[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 486 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 486

   To establish a specialized corps of judges necessary for certain 
 Federal proceedings required to be conducted, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 3, 1993

  Mr. Heflin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a specialized corps of judges necessary for certain 
 Federal proceedings required to be conducted, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the ``Administrative Law Judge Corps Act''.

            establishment of administrative law judge corps

    Sec. 2. (a) Chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following new subchapter:

            ``SUBCHAPTER VI--ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE CORPS

``Sec. 595. Definitions
    ``For the purposes of this subchapter--
            ``(1) `agency' means an authority referred to in section 
        551(1) of this title;
            ``(2) `Corps' means the Administrative Law Judge Corps of 
        the United States established under section 596 of this title;
            ``(3) `administrative law judge' means an administrative 
        law judge appointed under section 3105 of this title on or 
        before the effective date of the Administrative Law Judge Corps 
        Act or under section 599a of this title after such effective 
        date;
            ``(4) `chief judge' means the chief administrative law 
        judge appointed and serving under section 597 of this title;
            ``(5) `Council' means the Council of the Administrative Law 
        Judge Corps established under section 599 of this title;
            ``(6) `Board', unless otherwise indicated, means the 
        Complaints Resolution Board established under section 599c of 
        this title; and
            ``(7) `division chief judge' means the chief administrative 
        law judge of a division appointed and serving under section 598 
        of this title.
``Sec. 596. Establishment; membership
    ``(a) There is established an Administrative Law Judge Corps 
consisting of all administrative law judges, in accordance with the 
provisions of subsection (b). Such Corps shall be located in 
Washington, D.C.
    ``(b) An administrative law judge serving as such on the date of 
the commencement of the operation of the Corps shall be transferred to 
the Corps as of that date. An administrative law judge who is appointed 
on or after the date of the commencement of the operation of the Corps 
shall be a member of the Corps as of the date of such appointment.
``Sec. 597. Chief administrative law judge
    ``(a) The chief administrative law judge shall be the chief 
administrative officer of the Corps and shall be the presiding judge of 
the Corps. The chief judge shall be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. The chief judge shall be an 
administrative law judge who has served as an administrative law judge 
for at least five years preceding the date of appointment as chief 
judge. The chief judge shall serve for a term of five years or until a 
successor is appointed and qualifies to serve, whichever is earlier. A 
chief judge may be reappointed upon the expiration of his term, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate.
    ``(b)(1) If the office of chief judge is vacant, the division chief 
judge who is senior in length of service as a member of the Council 
shall serve as acting chief judge until such vacancy is filled.
    ``(2) If two or more division chief judges have the same length of 
service as members of the Council, the division chief judge who is 
senior in length of service as an administrative law judge shall serve 
as such acting chief judge.
    ``(c) The chief judge shall, within ninety days after the end of 
each fiscal year, submit a written report to the President and the 
Congress concerning the business of the Corps during the preceding 
fiscal year. The report shall include information and recommendations 
of the Council concerning the personnel requirements of the Corps.
    ``(d) After serving as chief judge, such individual may continue to 
serve as an administrative law judge unless such individual has been 
removed from office in accordance with section 599c of this title.
``Sec. 598. Divisions of the Corps; division chief judges
    ``(a) Each judge of the Corps shall be assigned to a division by 
the Council, pursuant to section 599. The assignment of a judge who was 
an administrative law judge on the date of commencement of the 
operation of the Corps shall be made after consideration of the areas 
of specialization in which the judge has served. Each division shall be 
headed by a division chief judge who shall exercise administrative 
supervision over such division.
    ``(b) The divisions of the Corps shall be as follows:
            ``(1) Division of Communications, Public Utility, and 
        Transportation Regulation.
            ``(2) Division of Safety and Environmental Regulation.
            ``(3) Division of Labor.
            ``(4) Division of Labor Relations.
            ``(5) Division of Health and Benefits Programs.
            ``(6) Division of Securities, Commodities, and Trade 
        Regulation.
            ``(7) Division of General Programs.
            ``(8) Division of Financial Services Institutions.
    ``(c)(1) The division chief judge of each division set forth in 
subsection (b) shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate.
    ``(2) To be eligible for appointment as a division chief judge, an 
individual shall have served as an administrative law judge for at 
least five years and should possess experience and expertise in the 
specialty of the division to which such person is an appointee.
    ``(3) Division chief judges shall be appointed for five-year terms 
