Opinion ID: 2313743
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Revitalization Act and 1998 Amendments

Text: PDS came into existence in 1970, when Congress re-designated the Legal Aid Agency for the District of Columbia as the District of Columbia Public Defender Service. See Title III of the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970, Pub.L. No. 91-358, §§ 301-09, 84 Stat. 473, 654-57 (July 29, 1970) (the Court Reform Act), codified at D.C.Code §§ 1-2701 et seq. (1981). This change was part of a comprehensive effort to reorganize the courts of the District of Columbia and to transfer responsibility for most local litigation to a new local, unified, modern court system for the District of Columbia. H.R.Rep. No. 91-907, p. 23 (1970). See generally Swain v. Pressley, 430 U.S. 372, 97 S.Ct. 1224, 51 L.Ed.2d 411 (1977); Pernell v. Southall Realty, 416 U.S. 363, 94 S.Ct. 1723, 40 L.Ed.2d 198 (1974); Palmore v. United States, 411 U.S. 389, 93 S.Ct. 1670, 36 L.Ed.2d 342 (1973). When it enacted the Revitalization Act in 1997, Congress shifted control over several criminal justice functions from the District of Columbia to the federal government. [7] As part of that effort, the Revitalization Act amended several D.C. Code provisions dealing with PDS (although many of these changes were repealed the following year). See The Revitalization Act, §§ 11000, 11232-4, 11271-72, 111 Stat. at 712, 746-51, 761-63; D.C.Code §§ 2-1601 et seq. (2001). The Revitalization Act established a new entity, named the District of Columbia Offender Supervision, Defender, and Courts Services Agency (the Agency or OSDCSA), within the executive branch of the Federal Government[.] The Revitalization Act, § 11233(a), 111 Stat. at 748. That agency's Director would be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.... Id. at § 11233(b), 111 Stat. at 748. The act also altered the status of two existing agencies, [t]he District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency [(PSA)] ... and the District of Columbia Public Defender Service..., which would now function as independent entities within the Agency. The Revitalization Act, § 11233(e)(1), 111 Stat. at 750. Thus, as a result of the Revitalization Act, OSDCSA would be a federal agency, directed by a Presidential appointee, and PDS and PSA would be independent entities within that federal agency. See id. §§ 11233(a), (e)(1), 111 Stat. at 748, 750. The statutes governing PDS changed yet again when Congress made several amendments to the Revitalization Act and removed PDS from OSDCSA. See The 1998 Amendments, Pub.L. No. 105-274, § 7, 112 Stat. at 2425-28. Although the 1998 Amendments essentially repealed all the provisions of the Revitalization Act dealing with PDS, see id. § 7(a) (removing [PDS] from jurisdiction of [OSDCSA]), and § 7(d) (repeal of § 11272 of the Revitalization Act, dealing with PDS), they did not merely revive the previous statutes. The 1998 legislation added new subsections to some of the D.C. Code provisions dealing with PDS. See id., § 7(e)-(f). Thus, although the 1998 Amendments removed PDS from its place within the new federal agency (now known as CSOSA), they reinforced the conclusion that PDS is independent of the Mayor and the District of Columbia government, and gave PDS employees many of the same benefits enjoyed by federal employees. The effect of these changes may be appreciated by comparing certain D.C. Code provisions related to PDS that were in effect prior to the Revitalization Act with the corresponding statutes currently in place. [8] Before the Revitalization Act, the Code authorized appropriations for PDS out of any moneys in the Treasury to the credit of the District of Columbia.... D.C.Code § 1-2707(a) (1981 ed., 1992 Replacement Volume). [B]udget estimates for [PDS were] prepared in consultation with the Mayor of the District of Columbia. Id. The current language authorizing appropriations no longer refers to the District of Columbia. [9] D.C.Code § 2-1607(a) (2001 & 2008 Supp.). PDS no longer prepares its budget in consultation with the Mayor, but submit[s] an annual appropriations request directly to the federal Office of Management and Budget. D.C.Code § 2-1607(a) (2001 & 2008 Supp.). The Code previously required the PDS Board of Trustees (Board) to submit a fiscal year report of [PDS's] operations to [Congress], to the chief judges of the [federal and local courts in the District of Columbia], and to the Mayor of the District of Columbia. D.C.Code § 1-2706(a) (1981 ed., 1992 Replacement Volume) (emphasis added). The corresponding current provision, D.C.Code § 2-1606(a) (2001), no longer refers to the Mayor; instead, the report must be sent to Congress, to the chief judges, and to the Office of Management and Budget. Two new provisions, added by the 1998 Amendments, highlight the separation of PDS from the District of Columbia government. Section 2-1607(a) (2001) provides that [PDS] may arrange by contract or otherwise for the disbursement of appropriated funds, procurement, and the provision of other administrative support functions by the General Services Administration or by other agencies or entities, not subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Code or any law or regulation adopted by the District of Columbia Government concerning disbursement of funds, procurement, or other administrative support functions. (Emphasis added.) Section 2-1607(c) (2001) provides that PDS shall not be subject to any general personnel or budget limitations which otherwise apply to the District of Columbia government or its agencies in any appropriations act. [10] Finally, although the federal legislation does not refer to employee appeal rights under the CMPA, several amendments to the D.C. Code transform the way in which the CMPA at large applies to PDS employees. Some of the most fundamental benefits and protections provided to District employees by the CMPA are health insurance, life insurance, worker's compensation, and retirement. See D.C.Code §§ 1-621.01-.16 (health insurance), -622.01-.15 (life insurance), -623.01-.47 (worker's compensation), and -626.01-.14 (retirement). Under § 2-1605(c), however, [e]mployees of [PDS] shall be treated as employees of the Federal Government solely for purposes of any of the ... provisions of Title 5, United States Code ... relating to compensation for work injuries,... retirement, ... life insurance, and ... health insurance. PDS shall make contributions under [these] provisions ... at the same rates applicable to agencies of the Federal Government[,] ... [and PDS employees may elect] to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees. D.C.Code § 2-1605(c)(2)-(3) (2001). These provisions, added in 1998, transfer PDS employees from the CMPA system of benefits to the federal system. Thus, the Revitalization Act and the 1998 Amendments made fundamental changes to the relationship between the CMPA and PDS employees.