[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2429 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2429

 To restore administrative law judges to the competitive service, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2019

Mr. Cummings (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Neal, Mr. Rodney Davis 
of Illinois, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Scott of 
  Virginia, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Smith of New 
   Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To restore administrative law judges to the competitive service, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``ALJ Competitive Service Restoration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES.

    (a) In General.--Section 3105 of title 5, United States Code is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3105. Appointment of administrative law judges
    ``(a) Appointment.--
            ``(1) Authority.--The head of each Executive department and 
        agency shall appoint as many administrative law judges as are 
        necessary for proceedings required to be conducted in 
        accordance with sections 556 and 557.
            ``(2) Selection; examination.--Administrative law judges 
        shall be appointed by the head of an Executive department or an 
        agency from a list of eligible candidates provided by the 
        Office of Personnel Management based upon successful 
        examination and approval of the qualifications of the 
        individual by the Office.
    ``(b) Minimum Qualifications and Conditions of Employment.--
            ``(1) Licensure.--At the time of application for a position 
        and while serving as an administrative law judge, the 
        individual must possess a professional license to practice law 
        under the laws of a State, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territorial court.
            ``(2) Qualifying experience.--To be eligible to serve as an 
        administrative law judge, an individual shall have not less 
        than 7 years of experience as a licensed attorney litigating or 
        adjudicating formal hearings or trials involving civil, 
        criminal, or administrative law at the Federal, State, or local 
        level.
    ``(c) Competitive Service.--Administrative law judge positions 
shall be positions in the competitive service.
    ``(d) Assignment.--Administrative law judges shall be assigned to 
cases in rotation as far as practicable, and may not perform duties 
inconsistent with their duties and responsibilities as administrative 
law judges.
    ``(e) Authority and Role of Administrative Law Judges in Relation 
to Executive Department or Agency Heads.--
            ``(1) Chief alj.--A chief administrative law judge shall 
        report directly to the head of the Executive department or 
        agency at which the chief is appointed.
            ``(2) ALJ.--An administrative law judge (in this paragraph 
        referred to as an `ALJ') shall report directly to the chief 
        administrative law judge (if any) of the Executive department 
        or agency at which the ALJ is appointed. If there is no chief 
        administrative law judge, the ALJ shall report directly to the 
        head of such Executive department or agency.
            ``(3) Clarification.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
        construed to limit or otherwise mitigate the ability or 
        independence of an administrative law judge in carrying out his 
        or her duties and responsibilities as an administrative law 
        judge.''.
    (b) Exemption From Probationary Period.--Section 3321(c) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply with 
respect to appointments in the Senior Executive Service, the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior 
Executive Service, any individual covered by section 1599e of title 10, 
or any individual appointed to an administrative law judge position.''.
    (c) Clarification of Application of Disciplinary Procedures.--
Notwithstanding the amendments made by this Act that classify 
administrative law judges within the competitive service, an 
administrative law judge shall not be subject to subchapter I or II of 
chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, and shall be subject to the 
requirements of subchapter III of such chapter.
    (d) Conversion of Positions.--With respect to any individual 
serving on the date of the enactment of this Act in an excepted service 
position as an administrative law judge appointed under section 3105 of 
title 5, United States Code, as in effect on the day before the date of 
the enactment of this Act, not later than 30 days after such date of 
enactment, the head of an Executive department or the agency employing 
the administrative law judge shall convert the appointment to a 
permanent appointment in the competitive service in the agency.
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