except that of those division chief judges first appointed, the 
President shall designate two such individuals to be appointed for 
five-year terms, three for four-year terms, and two for three-year 
terms.
    ``(4) Any division chief judge appointed to fill an unexpired term 
shall be appointed only for the remainder of such predecessor's term, 
but may be reappointed as provided in paragraph (5).
    ``(5) Any division chief judge may be reappointed upon the 
expiration of his term if nominated for such appointment pursuant to 
the provisions of this title.
    ``(6) Any judge, after serving as division chief judge may continue 
to serve as an administrative law judge unless such individual has been 
removed from office in accordance with section 599c of this title.
``Sec. 599. Council of the Corps
    ``(a) The policymaking body of the Corps shall be the Council of 
the Corps. The chief judge and the division chief judges shall 
constitute the Council. The chief judge shall preside over the Council. 
If the chief judge is unable to be present at a meeting of the Council, 
the division chief judge who is senior in length of service as a member 
of such Council shall preside.
    ``(b) One half of all of the members of the Council shall 
constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. The 
affirmative vote by a majority of all the members of the Council shall 
be required to approve a matter on behalf of the Council. Each member 
of the Council shall have one vote.
    ``(c) Meetings of the Council shall be held at least once a month 
at the call of the chief judge or by the call of one-third or more of 
the members of the Council.
    ``(d) The Council is authorized--
            ``(1) to assign judges to divisions and transfer or 
        reassign judges from one division to another, subject to the 
        provisions of section 599a of this title;
            ``(2) to appoint persons as administrative law judges under 
        section 599a of this title;
            ``(3) to file charges seeking adverse action against an 
        administrative law judge under section 599c of this title;
            ``(4) subject to the provisions of subsection (e), to 
        prescribe, after providing an opportunity for notice and 
        comment, the rules of practice and procedure for the conduct of 
        proceedings before the Corps, except that, with respect to a 
        category of proceedings adjudicated by an agency before the 
        effective date of the Administrative Law Judge Corps Act, the 
        Council may not amend or revise the rules of practice and 
        procedure prescribed by that agency during the two years 
        following such effective date without the approval of that 
        agency, and any amendments or revisions made to such rules 
        shall not affect or be applied to any pending action;
            ``(5) to issue such rules and regulations as may be 
        appropriate for the efficient conduct of the business of the 
        Corps and the implementation of this subchapter, including the 
        assignment of cases to administrative law judges;
            ``(6) subject to the civil service and classification laws 
        and regulations, to select, appoint, employ, and fix the 
        compensation of the employees (other than administrative law 
        judges) that such Council determines necessary to carry out the 
        functions, powers, and duties of the Corps and to prescribe the 
        authority and duties of such employees;
            ``(7) to establish, abolish, alter, consolidate, and 
        maintain such regional, district, and other field offices as 
        are necessary to carry out the functions, powers, and duties of 
        the Corps and to assign and reassign employees to such field 
        offices;
            ``(8) to procure temporary and intermittent services under 
        section 3109 of this title;
            ``(9) to enter into, to the extent or in such amounts as 
        are authorized in appropriation Acts, without regard to section 
        3709 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (41 U.S.C. 
        5), contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other 
        transactions that may be necessary to conduct the business of 
        the Corps;
            ``(10) to delegate any of the chief judge's functions or 
        powers with the consent of the chief judge, or whenever the 
        office of such chief judge is vacant, to one or more division 
        chief judges or other employees of the Corps, and to authorize 
        the redelegation of any of those functions or powers;
            ``(11) to establish, after consulting with an agency, 
        initial and continuing educational programs to ensure that each 
        administrative law judge assigned to hear cases of an agency 
        has the necessary training in the specialized field of law of 
        that agency;
            ``(12) to make suitable arrangements for continuing 
        education and training of other employees of the Corps, so that 
        the level of expertise in the divisions of the Corps shall be 
        maintained and enhanced; and
            ``(13) to determine all other matters of general policy of 
        the Corps.
    ``(e) The Council shall select an official seal for the Corps which 
shall be officially noticed.
``Sec. 599a. Appointment and transfer of administrative law judges
    ``(a) After the initial establishment of the Corps, the Council 
shall appoint new or additional judges as may be necessary for the 
efficient and expeditious conduct of the business of the Corps. 
Appointments shall be made from a register maintained by the Office of 
Personnel Management under subchapter I of chapter 33 of this title. 
Upon request by the chief judge, the Office of Personnel Management 
