Special Government Employees Transparency Act of 2025

Bill: 119-s-1196
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM]
Introduced: 2025-03-27
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1196 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 27, 2025 Mr. Luján (for himself, Ms. Warren , Mr. Schiff , Mr. Wyden , Mr. Kelly , Mr. Blumenthal , Ms. Cortez Masto , and Mr. Merkley ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require Executive agencies to limit the use of special Government employees to 130 days, to require the maintenance of a public database of certain special Government employees, to require the release of financial disclosures filed by certain special Government employees, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Special Government Employees Transparency Act of 2025 . 2. Limitation on the use of special Government employees (a) Definition In this section, the term special Government employee means an individual who— (1) qualifies as a special Government employee under section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code, or any other provision of Federal law; and (2) is employed by an agency, department, office, or other entity within the executive branch of the United States Government, without regard to whether employees of that agency, department, office, or entity are subject to the requirements of title 5, United States Code. (b) Establishment of limit Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (1) an individual who otherwise qualifies as a special Government employee shall cease to be a special Government employee after having served as a special Government employee for 130 days, regardless of whether those days were consecutive, during any period of 365 consecutive days; and (2) if an individual described in paragraph (1) exceeds the 130-day threshold described in that paragraph— (A) the employing authority of the individual shall, not later than 30 days after the date of cessation of such special Government employee status— (i) determine the appropriate employment classification for the individual in accordance with applicable civil service laws and regulations, including which position the individual shall be considered to occupy beginning on the date of that determination; (ii) with respect to the individual, follow an appropriate applicable Federal personnel framework in a manner consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the position in which the individual is serving as determined under clause (i) and with the personnel management policies of the employing authority; and (iii) provide written notice to the individual— (I) of the new classification determination required under clause (i); and (II) that the individual may appeal or seek review of the new classification determination through appeal and review procedures applicable to the position in which the individual is serving as determined under clause (i); and (B) the individual shall be subject to all applicable provisions of law, including legal obligations and rights, relating to employees occupying the position in which the individual is serving as determined under subparagraph (A)(i). (c) Counting days of service For purposes of subsection (b), 1 full day of service shall be counted toward the 130-day limit described in subsection (b)(1) for each day— (1) during which an individual has provided any service as a special Government employee that is purely administrative in nature, such as making a brief telephone call to confirm the date of a meeting or completing and filing personnel paperwork, for more than 1 hour; (2) during which the individual has performed any service as a special Government employee, such as reading official materials or substantively preparing for a meeting, that is not purely administrative in nature, regardless of the length of time spent performing such service; or (3) for which the individual has been compensated by the Government for service as a special Government employee. 3. Transparency for special Government employees (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Advisory committee The term advisory committee — (A) has the meaning given the term in section 1001 of title 5, United States Code; and (B) does not include— (i) the United States DOGE Service, or any successor organization; (ii) the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, or any successor organization; or (iii) any DOGE Team (as described in Executive Order 14158 (90 Fed. Reg. 8441), relating to establishing and implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency ), or any successor organization. (2) Appropriate congressional parties The term appropriate congressional parties means— (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; (B) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; (C) the majority leader of the Senate; (D) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (E) the minority leader of the Senate; and (F) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (3) Covered special Government employee The term covered special Government employee means any individual— (A) who qualifies as a special Government employee under section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code, or any other provision of Federal law; and (B) (i) who is not serving on an advisory committee; (ii) whose responsibilities are substantially comparable to the types of duties that are classified at the GS–11 level or above; and (iii) who is not appointed to a position in the civil service that may only be filled by a full-time student enrolled in an institution of higher education, as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002 ). (4) Director The term Director means the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. (5) Executive agency The term Executive agency — (A) has the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and (B) includes the Executive Office of the President. (6) National defense information The term national defense information has the meaning given the term classified information in section 798(b) of title 18, United States Code. (7) SGE Database The term SGE Database means the database established under subsection (b)(1). (b) SGE Database (1) Establishment Not later than 210 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, shall establish a searchable, sortable database for the public release of, with respect to each covered special Government employee— (A) the name of the covered special Government employee; (B) the title of the position of the covered special Government employee; (C) the rate of basic pay, if any, of the covered special Government employee; (D) the employing Executive agency of the covered special Government employee; (E) the employing organizational component of the employing Executive agency of the covered special Government employee; (F) the appointment date of the covered special Government employee; and (G) if applicable, the termination date of the covered special Government employee. (2) Public availability (A) In general The SGE Database shall be accessible to the public through the official website of the Office of Personnel Management without charge and without a requirement that users register for access. (B) Requirements The Director shall ensure that the SGE Database— (i) allows access through an application programming interface; and (ii) is fully compliant with— (I) section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794d ); and (II) the most recent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (or successor guidelines). (3) Currency of information The head of each Executive agency shall— (A) notify the Director of each appointment, designation, conversion, termination, or other personnel action involving or affecting a covered special Government employee not later than 30 days after the date of such personnel action; and (B) from time to time, review information contained in the SGE Database that pertains to that Executive agency to ensure that the information is current, complete, and accurate. (4) Oversight of submissions (A) In general The Director shall conduct such periodic audits as may be necessary to ensure that Executive agencies have established adequate procedures for submitting current, complete, and accurate information relating to covered special Government employees for inclusion in the SGE Database. (B) Report Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional parties that— (i) describes the efforts undertaken to comply with paragraph (1); and (ii) assesses the degree to which information in the SGE Database is current, complete, and accurate. (c) Public availability of financial disclosure reports Notwithstanding section 13109 of title 5, United States Code, each Executive agency shall make publicly available any financial disclosure report filed by a covered special Government employee with the Executive agency after the date of enactment of this Act, using the procedures established under section 13107 of title 5, United States Code, except that this subsection shall not apply to any financial disclosure report— (1) that is filed by an individual described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 13107(a) of title 5, United States Code; (2) that is filed by a special Government employee who is not a covered special Government employee; or (3) that contains national defense information.