114 S59 IS: Chance to Compete Act of 2023
U.S. Senate
2023-01-24
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
II
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 59
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 24 (legislative day, January 3), 2023
Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Carper) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-based hiring.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Chance to Compete Act of 2023”.
2.

Definitions
(a)

Terms defined in section 3304 of title 5, United States Code
In this Act, the terms agency, Director, examining agency, Office, subject matter expert, and technical assessment have the meanings given those terms in subsection (c)(1) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 3(a).
(b)

Other terms
In this Act, the term competitive service has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code.
3.

Defining the term “examination” for purposes of hiring in the competitive service
(a)

Examinations; technical assessments
(1)

In general
Section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and
(B)
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
“(c)

Examinations
(1)

Definitions
(A)

Examination defined for purposes of this chapter
For purposes of this chapter, the term examination—
(i)
means an opportunity to directly demonstrate knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies, through a passing score assessment;
(ii)
includes a résumé review that is—
(I)
conducted by a subject matter expert; and
(II)
based upon indicators that—
- (aa)
are derived from a job analysis; and
- (bb)
bear a rational relationship to performance in the position for which the examining agency is hiring; and
(iii)
on and after the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, does not include a self-assessment from an automated examination, a résumé review (except as provided in clause (ii)), or any other method of determining the experience or level of educational attainment of an individual, alone.
(B)

Other terms
In this subsection—
(i)
the term agency means an agency described in section 901(b) of title 31;
(ii)
the term Director means the Director of the Office;
(iii)
the term examining agency means—
(I)
the Office; or
(II)
an agency to which the Director has delegated examining authority under section 1104(a)(2) of this title;
(iv)
the term Office means the Office of Personnel Management;
(v)
the term passing score assessment means an assessment that an individual can pass or fail;
(vi)
the term subject matter expert means an employee or selecting official—
(I)
who possesses understanding of the duties of, and knowledge, skills, and abilities required for, the position for which the employee or selecting official is developing or administering an assessment; and
(II)
whom the delegated examining unit of the agency that employs the employee or selecting official designates to assist in the development and administration of technical assessments under paragraph (2); and
(vii)
the term technical assessment means an assessment developed under paragraph (2)(A)(i) that—
(I)
allows for the demonstration of job-related technical skills, abilities, and knowledge;
(II)
- (aa)
is based upon a job analysis;
- (bb)
is relevant to the position for which the assessment is developed; and
- (cc)
does not discriminate on the basis of a protected status, as established by the Director in regulations implementing this subsection; and
(III)
may include—
- (aa)
a structured interview;
- (bb)
a work-related exercise;
- (cc)
a custom or generic procedure used to measure an individual’s employment or career-related qualifications and interests; or
- (dd)
another assessment that meets the criteria under subclauses (I) and (II).
(2)

Technical assessments
(A)

In general
For the purpose of conducting an examination for a position in the competitive service, a subject matter expert who is determined by the subject matter expert's agency to be an expert in the subject and job field of the position, as affirmed and audited by the Chief Human Capital Officer or Human Resources Director (as applicable) of that agency, may—
(i)
develop, in partnership with human resources employees of the examining agency, a position-specific assessment that is relevant to the position; and
(ii)
administer the assessment developed under clause (i) to—
(I)
determine whether an applicant for the position has a passing score to be qualified for the position; or
(II)
rank applicants for the position for category rating purposes under section 3319.
(B)

Sharing and customization of assessments
(i)

Sharing
An examining agency may share a technical assessment with another examining agency if each agency maintains appropriate control over examination material.
(ii)

Customization
An examining agency with which a technical assessment is shared under clause (i) may customize the assessment as appropriate, provided that the resulting assessment satisfies the requirements under part 300 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).
(iii)

Platform for sharing and customization
(I)

In general
The Director shall establish and operate a platform on which examining agencies can share and customize technical assessments under this subparagraph.
(II)

Guidance
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Chance to Compete Act of 2023, the Director shall issue guidance to examining agencies on how to efficiently and effectively share assessments using the platform established under subclause (I).
(C)

Adoption of determinations by other agencies
For purposes of sections 3318(b) and 3319(c), an appointing authority, other than the appointing authority requesting a certificate of eligibles, that selects an individual from that certificate in accordance with such section 3318(b) or 3319(c) may adopt the determination described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph of a subject matter expert employed by the requesting appointing authority instead of administering an additional technical assessment of the individual.”.
(2)

Alternative ranking and selection procedures
Section 3319(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “To be placed in a quality category under the preceding sentence, an applicant shall be required to have passed an examination in accordance with section 3304(b), subject to the exceptions in that section.”.
(3)

Technical and conforming amendment
Section 3330a(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking “section 3304(f)(1)” and inserting “section 3304(g)(1)”.
(b)

Implementation of passing score assessment requirement
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director and the head of any other examining agency shall eliminate the use of any examination for the competitive service that does not satisfy the definition of the term examination in subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section.
(c)