shall certify enough names from the top of such register to enable the 
Council to consider five names for each vacancy. Notwithstanding 
section 3318 of this title, a vacancy in the Corps may be filled from 
the highest five eligible individuals available for appointment on the 
certificate furnished by the Office of Personnel Management.
    ``(b) A judge of the Corps may not perform or be assigned to 
perform duties inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of an 
administrative law judge.
    ``(c) A judge of the Corps on the date of commencement of the 
operation of the Corps may not thereafter be involuntarily reassigned 
to a new permanent duty station if such station is beyond commuting 
distance of the duty station which is the judge's permanent duty 
station on that date, unless the Council determines and submits a 
written explanation to the judge stating that such reassignment is 
required to meet substantial changes in workloads. A judge may be 
temporarily detailed, once in a 24-month period, to a new duty station 
at any location, for a period of not more than 120 days.
``Sec. 599b. Jurisdiction
    ``(a) All types of cases, claims, actions and proceedings held 
before administrative law judges before the effective date of the 
Administrative Law Judge Corps Act shall be referred to the Corps for 
adjudication on the record after an opportunity for a hearing.
    ``(b) An administrative law judge who is a member of the Corps 
shall hear and render a decision upon--
            ``(1) every case of adjudication subject to the provisions 
        of section 553, 554, or 556 of this title;
            ``(2) every case in which hearings are required by law to 
        be held in accordance with sections 553, 554, or section 556 of 
        this title; and
            ``(3) every other case referred to the Corps by an agency 
        or court in which a determination is to be made on the record 
        after an opportunity for a hearing.
    ``(c) When a case under subsection (b) arises, it shall be referred 
to the Corps. Under regulations issued by the Council the case shall be 
assigned to a division. The appropriate division chief judge shall 
assign cases to judges, taking into consideration specialization, 
training, workload and conflicts of interest.
    ``(d) Federal agencies and courts are authorized to refer any 
appropriate case either--
            ``(1) to the Corps; or
            ``(2) to a specific administrative law judge, with the 
        approval of the majority of the Council, to serve as a special 
        master pursuant to the provisions of Rule 53(a) of the Federal 
        Rules of Civil Procedure.
    ``(e) Compliance with this subchapter shall satisfy any requirement 
under section 916 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and 
Enforcement Act of 1989.''.
``Sec.  599c. Removal and discipline
    ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section--
            ``(1) an administrative law judge may not be removed, 
        suspended, reprimanded, or disciplined except for misconduct or 
        neglect of duty, but may be removed for physical or mental 
        disability; and
            ``(2) an action specified in paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection may be taken against an administrative law judge 
        only after the Council has filed a notice of adverse action 
        against the administrative law judge with the Merit Systems 
        Protection Board and the Board has determined, on the record 
        after an opportunity for a hearing before the Board, that there 
        is good cause to take such action.
    ``(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to an action initiated under 
section 1206 of this title.
    ``(c) Under regulations issued by the Council, a Complaints 
Resolution Board shall be established within the Corps to consider and 
to recommend appropriate action to be taken when a complaint is made 
concerning the official conduct of a judge. Such complaint may be made 
by any interested person, including parties, practitioners, the chief 
judge, and agencies.
    ``(d) The Board shall consist of two judges from each division of 
the Corps who shall be appointed by the Council. The chief judge and 
the division chief judges may not serve on such Board.
    ``(e) A complaint of misconduct by an administrative law judge 
shall be made in writing. The complaint shall be filed with the chief 
judge, or it may be originated by the chief judge on his own motion. 
The chief judge shall refer the complaint to a panel consisting of 
three members of the Board selected by the Council, none of whom may be 
serving in the same division as the administrative law judge who is the 
subject of the complaint. The administrative law judge who is the 
subject of the complaint shall be given notice of the complaint and the 
composition of the panel. The administrative law judge may challenge 
peremptorily not more than two members of the panel. The Council shall 
replace a challenged member with another member of the Board who is 
eligible to serve on such panel.
    ``(f) The panel shall inquire into the complaint and shall render a 
report to the Council. A copy of the report shall be provided 
concurrently to the administrative law judge who is the subject of the 
complaint. The report shall be advisory only.
    ``(g) The proceedings, deliberations, and reports of the Board and 
the contents of complaints under this section shall be treated as 
privileged and confidential. Documents considered by the Board and 
reports of the Board are exempt from disclosure or publication under 
section 552 of this title. Section 552b of this title shall not apply 
to the Board.''.
    (b) The table of sections for chapter 5 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

