115th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to improve the orderly transfer of the executive power during Presidential transitions.
September 25, 2018
Mr. Johnson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to improve the orderly transfer of the executive power during Presidential transitions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Presidential Transition Enhancement Act of 2018”.
SEC. 2. Presidential transition enhancements.
(a) In general.—Section 3 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting “, or in the case of an employee in a position in the legislative branch, with the consent of the supervising Member of Congress” after “with the consent of the head of the agency”;
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
“(b) The Administrator shall expend funds for the provision of services and facilities under this section—
“(1) in connection with any obligation incurred during the period—
“(A) beginning on the day after the date of the general elections held to determine the electors of the President and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, United States Code; and
“(B) ending on the date that is 60 days after the date of the inauguration of the President-elect as President and the inauguration of the Vice-President-elect as Vice President; and
“(2) without regard to whether the transition team submits to the Administrator a request for payment regarding services or facilities before the end of such period.”;
(3) in subsection (h)(2)(B)(ii), by striking “computers” and inserting “information technology”; and
(4) By adding at the end the following:
“(i) Memorandums of understanding.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1 of a year during which a Presidential election occurs, the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter into 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, a memorandum of understanding entered into under paragraph (1) shall be based on memorandums of understanding relating to previous Presidential transitions.
“(3) TRANSITION REPRESENTATIVE.—
“(A) DESIGNATION OF REPRESENTATIVE FOR INQUIRIES.—Each memorandum of understanding entered into under this subsection shall designate a representative of the eligible candidate to whom the Administrator shall direct any inquiries or legal instruments regarding the records of the eligible candidate that are in the custody of the Administrator.
“(B) CHANGE IN TRANSITION REPRESENTATIVE.—The designation of a new individual as the transition representative of an eligible candidate shall not require the execution of a new memorandum of understanding under this subsection.
“(4) AMENDMENTS.—Any amendment to a memorandum of understanding entered into under this subsection shall be agreed to in writing.
“(5) PRIOR NOTIFICATION OF DEVIATION.—Each party to a memorandum of understanding entered into under this subsection shall provide written notice not later than 3 days before taking any action that deviates from the terms and conditions agreed to in the memorandum of understanding.
“(6) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘eligible candidate’ has the meaning given that term in subsection (h)(4).”.
(b) Agency transitions.—Section 4 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended—
(1) in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subsection (e)(3), by inserting “serving in a career position” after “senior representative”; and
(2) by striking subsection (f)(2) and inserting the following:
“(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, the head of each agency shall ensure that a succession plan is in place for each senior noncareer position in the agency.”.