[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3534 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3534

 To require justices, judges, magistrate judges, or bankruptcy judges 
 and their spouses and dependent children to place certain assets into 
            qualified blind trusts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 18, 2023

 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. 
Norton, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Lieu, Ms. 
 Lee of California, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Nickel, Mrs. Torres of California, 
Mr. Sablan, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Thompson 
    of Mississippi, Ms. Scanlon, and Mr. Garamendi) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require justices, judges, magistrate judges, or bankruptcy judges 
 and their spouses and dependent children to place certain assets into 
            qualified blind trusts, 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 ``Justice is Beneficial Limitation on 
Investments and Necessary Disclosure Act of 2023'' or as the ``Justice 
is BLIND Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF JUSTICES, JUDGES, MAGISTRATE 
              JUDGES, OR BANKRUPTCY JUDGES AND THEIR SPOUSES AND 
              DEPENDENT CHILDREN IN BLIND TRUST.

    Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by inserting the following: ``though 
        such efforts should not include seeking information about the 
        identity of the financial instruments contained in any 
        qualified blind trust other than the initial assets of the 
        qualified blind trust established by a justice, judge, 
        magistrate judge or bankruptcy judge, or the spouse or 
        dependent child of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
        bankruptcy judge, to comply with subsection (g)'' before the 
        period at the end; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Placement of Certain Assets of Justices, Judges, Magistrate 
Judges, or Bankruptcy Judges and Their Spouses and Dependent Children 
in Qualified Blind Trust.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge occupying office on date of 
                enactment.--Not later than 90 days after the effective 
                date of this subsection, a justice, judge, magistrate 
                judge, or bankruptcy judge and any spouse or dependent 
                child of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge shall place any covered financial 
                interest of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge or by any spouse or dependent child of 
                such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy 
                judge, into a qualified blind trust.
                    ``(B) Justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge assuming office after date of 
                enactment.--Not later than 90 days after the date an 
                individual becomes a justice, judge, magistrate judge, 
                or bankruptcy judge, such individual and any spouse or 
                dependent child of such individual shall place any 
                covered financial interest of such individual, spouse, 
                or dependent child into a qualified blind trust.
                    ``(C) Mingling of assets.--A spouse or dependent 
                child of a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge may place a covered financial interest 
                in a qualified blind trust established by such justice, 
                judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge under 
                subparagraph (A) or (B). A justice, judge, magistrate 
                judge, or bankruptcy judge may place a covered 
                financial interest in a qualified blind trust 
                established by the spouse of such justice, judge, 
                magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge under 
                subparagraph (A) or (B).
                    ``(D) Assets upon separation.--A justice, judge, 
                magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge and any spouse or 
                dependent child of such justice, judge, magistrate 
                judge, or bankruptcy judge may not dissolve any 
                qualified blind trust in which a covered financial 
                interest has been placed pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
                or (B), or otherwise control such a financial interest, 
                until the date that is 180 days after the date such 
                justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge 
                ceases to be a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or 
                bankruptcy judge.
            ``(2) Accountability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A justice, judge, magistrate 
                judge, or bankruptcy judge shall--
                            ``(i) not later than 15 days after the date 
                        a qualified blind trust is established under 
                        paragraph (1), attest in writing that such 
                        trust has been established and that any covered 
                        financial interest of such justice, judge, 
                        magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge or a 
                        spouse or dependent child of such justice, 
                        judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge 
                        has been placed in such trust; or
                            ``(ii) attest in writing that neither such 
                        justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy 
                        judge nor a spouse or dependent child of such 
                        justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy 
                        judge have any financial interests.
                    ``(B) Report.--The Administrative Office of the 
                United States Courts shall make available on the 
                searchable internet database established under section 
                105(c) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
                U.S.C. 13107(c)) any attestation made under 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Exception.--A spouse or dependent child who receives 
        compensation from their primary occupation through any covered 
        financial interest shall not be required to place such covered 
        financial interest in a qualified blind trust under this 
        subsection.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Commodity.--The term `commodity' has the 
                meaning given the term in section 1a of the Commodity 
                Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a).
                    ``(B) Covered financial interest.--The term 
                `covered financial interest'--
                            ``(i) means a financial interest in a 
                        security, a commodity, or a future, or any 
                        comparable economic interest acquired through 
                        synthetic means such as the use of a 
                        derivative; and
                            ``(ii) does not include--
                                    ``(I) a widely held investment fund 
                                described in section 13104(f)(8) of 
                                title 5 that is diversified and 
                                registered as a management company 
                                under the Investment Company Act of 
                                1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.); or
                                    ``(II) a United States Treasury 
                                bill, note, or bond.
                    ``(C) Dependent child.--The term `dependent child' 
                has the meaning given that term in section 13101 of 
                title 5.
                    ``(D) Qualified blind trust.--The term `qualified 
                blind trust' has the meaning given that term in section 
                13104(f)(3) of title 5.
            ``(5) Severability.--If any provision of this subsection or 
        the application of such provision to any person or circumstance 
        is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 
        subsection and the application of the remaining provisions of 
        this subsection to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
        affected.''.
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