District of Columbia Courts Vacancy Reduction Act
Bill: H.R.4778 | Sponsor: Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D-DC)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
District of Columbia Courts Vacancy Reduction Act
This bill allows District of Columbia judicial nominees to be appointed after a 30-day congressional review period without the advice and consent of the Senate, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during that period.

To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide for the 
  automatic appointment of judges to the District of Columbia courts 
 without the advice and consent of the Senate, 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 ``District of Columbia Courts Vacancy 
Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS.

    (a) Appointments by President.--
            (1) In general.--Section 433(a) of the District of Columbia 
        Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.33(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended 
        by striking ``the President shall nominate'' and all that 
        follows and inserting the following: ``from the list of persons 
        recommended by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination 
        Commission established under section 434, the President shall 
        appoint all judges of the District of Columbia courts.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 433 of such Act (sec. 
        1-204.33, D.C. Official Code) is further amended--
                    (A) in the heading, by striking ``nomination and'';
                    (B) in subsection (b) in the matter preceding 
                paragraph (1), by striking ``nominated or'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b), by striking 
                ``his nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
                    (D) in paragraph (3) of subsection (b), by striking 
                ``his nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
                    (E) in paragraph (4) of subsection (b), by striking 
                ``the President, for such nomination and appointment,'' 
                and inserting ``the President for such appointment'';
                    (F) in paragraph (5) of subsection (b), by striking 
                ``his nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
                    (G) in the fifth sentence of subsection (c), by 
                striking ``then the President may nominate'' and all 
                that follows and inserting ``the President may 
                reappoint such candidate as judge.'';
                    (H) in the sixth sentence of subsection (c), by 
                striking ``not to so nominate such declaring candidate, 
                he shall nominate another candidate'' and inserting 
                ``not to so reappoint such declaring candidate, the 
                President shall appoint another candidate''; and
                    (I) in the seventh sentence of subsection (c), by 
                striking ``then the President shall not submit to the 
                Senate for advice and consent the renomination of the 
                declaring candidate as judge'' and inserting ``the 
                President shall not reappoint the declaring candidate 
                as judge''.
            (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
        is amended by amending the item relating to section 433 to read 
        as follows:

``Sec. 433. Appointment of judges.''.
    (b) Appointments by Judicial Nomination Commission.--Section 
434(d)(1) of such Act (sec. 1-204.34(d)(1), D.C. Official Code) is 
amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``for possible 
        nomination and appointment'' and inserting ``for possible 
        appointment'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``more than one 
        nominee'' and inserting ``more than one person'';
            (3) in the third sentence, by striking ``of nominees''; and
            (4) in the fourth sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``the President fails to nominate, 
                for Senate confirmation,'' and inserting ``the 
                President fails to appoint''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the Commission shall nominate, 
                and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
                appoint'' and inserting ``the Commission shall 
                appoint''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZING CONGRESS TO PREVENT APPOINTMENT THROUGH RESOLUTION 
              OF DISAPPROVAL.

    (a) Resolutions of Disapproval.--Part C of title IV of the District 
of Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.31 et seq., D.C. Official Code) 
is amended by inserting after section 434 the following new section:

  ``authorizing congress to prevent appointment through resolution of 
                              disapproval

    ``Sec. 434A.  (a) Requiring Transmission of Notice of Appointment 
to Congress.--Notice of the appointment of a judge of a District of 
Columbia court under this part shall be transmitted to the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the 
Senate by--
            ``(1) the President, in the case of an appointment under 
        section 433; or
            ``(2) the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination 
        Commission, in the case of an appointment under section 
        434(d)(1).
    ``(b) Timing of Appointment.--The appointment of a judge of the 
District of Columbia courts shall take effect upon the expiration of 
the 30-calendar-day period (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 
and any day on which neither House is in session because of an 
adjournment sine die, a recess of more than three days, or an 
adjournment of more than three days) beginning on the date on which 
notice of the appointment is transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate under 
subsection (a), unless during such 30-calendar-day period there has 
been enacted into law a joint resolution disapproving of the 
appointment.
    ``(c) Application of Expedited Procedures for Consideration of 
Resolutions of Disapproval of Council Acts to Consideration of 
Resolutions of Disapproval of Appointment of Judges.--
            ``(1) Application of procedures.--The provisions of section 
        604, except subsections (d), (e), and (f) of such section, 
        shall apply with respect to a joint resolution described in 
        paragraph (2) in the same manner as such provisions apply to a 
        joint resolution disapproving an act of the District of 
        Columbia Council which is described in section 604(b).
            ``(2) Resolutions described.--A resolution described in 
        this paragraph is a resolution, the matter after the resolving 
        clause of which is as follows: `That the ________ disapproves 
        of the appointment of ________ as a judge of the ________.', 
        with the first blank filled in with the name of the House of 
        Congress involved, the second blank filled in with the name of 
        the individual involved, and the third blank filled in with the 
        name of the District of Columbia court involved, but does not 
        include any resolution which specifies more than one action.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 434 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 434A. Authorizing Congress to prevent appointment through 
                            resolution of disapproval.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 
respect to appointments of judges of the District of Columbia courts 
which are made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Transition Rule for Current Nominees.--Section 434A of the 
District of Columbia Home Rule Act (as added by section 3(a)) shall 
apply with respect to an individual whose nomination as a judge of the 
District of Columbia courts is pending as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act as follows:
            (1) In the case of an individual nominated by the President 
        under section 433 of such Act (as in effect prior to the 
        effective date of this Act), the President shall be deemed to 
        have transmitted notice of the appointment of the individual as 
        a judge of the District of Columbia courts to the Speaker of 
        the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of 
        the Senate on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) In the case of an individual nominated by the District 
        of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission under section 434 of 
        such Act (as in effect prior to the effective date of this 
        Act), the Commission shall be deemed to have transmitted notice 
        of the appointment of the individual as a judge of the District 
        of Columbia courts to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate on 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.
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