OPM reporting
(1)

Public dashboard
(A)

In general
The Director shall maintain and periodically update a publicly available dashboard that, with respect to each position in the competitive service for which an examining agency examined applicants during the applicable period, includes—
(i)
the type of assessment used, such as—
(I)
a behavioral off-the-shelf assessment;
(II)
a résumé review conducted by a subject matter expert;
(III)
an interview conducted by a subject matter expert;
(IV)
a technical off-the-shelf assessment; or
(V)
a cognitive ability test;
(ii)
whether or not the agency selected a candidate for the position; and
(iii)
the hiring authority used to fill the position.
(B)

Timing
(i)

Initial data
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall update the dashboard described in subparagraph (A) with data for positions in the competitive service for which an examining agency examined applicants during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date of submission of the report.
(ii)

Subsequent updates
Not later than October 1 of each fiscal year beginning after the date on which the dashboard is initially updated under clause (i), the Director shall update the dashboard described in subparagraph (A) with data for positions in the competitive service for which an examining agency examined applicants during the preceding fiscal year.
(2)

Annual progress report
(A)

In general
Each year, the Director, in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C), shall make publicly available and submit to Congress an overall progress report that includes summary data of the use of examinations (as defined in subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section) for the competitive service, including technical assessments.
(B)

Categories; baseline data
In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Director shall—
(i)
break the data down by applicant demographic indicator, including veteran status, race, gender, disability, and any other measure the Director determines appropriate; and
(ii)
use the data available as of October 1, 2020, as a baseline.
(C)

Limitations
In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Director may only make publicly available and submit to Congress data relating to examinations for which—
(i)
the related announcement is closed;
(ii)
certificates have been audited; and
(iii)
all hiring processes are completed.
(d)

GAO report
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that—
(1)
assesses the implementation of this section and the amendments made by this section;
(2)
assesses the impact and modifications to the hiring process for the competitive service made by this section and the amendments made by this section; and
(3)
makes recommendations for the improvement of the hiring process for the competitive service.
4.

Amendments to Competitive Service Act of 2015
(a)

Platforms for sharing certificates of eligibles
Section 3318(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), by striking “240-day” and inserting “1-year”;
(2)
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
“(5)

Platform for sharing résumés of individuals on certificates of eligibles
The Director of the Office shall establish and operate a platform on which an appointing authority can share, with other appointing authorities and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council established under section 1303 of the Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 1401 note; Public Law 107–296), the résumés of individuals who are on a certificate of eligibles requested by the appointing authority.” .
(b)

Maximizing sharing of applicant information
Section 2 of the Competitive Service Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–137; 130 Stat. 310) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
“(c)

Maximizing sharing of applicant information
(1)

Definitions
In this subsection—
(A)
the terms agency, Director, and Office have the meanings given those terms in section 3304(c)(1) of title 5, United States Code; and
(B)
the term competitive service has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code.
(2)

Maximizing sharing
The Director shall maximize the sharing of information among agencies regarding qualified applicants for positions in the competitive service, including by—
(A)
providing for the delegation to other agencies of the authority of the Office to host multi-agency hiring actions to increase the return on investment on high-quality pooled announcements; and
(B)
sharing certificates of eligibles and accompanying résumés for appointment.”.
(c)

Amendment of implementing regulations
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.
5.

Modernizing and reforming the assessment and hiring of Federal job candidates
(a)

In general
Section 3308 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking “scientific, technical, or professional”;
(2)
by inserting “legally” before “performed”; and
(3)
by inserting “in a jurisdiction in which the duties of the position are to be performed” after “a prescribed minimum education”.
(b)

Implementation
(1)

Regulations and guidance documents
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall amend all regulations and guidance documents as necessary to implement the amendments made by subsection (a).
(2)

Hiring practices
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director and the head of any other examining agency shall amend the hiring practices of the Office or the other examining agency, respectively, in accordance with the amendments made by subsection (a).
6.

Talent teams
(a)

Federal agency talent teams
(1)

In general
An agency may establish 1 or more talent teams (referred to in this section as agency talent teams), including at the component level.
(2)

Duties
An agency talent team shall provide hiring support to the agency and other agencies, including by—
(A)
improving examinations (as defined in subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3304 of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 3(a));
(B)
facilitating writing job announcements for the competitive service;
(C)
sharing high-quality certificates of eligibles; and
(D)
facilitating hiring for the competitive service using examinations (as defined in such subsection (c)(1)(A)) and subject matter experts.
(b)

Office of Personnel Management
The Director may establish a Federal talent team to support agency talent teams in facilitating pooled hiring actions across the Federal Government, providing training, and creating technology platforms to facilitate hiring for the competitive service, including—
(1)
the development of technical assessments; and
(2)
the sharing of certificates of eligibles and accompanying résumés under sections 3318(b) and 3319(c) of title 5, United States Code.