I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 605 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the Office of Personnel 
Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use 
of official time by Federal employees. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2019 
Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. 
GOSAR, and Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the 
Office of Personnel Management submit an annual report 
to Congress relating to the use of official time by Federal 
employees. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Official Time Report-
ing Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7131 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e)(1)(A) Not later than March 31 of each calendar 
year, the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation 
with the Office of Management and Budget, shall submit 
to each House of Congress a report on the operation of 
this section during the fiscal year last ending before the 
start of such calendar year. 
‘‘(B) Not later than December 31 of each calendar 
year, each agency (as defined by section 7103(a)(3)) shall 
furnish to the Office of Personnel Management the infor-
mation which such Office requires, with respect to such 
agency, for purposes of the report which is next due under 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) Each report by the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment under this subsection shall include, with respect to 
the fiscal year described in paragraph (1)(A), at least the 
following information: 
‘‘(A) The total amount of official time granted 
to employees. 
‘‘(B) The average amount of official time ex-
pended per bargaining unit employee. 
‘‘(C) The specific types of activities or purposes 
for which official time was granted, and the impact 
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which the granting of such official time for such ac-
tivities or purposes had on agency operations. 
‘‘(D) The total number of employees to whom 
official time was granted, and, of that total, the 
number who were not engaged in any activities or 
purposes except activities or purposes involving the 
use of official time. 
‘‘(E) The total amount of compensation (includ-
ing fringe benefits) afforded to employees in connec-
tion with activities or purposes for which they were 
granted official time. 
‘‘(F) A description of any room or space des-
ignated at the agency (or its subcomponent) where 
official time activities will be conducted, including 
the square footage of any such room or space. 
‘‘(3) All information included in a report by the Of-
fice of Personnel Management under this subsection with 
respect to a fiscal year— 
‘‘(A) shall be shown both agency-by-agency and 
for all agencies; and 
‘‘(B) shall be accompanied by the corresponding 
information (submitted by the Office in its report 
under this subsection) for the fiscal year before the 
fiscal year to which such report pertains, together 
with appropriate comparisons and analyses. 
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‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘offi-
cial time’ means any period of time, regardless of agency 
nomenclature— 
‘‘(A) which may be granted to an employee 
under this chapter (including a collective bargaining 
agreement entered into under this chapter) to per-
form representational or consultative functions; and 
‘‘(B) during which the employee would other-
wise be in a duty status.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall be effective beginning with the report 
which, under the provisions of such amendment, is first 
required to be submitted by the Office of Personnel Man-
agement to each House of Congress by a date which oc-
curs at least 6 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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