II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1172 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 30, 2015 Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Johnson ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To improve the process of presidential transition.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 . 2. Presidential transition improvements (a) In general The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 ( 3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— (1) by redesignating sections 4, 5, and 6 as sections 5, 6, and 7, respectively; and (2) by inserting after section 3 the following: 4. Transition services and activities before election (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services; (2) the term agency means an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; (3) the term eligible candidate has the meaning given that term in section 3(h)(4); and (4) the term Presidential election means a general election held to determine the electors of President and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, United States Code. (b) General duties The President shall take such actions as the President determines necessary and appropriate to plan and coordinate activities by the Executive branch of the Federal Government to facilitate an efficient transfer of power to a successor President, including by— (1) establishing and operating a White House transition coordinating council in accordance with subsection (d); and (2) establishing and operating an agency transition directors council in accordance with subsection (e). (c) Federal Transition Coordinator The Administrator shall designate an employee of the General Services Administration who is a senior career appointee to— (1) carry out the duties and authorities of the General Services Administration relating to Presidential transitions under this Act or any other provision of law; (2) serve as the Federal Transition Coordinator with responsibility for coordinating transition planning across agencies, including through the agency transition directors council established under subsection (e); (3) ensure agencies comply with all statutory requirements relating to transition planning and reporting; and (4) act as a liaison to eligible candidates. (d) White house transition coordinating council (1) Establishment Not later than 6 months before the date of a Presidential election, the President shall establish a White House transition coordinating council for purposes of facilitating the Presidential transition. (2) Duties The White House transition coordinating council shall— (A) provide guidance to agencies and the Federal Transition Coordinator regarding preparations for the Presidential transition, including succession planning and preparation of briefing materials; (B) facilitate communication and information sharing between the transition representatives of eligible candidates and senior employees in agencies and the Executive Office of the President; and (C) prepare and host interagency emergency preparedness and response exercises. (3) Membership The members of the White House transition coordinating council shall include— (A) senior employees of the Executive branch selected by the President, which may include the Chief of Staff to the President, any Cabinet officer, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, and the Archivist of the United States; (B) the Federal Transition Coordinator; (C) the transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advisory capacity; and (D) any other individual the President determines appropriate. (4) Chairperson The Chairperson of the White House transition coordinating council shall be a senior employee in the Executive Office of the President, designated by the President. (e) Agency transition directors council (1) In general The President shall establish and operate an agency transition directors council, which shall— (A) ensure the Federal Government has an integrated strategy for addressing interagency challenges and responsibilities around Presidential transitions and turnover of noncareer appointees; (B) coordinate transition activities between the Executive Office of the President, agencies, and the transition team of eligible candidates and the President-elect and Vice-President-elect; and (C) draw on guidance provided by the White House transition coordinating council and lessons learned from previous Presidential transitions in carrying out its duties. (2) Duties As part of carrying out the responsibilities under paragraph (1), the agency transition directors council shall— (A) assist the Federal Transition Coordinator in identifying and carrying out the responsibilities of the Federal Transition Coordinator relating to a Presidential transition; (B) provide guidance to agencies in gathering briefing materials and information relating to the Presidential transition that may be requested by eligible candidates; (C) ensure materials and information described in subparagraph (B) are prepared not later than November 1 of a year during which a Presidential election is held; (D) ensure agencies adequately prepare career employees who are designated to fill non-career positions under subsection (f) during a Presidential transition; and (E) consult with the President's Management Council, or any successor thereto, in carrying out the duties of the agency transition directors council. (3) Membership The members of the agency transition directors council shall include— (A) the Federal Transition Coordinator, who shall serve as Chairperson of the agency transition directors council; (B) a senior employee serving in the Executive Office of the President, who shall be appointed by the President; (C) a senior representative from each agency described in section 901(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Government Ethics, and the National Archives and Records Administration whose responsibilities include leading Presidential transition efforts within the agency; (D) a senior representative from any other agency determined by the Federal Transition Coordinator to be an agency that has significant responsibilities relating to the Presidential transition process; and (E) during a year during which a Presidential election will be held, a transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advisory capacity. (4) Meetings The agency transition directors council shall meet— (A) subject to subparagraph (B), not less than once per year; and (B) during the period beginning on the date that is 6 months before a Presidential election and ending on the date on which the President-elect is inaugurated, on a regular basis as necessary to carry out the duties and authorities of the agency transition directors council. (f) Interim agency leadership for transitions (1) Oversight and implementation of transition Not later than 6 months before the date of a Presidential election, the head of each agency shall designate a senior career employee of the agency and a senior career employee of each major component and subcomponent of the agency to oversee and implement the activities of the agency, component, or subcomponent relating to the Presidential transition. (2) Acting officers Not later than September 15 of a year during which a Presidential election occurs, and in accordance with subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, for each noncareer position in an agency that the head of the agency determines is critical, the head of the agency shall designate a qualified career employee to serve in the position in an acting capacity if the position becomes vacant. (g) Memorandums of understanding (1) In general Not later than November 1 of a year during which a Presidential election occurs, the President (acting through the Federal Transition Coordinator) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the transition representative of each eligible candidate, which shall include, at a minimum, the conditions of access to employees, facilities, and documents of agencies by transition staff. (2) Existing resources To the maximum extent practicable, the memorandums of understanding negotiated under paragraph (1) shall be based on memorandums of understanding from previous Presidential transitions. (h) Equity in assistance Any information or other assistance provided to eligible candidates under this section shall be offered on an equal basis and without regard to political affiliation. (i) Reports (1) In general The President, acting through the Federal Transition Coordinator, shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate reports describing the activities undertaken by the President and agencies to prepare for the transfer of power to a new President. (2) Timing The reports under paragraph (1) shall be provided 6 months and 3 months before the date of a Presidential election. . (b) Other improvements Section 3 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 ( 3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (8)— (i) in subparagraph (A)(i)— (I) by inserting and during the term of a President after during the transition ; and (II) by striking after inauguration ; and (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting or Executive agencies (as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) before the period; and (B) in paragraph (10), by inserting including, to the greatest extent practicable, human resource management system software compatible with the software used by the incumbent President and likely to be used by the President-elect and Vice President-elect before the period; (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking 30 days and inserting 180 days ; (3) in subsection (g), by inserting except for activities under subsection (a)(8)(A), before there shall be no ; and (4) in subsection (h)(2), by adding at the end the following: (D) An eligible candidate shall have a right to the services and facilities described in this paragraph until the date on which the Administrator is able to determine the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President. . (c) Technical and conforming amendments (1) Section 3 of the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010 ( 3 U.S.C. 102 note) is repealed. (2) The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 ( 3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— (A) in section 3— (i) in subsection (a)(4)(B), by striking section 6 and inserting section 7 ; (ii) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking section 3 of this Act and inserting this section ; and (iii) in subsection (h)(3)(B)(iii), by striking section 5 each place it appears and inserting section 6 ; (B) in section 6, as redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, by striking section 6(a)(1) each place it appears and inserting section 7(a)(1) ; and (C) in section (7)(a)(2), as redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, by striking section 4 and inserting section 5 . (3) Section 8331(1)(K) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking section 4 and inserting section 5 . (4) Section 8701(a)(10) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking section 4 and inserting section 5 . (5) Section 8901(1)(I) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking section 4 and inserting section 5 . 3. National archives Presidential transition Section 2203(g) of title 44, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: (3) When the President considers it practicable and in the public interest, the President shall include in the President's budget transmitted to Congress, for each fiscal year in which the term of office of the President will expire, such funds as may be necessary for carrying out the authorities of this subsection. .