            ``SUBCHAPTER VI--ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE CORPS

``Sec.
``595. Definitions.
``596. Establishment; membership.
``597. Chief administrative law judge.
``598. Divisions of the Corps; division chief judges.
``599. Council of the Corps.
``599a. Appointment and transfer of administrative law judges.
``599b. Jurisdiction.
``599c. Removal and discipline.''.

                     agency review study and report

    Sec. 3. The chief administrative law judge of the Administrative 
Law Judge Corps of the United States shall make a study of the various 
types and levels of agency review to which decisions of administrative 
law judges are subject. A separate study shall be made for each 
division of the Corps. The studies shall include monitoring and 
evaluating data and shall be made in consultation with the division 
chief judges, the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the 
United States, and the agencies that review the decisions of 
administrative law judges. Not later than two years after the effective 
date of this Act, the Council shall report to the President and the 
Congress on the findings and recommendations resulting from the 
studies. The report shall include recommendations, including 
recommendations for new legislation, for any reforms that may be 
appropriate to make review of administrative law judges' decisions more 
efficient and meaningful and to accord greater finality to such 
decisions.

                   transition and savings provisions

    Sec. 4. (a) There are transferred to the administrative law judges 
of the Administrative Law Judge Corps established by section 596 of 
title 5, United States Code (as added by section 2 of this Act), all 
functions performed on the day before the effective date of this Act by 
the administrative law judges appointed under section 3105 of such 
title before the effective date of this Act.
    (b) With the consent of the agencies concerned, the Administrative 
Law Judge Corps of the United States may use the facilities and the 
services of officers, employees, and other personnel of agencies from 
which functions and duties are transferred to the Corps for so long as 
may be needed to facilitate the orderly transfer of those functions and 
duties under this Act.
    (c) The personnel, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, 
records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, 
allocations, and other funds employed, held, used, arising from, 
available or to be made available, in connection with the functions, 
offices, and agencies transferred by this Act, are, subject to section 
1531 of title 31, United States Code, correspondingly transferred to 
the Corps for appropriate allocation.
    (d) The transfer of personnel pursuant to subsection (b) of this 
section shall be without reduction in pay or classification for one 
year after such transfer.
    (e) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, at such 
time or times as the Director shall provide, may make such 
determinations as may be necessary with regard to the functions, 
offices, agencies, or portions thereof, transferred by this Act, and to 
make such additional incidental dispositions of personnel, assets, 
liabilities, grants, contracts, property, records, and unexpended 
balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other 
funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be made available 
in connection with such functions, offices, agencies, or portions 
thereof, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
    (f) All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, certificates, 
licenses, and privileges which have been issued, made, granted, or 
allowed to become effective in the exercise of any duties, powers, or 
functions which are transferred under this Act and are in effect at the 
time this Act becomes effective shall continue in effect according to 
their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or 
repealed by the Administrative Law Judge Corps of the United States or 
a judge thereof in the exercise of authority vested in the Corps or its 
members by this Act, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by 
operation of law.
    (g) Except as provided in subsections (d)(5) and (e) of section 599 
of title 5, United States Code, this Act shall not affect any 
proceeding before any department or agency or component thereof which 
is pending at the time this Act takes effect. Such a proceeding shall 
be continued before the Administrative Law Judge Corps of the United 
States or a judge thereof, or, to the extent the proceeding does not 
relate to functions so transferred, shall be continued before the 
agency in which it was pending on the effective date of this Act.
    (h) No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced before the 
effective date of this Act shall abate by reason of the enactment of 
this Act.

                    authorization of appropriations

    Sec. 5. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act and subchapter VI of 
title 5, United States Code (as added by section 2 of this Act).

                  technical and conforming amendments

    Sec. 6. Title 5, United States Code, is amended as follows:
            (1) Section 573(b) is amended by redesignating paragraphs 
        (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), 
        respectively, and inserting a new paragraph (4) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(4) the chief administrative law judge of the 
        Administrative Law Judge Corps of the United States;''.
            (2) Section 3105 is amended to read as follows:
``Sec.  3105. Appointment of administrative law judges
    ``Administrative law judges shall be appointed by the Council of 
the Administrative Law Judge Corps pursuant to section 599a of this 
title.''.
            (3) Section 3344 and any references to such section are 
        repealed.
            (4) The table of sections for chapter 33 is amended by 
        striking out the item relating to section 3344.
            (5)(A) Subchapter III of chapter 75 of title 5, United 
        States Code, is repealed.
            (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 75 of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended--
                    (i) by striking out the items relating to 
                subchapter III and section 7521;
                    (ii) by redesignating ``Subchapter IV'' and all 
                references to such subchapter as ``Subchapter III''; 
                and
                    (iii) by redesignating ``Subchapter V'' and all 
                references to such subchapter as ``Subchapter IV''.

                         operation of the corps

    Sec. 7. Operation of the Corps shall commence on the date the first 
chief administrative law judge of the Corps takes office.

                         contract disputes act

    Sec. 8. Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
shall be deemed to affect any agency board established pursuant to the 
Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. 601), or any other person designated 
to resolve claims or disputes pursuant to such Act.

                             effective date

    Sec. 9. Except as otherwise provided, this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act shall take effect 120 days after the date of 
enactment.

                                 <all>

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