Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act

Subjects: Government Operations and Politics


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1629 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1629

To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase the accountability of 
 the Office of Special Counsel in enforcing certain provisions of that 
  title vigorously, consistently, and without regard to the political 
affiliation, career status, or personal characteristics of individuals 
          subject to those provisions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2023

   Mr. Lujan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase the accountability of 
 the Office of Special Counsel in enforcing certain provisions of that 
  title vigorously, consistently, and without regard to the political 
affiliation, career status, or personal characteristics of individuals 
          subject to those provisions, 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 ``Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency 
and Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITION OF DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1219a. Definitions
    ``In this subchapter:
            ``(1) Career employee.--The term `career employee' means an 
        individual who is--
                    ``(A) an employee, as that term is defined in 
                section 7322; and
                    ``(B) not a noncareer employee.
            ``(2) Covered allegation.--The term `covered allegation' 
        means an allegation concerning political activity prohibited 
        under subchapter III of chapter 73.
            ``(3) Noncareer employee.--The term `noncareer employee' 
        means an individual who is--
                    ``(A) an employee, as defined in section 2105, 
                serving in a position in the executive branch; and
                    ``(B)(i) serving in a position to which the 
                President appointed the individual (without regard to 
                whether the advice and consent of the Senate was 
                required with respect to that appointment), other than 
                an individual who is--
                            ``(I) a member of a uniformed service, as 
                        that term is defined in section 210(m) of the 
                        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410(m)); or
                            ``(II) a member of the Foreign Service 
                        serving under a career appointment, as 
                        described in section 301 of the Foreign Service 
                        Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3941);
                    ``(ii) a noncareer appointee, as that term is 
                defined in section 3132(a);
                    ``(iii) serving in a position in a Federal 
                executive system that is comparable to the Senior 
                Executive Service, the appointment to which is not made 
                through merit-based procedures, such as a position in 
                the Transportation Security Executive Service; or
                    ``(iv) serving in a position with respect to which 
                a determination has been made under section 
                7511(b)(2).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``1219a. Definitions.''.

SEC. 3. NOTIFYING CONGRESS IN THE EVENT OF A DECISION NOT TO 
              INVESTIGATE A NONCAREER EMPLOYEE.

    Section 1217 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Notification of Congress in the Event of Certain 
Declinations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, and once every 180 days 
        thereafter, the Special Counsel shall submit to the Chair and 
        Ranking Member of each of the Committee on Homeland Security 
        and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a written 
        report that contains, for the period covered by the report, the 
        number of complaints received by the Special Counsel that the 
        Special Counsel referred for disciplinary action.
            ``(2) Contents.--Each report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) include--
                            ``(i) a copy of the applicable complaint;
                            ``(ii) the name and position of the 
                        employee who is the subject of the applicable 
                        complaint; and
                    ``(B) be organized to indicate whether the employee 
                who is the subject of each complaint contained in the 
                report is a career employee or a noncareer employee.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1218 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``report'' and 
        inserting ``reports'';
            (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``The Special'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--The Special''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Report Regarding Allegations Against Noncareer Employees.--In 
addition to each report required under subsection (a), the Special 
Counsel shall submit to the Chair and Ranking Member of each committee 
of jurisdiction in Congress, on an annual basis, a report regarding the 
activities of the Special Counsel with respect to covered allegations 
against noncareer employees and former noncareer employees, which shall 
include--
            ``(1) for the year preceding the submission of the report, 
        the number of such covered allegations received by the Special 
        Counsel;
            ``(2) the number of such covered allegations that have 
        resulted in an investigation conducted by the Special Counsel, 
        whether the investigation was initiated during the year covered 
        by the report or thereafter; and
            ``(3) in a confidential addendum submitted to the Chair and 
        Ranking Member of each of the Committee on Homeland Security 
        and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives--
                    ``(A) with respect to each such covered allegation 
                not investigated, the name and position of the 
                noncareer employee (or former noncareer employee) who 
                was the subject of the covered allegation; and
                    ``(B) a description of each such covered allegation 
                for which processing of the covered allegation ceased 
                during the year covered by the report, without regard 
                to whether the covered allegation was received during 
                the year covered by the report or earlier, which shall 
                include--
                            ``(i) a description of the outcome of the 
                        covered allegation; and
                            ``(ii) in the case of a covered allegation 
                        against a noncareer employee who is not serving 
                        in a position with respect to which appointment 
                        by the President, by and with the advice and 
                        consent of the Senate, is required (or against 
                        a former noncareer employee who was not serving 
                        in such a position, as of the date on which the 
                        actions that are the subject of the covered 
                        allegation occurred), a statement as to 
                        whether--
                                    ``(I) the Special Counsel, under 
                                section 1215(a), presented a complaint 
                                to the Merit Systems Protection Board 
                                against the noncareer employee (or 
                                former noncareer employee) concerning 
                                the actions that are the subject of the 
                                covered allegation; and
                                    ``(II) any civil penalty assessed 
                                by the Merit Systems Protection Board 
                                under section 7326 with respect to the 
                                covered allegation has been collected 
                                in full.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking the item relating to section 1218 and inserting the 
following:

``1218. Annual reports.''.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY IN HATCH ACT ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 1219 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) a detailed written explanation of the complete basis 
        for each decision of the Special Counsel not to present, under 
        section 1215(a), a complaint to the Merit Systems Protection 
        Board against any noncareer employee determined by the Special 
        Counsel to have violated subchapter III of chapter 73, except 
        that this paragraph shall not apply with respect to a noncareer 
        employee who is serving in a position for which nomination by 
        the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
        Senate, is required (unless such a noncareer employee is 
        serving in a position in the Foreign Service).'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Publication of Demographic Statistics Regarding Certain 
Enforcement.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Special Counsel shall track, 
        publish, and keep current on the official website of the Office 
        of Special Counsel the following information, which shall 
        remain on that website for a period of not less than 10 fiscal 
        years, beginning with the fiscal year to which the information 
        pertains:
                    ``(A) On an ongoing basis, the following anonymized 
                information pertaining to covered allegations against 
                career employees, which shall be organized by fiscal 
                year:
                            ``(i) The number of career employees who 
                        were the subject of covered allegations 
                        received by the Special Counsel during the 
                        applicable fiscal year.
                            ``(ii) With respect to the career employees 
                        identified under clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) the number of those career 
                                employees who the Special Counsel 
                                investigated, without regard to whether 
                                the investigation occurred during the 
                                fiscal year in which the Special 
                                Counsel received the initial covered 
                                allegation with respect to such a 
                                career employee or during a subsequent 
                                fiscal year; and
                                    ``(II) the number of those career 
                                employees who were the subject of a 
                                complaint presented to the Special 
                                Counsel with the Merit Systems 
                                Protection Board with respect to the 
                                applicable covered allegation, without 
                                regard to whether the Special Counsel 
                                presented such a complaint during the 
                                fiscal year in which the Special 
                                Counsel received the initial covered 
                                allegation with respect to such a 
                                career employee or during a subsequent 
                                fiscal year.
                            ``(iii) For clauses (i) and (ii), 
                        demographic information pertaining to the race, 
                        sex, ethnicity, national origin, and disability 
                        status of the applicable career employees.
                    ``(B) On an ongoing basis, the following anonymized 
                information pertaining to covered allegations against 
                noncareer employees, which shall be organized by fiscal 
                year:
                            ``(i) The number of noncareer employees who 
                        were the subject of covered allegations 
                        received by the Special Counsel during the 
                        applicable fiscal year.
                            ``(ii) With respect to the noncareer 
                        employees identified under clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) the number of those noncareer 
                                employees who the Special Counsel 
                                investigated, without regard to whether 
                                the investigation occurred during the 
                                fiscal year in which the Special 
                                Counsel received the initial covered 
                                allegation with respect to such a 
                                noncareer employee or during a 
                                subsequent fiscal year; and
                                    ``(II) the number of those 
                                noncareer employees who were the 
                                subject of a complaint presented to the 
                                Special Counsel with the Merit Systems 
                                Protection Board with respect to the 
                                applicable covered allegation, without 
                                regard to whether the Special Counsel 
                                presented such a complaint during the 
                                fiscal year in which the Special 
                                Counsel received the initial covered 
                                allegation with respect to such a 
                                noncareer employee or during a 
                                subsequent fiscal year.
                            ``(iii) For clauses (i) and (ii), 
                        demographic information pertaining to the race, 
                        sex, ethnicity, national origin, and disability 
                        status of the applicable noncareer employees.
            ``(2) Demographic information.--The Director of the Office 
        of Personnel Management, the head of the agency employing an 
        individual who is the subject of a complaint filed with the 
        Special Counsel, and, as applicable, the White House 
        Presidential Personnel Office shall, upon request, provide the 
        Special Counsel with information pertaining to the race, sex, 
        ethnicity, national origin, disability status, and status as a 
        career employee or noncareer employee of that individual, if 
        that information has already been collected in connection with 
        the Federal employment or former Federal employment of that 
        individual.''.

SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or of any amendment made by this Act, 
or the application of any provision of this Act, or of any amendment 
made by this Act, to any person or circumstance is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the amendments made by 
this Act, and the application of the provision this Act, or of the 
amendment made by this Act, to any other person or circumstance shall 
not be affected by the holding.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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