‘‘§ 4532. Award authority
‘‘(a) An agency may pay a cash award of up to 5
percent of basic pay to a firefighter or other employee who
performs firefighting duties, if such employee—
‘‘(1) is employed in or under such agency; and
‘‘(2) makes substantial use of—
‘‘(A) a special skill, such as handling haz-
ardous materials; or
‘‘(B) a certification or license relating to
any firefighting duties, such as certification as
an emergency medical technician.
‘‘(b) Awards under this section shall be paid under
regulations prescribed by the head of the agency involved
or pursuant to the terms of any collective bargaining
agreement which satisfy the requirements of the next sen-
tence. Any such regulations or agreement shall include—
‘‘(1) procedures under which any such special
skills, certification, or licensure shall be ascertained;
‘‘(2) criteria for determining the amount of any
award under this subchapter; and
‘‘(3) any other provisions which may be nec-
essary to carry out the purposes of this sub-
chapter.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—AWARDS TO FIREFIGHTERS FOR SPECIAL SKILLS AND
CERTIFICATIONS
‘‘4531. Definitions.
‘‘4532. Award authority.’’.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION PROVISIONS; RE-
PORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on
October 1, 1995, except that subsection (c) shall take ef-
fect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), instead of the amount which (but for this
subsection) would otherwise be payable under any
amendment made by section 3(a) or 4, the amount
payable under such amendment shall be equal to—
(A) the amount which (but for this sub-
section) would otherwise be so payable, multi-
plied by
(B) the applicable percentage under para-
graph (2).
(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.—The applica-
ble percentage under this paragraph is—
(A) 85 percent if the amount relates to
service performed in fiscal year 1996 or 1997;
(B) 90 percent if the amount relates to
service performed in fiscal year 1998;
(C) 95 percent if the amount relates to
service performed in fiscal year 1999; and
(D) 100 percent if the amount relates to
service performed in fiscal year 2000 or there-
after.
(3) COMPUTATIONS
UNDER
FORMER
PROVI-
SIONS
OF
LAW
NOT
AFFECTED.—A computation
under subparagraph (A) of section 5504(c)(2) of
title 5, United States Code, as amended by section
3(a)(1), shall not be affected by this subsection.
(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—No later than June
1, 1995, the Office of Personnel Management shall submit
a written report to the Congress on—
(1) plans relating to implementing the transi-
tion provisions of subsection (b);
(2) plans relating to funding increases in pay
resulting from the enactment of this Act; and
(3) the need for and feasibility of making any
regulatory or legislative modifications in the admin-
istration of chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United
States Code, in order to ensure that no diminution
in retirement benefits occurs, by reason of the tran-
sition provisions of subsection (b), with respect to
any firefighter who separates from service during
fiscal years 1996 through 2002.
Æ