1.This Act may be cited as the
Minerals Management Service Reform
Act
.
2.Establishment and
organizational structureThere
is established as an independent establishment in the executive branch the
Minerals Management Service. The Service shall succeed the Minerals Management
Service of the Department of the Interior as such department is in existence on
the day before the effective date of this Act.
3.
(a)
(1)The
Service shall be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the President,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to a 5-year term of
office.
(2)The
Director—
(A)shall carry out
all functions transferred to the Director by this Act; and
(B)shall have
authority and control over all personnel, programs, and activities of the
Service.
(3)The
Director shall be compensated at the rate prescribed for level II of the
Executive Schedule.
(b)
(1)There
shall be in the Service a Deputy Director, who shall be appointed by the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2)The
Deputy Director—
(A)shall perform such
functions and have such duties and powers as the Director may prescribe;
(B)shall act for and
perform the functions of the Director when the Director is absent or unable to
serve and when the office of the Director is vacant; and
(C)shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, assure that procurement actions of the Service take
advantage of all methods available to expedite the procurement process.
(3)The
Deputy Director shall be compensated at the rate prescribed for level III of
the Executive Schedule.
(c)
(1)The
Director shall appoint Associate Directors who shall each have such duties as
may be prescribed by the Director.
(2)Each
Associate Director appointed under this subsection shall be compensated at the
rate prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(d)
(1)There
shall be in the Service a Chief Counsel, who shall be appointed by the
Director.
(2)The
Chief Counsel shall be the chief legal officer for all legal matters arising
from the activities of the Service.
(3)The
Chief Counsel shall be compensated at the rate prescribed for level IV of the
Executive Schedule.
(e)The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is
amended—
(1)in section 12(1),
by inserting the Minerals Management Service;
after the
Export-Import Bank;
; and
(2)in section 12(2),
by inserting the Minerals Management Service,
after the Export-Import Bank,
.
4.
(a)The Director shall—
(1)exercise all
powers and discharge all duties of the Service; and
(2)carry out all
functions, powers, and duties that are vested in the Department of the Interior
on the day before the effective date of this Act relating to—
(A)bidding, leasing,
and managing all offshore oil and gas, including with respect to the Gulf of
Mexico and other areas of the Outer Continental Shelf; and
(B)collection of
revenue (other than taxes) generated by such oil and gas.
(b)Except as otherwise provided by this Act, in carrying out the
functions of the Service under this Act, the Director shall be subject to all
provisions of law to which the Director was subject on the day before the
effective date of this Act to the extent such provisions are not inconsistent
with this Act.
(c)Not subject to
entities created by executive orderThe Director shall not submit
decisions for the approval of, and shall not be bound by the decisions or
recommendations of, any committee, board, or other organization created by
Executive Order.
5.Transfers and
incidental provisions
(a)The
following are transferred to the Minerals Management Service established by
section 2:
(1)All functions vested by law on the day before the effective
date of this Act in the Minerals Management Service in the Department of the
Interior or its Director, and all functions vested by law on the day before the
effective date of this Act in the Department of the Interior or the Department
of the Interior that are administered through the Minerals Management Service
(including budgetary and procurement functions) or related to the Minerals
Management Service.
(2)All functions of the Department of the Interior and of
the Minerals Management Service in the Department of the Interior on the day
before the effective date of this Act that are incidental to, helpful to, or
necessary for, the performance of the functions transferred by paragraph (1),
or that relate primarily to those functions.
(3)Personnel,
property, records, and fundsSo much of the personnel, property,
records, funds, accounts, and unexpended balances of appropriations,
allocations, and other funds of the Department of the Interior and the Minerals
Management Service as are employed, used, held, available, or to be made
available in connection with the functions transferred by paragraphs (1) and
(2).
(b)No reduction in
classification or compensationThe personnel transferred under
this section shall be transferred without reduction in classification or
compensation.
(c)Exercise of
functions by DirectorThe Director of the Minerals Management
Service shall exercise all functions transferred by subsection (a) of this
section and any other function vested by any law in the Minerals Management
Service or the Director of the Minerals Management Service after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
6.In the performance
of functions pursuant to this Act, the Director may make, promulgate, issue,
rescind, and amend rules and regulations in accordance with chapter 5 of title
5, United States Code.
7.
(a)Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Director
may delegate functions to officers and employees of the Service, and may
authorize successive redelegations of such functions in the Service, as the
Director considers necessary or appropriate.
(b)Director remains
responsibleA delegation of functions by the Director under this
section or under any other provision of this Act shall not relieve the Director
of responsibility for the administration of such functions.
8.Supplemental
personnel and services
(a)In addition to the officers provided for by section
3, the Director may obtain the services of experts and consultants in
accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.
(b)Personnel of
other agenciesUpon request of the Director, the head of any
Federal agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of
such agency to assist the Director in carrying out functions of the
Service.
(c)
(1)The Director may accept voluntary services of individuals
in accordance with the provisions of section 3111 of title 5, United States
Code and without regard to the provisions of section 1342 of title 31, United
States Code, if such services will not be used to displace Federal employees
employed on a full-time, part-time, or seasonal basis.
