End SHELLs Act

To require the President, the Vice President, and certain high-level officials to file a report with the Office of Government Ethics, when selling real property, disclosing each natural person who is a beneficial owner of the real property upon completion of the sale, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the End Secret Holdings and Ethical and Legal Loopholes Act of 2017 End SHELLs Act 2. Beneficial ownership reporting requirement (a) In general Section 103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ( 5 U.S.C. App. 103 (m) (1) Not later than 30 days after the sale of real property by the President, the Vice President, or any high-level official (whether such sale is made directly or indirectly through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity or through a nominee, agent, spouse, or minor child), the President, Vice President, or high-level official, as applicable, shall file a report with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics with respect to such sale, identifying the name and current residential or business street address of each natural person who is a beneficial owner of the real property upon completion of the sale. (2) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall make all reports filed pursuant to this subsection available to the public, including on the website of the Office of Government Ethics. (3) For purposes of this subsection— (A) with respect to real property, the term beneficial owner (i) except as provided under clause (ii), means a natural person who, directly or indirectly— (I) exercises substantial control over the real property, through ownership interests, voting rights, agreement, or otherwise; or (II) has a substantial interest in or receives substantial economic benefits from the real property; and (ii) does not include— (I) a minor child; (II) a natural person acting as a nominee, intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf of another person; (III) a natural person acting solely as an employee of a corporation or limited liability company and whose control over or receipt of economic benefits from the real property derives solely from the employment status of the person; (IV) a natural person whose only interest in the real property is through a right of inheritance, unless the natural person also meets the requirements of paragraph (1); or (V) a creditor of a person, unless the creditor also meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and (B) the term high-level official (i) means— (I) any officer occupying a position listed in section 5312 or section 5313 of title 5, United States Code, having been nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to that position; and (II) any individual appointed by the President or Vice President to a full-time non-career position in the Executive Office of the President; and (ii) does not include any individual appointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned officer. . (b) Failure To file or filing false reports Section 104 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ( 5 U.S.C. App. 104 section 102 section 102 or 103(m) (c) Effective date Section 103(m) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to sales of real property occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Summary: End Secret Holdings and Ethical and Legal Loopholes Act of 2017 or the End SHELLs Act This bill amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the President, Vice President, or any high-level official, to file a report with the Office of Government Ethics 30 days after the sale of real property. The report must identify: (1) the name of each beneficial owner of the property, and (2) the current residential or business street address of each beneficial owner of the property. The report must be published on the website of the Office of Government Ethics. The Department of Justice may bring a civil action against an individual who knowingly and willingly falsifies information in a report or fails to file a report after the sale of real property.