherwise 

provided by law, any reference in a provision of law to the 

maximum rate under section 5376 of title 5, United States 

Code— 

(A) as provided before the effective date of the amendments made by this section, shall be considered a reference 

to the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive 

Schedule; and 

(B) as provided on or after the effective date of the 

amendments made by this section, shall be considered a 

reference to— 

(i) the rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive 

Schedule; or 

(ii) if the head of the agency responsible for administering the applicable pay system certifies that the 

employees are covered by a performance appraisal 

system meeting the certification criteria established 

by regulation under section 5307(d), level II of the 

Executive Schedule. 

SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5307(d) of title 5, United States Code, 

is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking all after ‘‘purposes of’’ 

and inserting: ‘‘applying the limitation in the calendar year 

involved, has a performance appraisal system certified under 

this subsection as making, in its design and application, meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.’’; and 

(2) in paragraph (3)(B)— 

(A) by striking all beginning with ‘‘An’’ through ‘‘2 

calendar years’’ and inserting ‘‘The certification of an 

agency performance appraisal system under this subsection 

shall be for a period not to exceed 24 months beginning 

on the date of certification, unless extended by the Director 

of the Office of Personnel Management for up to 6 additional months’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘, for purposes of either or both of 

those years,’’. 

(b) EXTENSION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

(1) EXTENSION TO 2009.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—For any certification of a performance appraisal system under section 5307(d) of title 5, 

United States Code, in effect on the date of enactment 

of this Act and scheduled to expire at the end of calendar 

year 2008, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may provide that such a certification shall be 

extended without requiring additional justification by the 

agency. 
S. 1046—4 

(B) LIMITATION.—The expiration of any extension 

under this paragraph shall be not later than the later 

of— 

(i) June 30, 2009; or 

(ii) the first anniversary of the date of the certification. 

(2) EXTENSION TO 2010.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—For any certification of a performance appraisal system under section 5307(d) of title 5, 

United States Code, in effect on the date of enactment 

and scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2009, 

the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may 

provide that such a certification shall be extended without 

requiring additional justification by the agency. 

(B) LIMITATION.—The expiration of any extension 

under this paragraph shall be not later than the later 

of— 

(i) June 30, 2010; or 

(ii) the second anniversary of the date of the certification. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section 

shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.