(2)The Director may provide for incidental expenses,
including transportation, lodging, and subsistence, for persons who provide
voluntary services pursuant to this subsection to the Director.
(3)An individual who provides voluntary services to the
Director pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered to be a Federal
employee for any purpose other than for purposes of chapter 81 of title 5,
United States Code (relating to compensation for work injuries) and chapter 171
of title 28, United States Code (relating to tort claims).
9.The Director may, without regard to the
provisions of section 3324 of title 31, United States Code, and subject to
appropriations Acts, enter into and perform contracts, leases, cooperative
agreements, and other transactions, on such terms and conditions as the
Director considers appropriate, with any Federal agency or any instrumentality
of the United States, with any State, territory, or possession, with any
political subdivision thereof, and with any person (including any educational
institution), as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Director
and the Service.
10.Use of services,
equipment, personnel, and facilities of other agencies
(a)With the consent of the appropriate agency, the Director
may, with or without reimbursement, use the services, equipment, personnel, and
facilities of Federal agencies and other public and private agencies, and may
cooperate with other public and private agencies in the use of services,
equipment, personnel, and facilities.
(b)Cooperation of
other Federal agenciesThe head of each Federal agency shall
cooperate fully with the Director in making the services, equipment, personnel,
and facilities of the Federal agency available to the Director.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of
a Federal agency may transfer to or receive from the Service, without
reimbursement, supplies and equipment, other than administrative supplies and
equipment.
11.Acquisition and
maintenance of property
(a)The Director may—
(1)acquire (by
purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise), construct, improve, repair,
operate, and maintain such other real and personal property (including office
space and patents), and any interest therein within or outside the continental
United States as the Director considers necessary;
(2)lease to others
such real and personal property; and
(3)provide by
contract or otherwise for eating facilities and other necessary facilities for
the welfare of employees of the Service at its installations and purchase and
maintain equipment for such facilities.
(b)Title to any property or interest therein acquired
pursuant to this section shall be in the United States.
(c)The
authority granted by subsection (a) shall be available only with respect to
facilities of a special purpose nature that cannot readily be reassigned from
similar Federal activities and are not otherwise available for assignment to
the Service by the Director of General Services.
(d)Contracts and
leases subject to appropriationsThe authority of the Director to
enter into contracts and leases under this section shall be to such extent and
in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts.
12.Transfers of
funds from other Federal agenciesThe Director may accept transfers from other
Federal agencies of funds that are available to carry out—
(1)functions
transferred by this Act to the Director; or
(2)functions assigned
by law to the Director after the date of the enactment of this Act.
13.The Service shall
cause a seal of office to be made for the Service of such design as the
Director shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.
14.Status of
Service under certain lawsFor
purposes of chapter 9 of title 5, United States Code, the Service is an
independent regulatory agency.
15.
(a)All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits,
contracts, certificates, licenses, and privileges—
(1)that have been
issued, made, granted, or allowed to become effective by the President, any
Federal department or agency or official thereof, or by a court of competent
jurisdiction, in regard to functions that are transferred under this Act to the
Service on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2)that are in effect
on the effective date of this Act;
shall
continue in effect according to their terms until modified, terminated,
superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the President, the
Director or other authorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or
by operation of law.(b)Pending
licenses, permits, certificates, and financial assistance
(1)This Act shall not affect any proceedings or any
application for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance
pending on the effective date of this Act, and such proceedings and
applications, to the extent that they relate to functions so transferred, shall
be continued.
(2)Orders
shall be issued in proceedings referred to in paragraph (1), appeals shall be
taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this
Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceedings shall
continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly
authorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of
law.
(3)Discontinuance
or modificationNothing in this subsection shall be considered to
prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any proceeding under the same
terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have
been discontinued or modified if this Act had not been enacted.
(c)
(1)This Act shall not affect suits commenced before the
effective date of this Act.
(2)In
all suits referred to in paragraph (1), proceedings shall be had, appeals
taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and effect as if this Act had
not been enacted.
(d)
(1)In any case involving an officer required by this Act to
be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate who has not
entered office on the effective date of this Act, the President may designate
the person who served as such officer on the day before the effective date of
this Act to act in such office until the office is filled as provided by this
Act.
(2)A
person designated to act in an office under paragraph (1) shall receive
compensation at the rate of pay provided by this Act for the office in which
the person acts.
16.Except as
otherwise provided in this Act, all laws, rules, and regulations in effect and
applicable to the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior
or to the Director of such Service on the date immediately preceding the
effective date of this Act shall, on and after such effective date, be
applicable to the Minerals Management Service and the Director established by
this Act, until such law, rule, or regulation is repealed or otherwise modified
or amended.
17.For the purposes of this Act, the following
definitions apply:
(1)The
term Director
means the Director of the Minerals Management
Service appointed under section 3.
(2)The
term Service
means the Minerals Management Service established
by section 2.