House Ethics Commission Establishment Act of 2007 - Establishes an independent House Ethics Commission within the legislative branch.
Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to revise the duties of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to conform with this Act.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1754 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1754
To establish the House Ethics Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2007
Mr. Hill (for himself, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Moore
of Kansas, Mr. Mahoney of Florida, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Cohen, Mr.
Visclosky, Mr. Ellsworth, Ms. Castor, Mr. Braley of Iowa, and Mr. Walz
of Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on
Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the House Ethics Commission, 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 ``House Ethics Commission
Establishment Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSE ETHICS COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established an independent ethics
commission within the legislative branch of the Government to be known
as the House Ethics Commission (in this Act referred to as the
``Commission'').
(b) Membership and Terms of Office.--(1) The Commission shall
consist of 12 individuals. Six former Democratic Members shall be
appointed by the Republican leader and 6 former Republican Members by
the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives. Except as
provided by paragraph (2), the terms of all members of the Commission
shall be 2 years and no member may serve for more than 6 years.
(2) Of the members first appointed--
(A) 2 appointed by each leader shall be for a term of 2
years;
(B) 2 appointed by each leader shall be for a term of 4
years; and
(C) 2 appointed by each leader shall be for a term of 6
years;
as designated by each such leader at the time of appointment.
(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman.--The chairman and the vice chairman
of the Commission shall be selected by the members of the Commission at
its first meeting. No member may serve for more than one 2-year term as
chairman and no member may serve for more than one 2-year term as vice
chairman.
(d) Qualifications.--Only former Members of the House of
Representatives shall be eligible for appointment to the Commission.
(1) Disqualifications for appointments.--
(A) Lobbying.--No individual who has been a
lobbyist registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act
of 1995 or engages in, or is otherwise employed in,
lobbying of the Congress or who is an agent of a
foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act within the 4-year period immediately
preceding appointment shall be eligible for appointment
to, or service on, the Commission.
(B) Incompatible office.--No member of the
Commission appointed under subsection (b) may be an
elected public official or an officer or employee of
the Government.
(2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(e) Compensation.--Members shall each be entitled to receive the
daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay in effect for
Level III of the Executive Schedule for each day (including travel
time) during which they are engaged in the actual performance of duties
vested in the Commission.
(f) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall
constitute a quorum.
(g) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the
chairman or a majority of its members.
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.
The Commission is authorized--
(1) to investigate any alleged violation, by a Member,
officer, or employee of the House of Representatives, of any
law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable
to the conduct of such Member, officer, or employee in the
performance of his duties or the discharge of his
responsibilities, and after notice and hearing (unless the
right to a hearing is waived by the Member, officer, or
employee), shall report to the House of Representatives its
findings of fact and recommendations, if any, upon the final
disposition of any such investigation, and such action as the
Commission may deem appropriate in the circumstances;
(2) to issue any letter of reproval or admonishment with
respect to such an alleged violation;
(3) to report to the appropriate Federal or State
authorities any substantial evidence of a violation, by a
Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives,
of any law applicable to the performance of his duties or the
discharge of his responsibilities, which may have been
disclosed in a Commission investigation; and
(4) to adopt rules governing its procedures to provide
protections to respondents comparable to those that were
provided by clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives in effect immediately before the amendments to
such rule made by section 8.
SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings and Evidence.--The Commission or, on the authority of
the Commission, the chairman or vice chairman, may, for the purpose of
carrying out this Act--
(1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and
places, take such testimony, receive such evidence, administer
such oaths; and
(2) subject to subsection (b), require, by subpoena or
otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and
the production of such books, records, correspondence,
memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission or the
chairman or vice chairman may determine advisable.
(b) Subpoenas.--
(1) In general.--A subpoena may be issued only under the
signature of the chairman or the vice chairman, and may be
served by any person designated by the chairman or the vice
chairman.
(c) Obtaining Information.--Upon request of the Commission, the
head of any agency or instrumentality of the Government shall furnish
information deemed necessary by the panel to enable it to carry out its
duties.
SEC. 5. PROCEDURAL RULES.
(a) Majority Approval.--No report or recommendation relating to the
official conduct of a Member, officer, or employee of the House of
Representatives shall be made by the Commission, and no investigation
of such conduct shall be undertaken by the Commission, unless approved
by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Commission.
(b) Investigations.--Except in the case of an investigation
undertaken by the Commission on its own initiative, the Commission may
undertake an investigation relating to the official conduct of an
individual Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
only--
(1) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and under oath,
made by or submitted to a Member of the House of
Representatives and transmitted to the Commission by such
Member, or
(2) upon receipt of a complaint from the chairman of the
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of
Representatives, in writing and under oath, made by that
committee.
(c) Prohibition of Certain Investigations.--No investigation shall
be undertaken by the Commission of any alleged violation of a law,
rule, regulation, or standard of conduct not in effect at the time of
the alleged violation.
(d) Disclosure.--No information or testimony received, or the
contents of a complaint or the fact of its filing, shall be publicly
disclosed by any member of the Commission or staff of the Commission
unless specifically authorized in each instance by a vote of the
Commission.
SEC. 6. STAFF OF COMMISSION.
The Commission may appoint and fix the compensation of such staff
as the Commission considers necessary to perform its duties. The
director shall be appointed jointly by the Speaker and minority leader
and shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable
for Level III of the Executive Schedule.
SEC. 7. ACTION ON COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) Printing of Reports in Congressional Record.--Upon receipt by
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of
Representatives of any report of the Commission, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives shall have the report printed in the
Congressional Record.
(b) House Consideration of Independent Ethics Commission
Recommendations.--Within 14 calendar days after a report referred to in
subsection (a) is printed in the Congressional Record, that portion of
the report recommending action by the House of Representatives
respecting any alleged violation, by a Member, officer, or employee of
the House of Representatives, of any law, rule, regulation, or other
standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member, officer,
or employee in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his
responsibilities shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the
Speaker of the House, for himself and the minority leader of the House
in the form of a resolution. This resolution shall constitute a
question of privilege under rule IX of the Rules of the House of
Representatives. Any Member favoring the resolution may call it up as a
question of privilege but only on the third day after the calendar date
upon which such Member announces to the House his intention to do so.
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TO CHANGE THE DUTIES OF
THE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.
(a) House Rules Amendments.--Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives is amended as follows:
(1) In paragraph (a), strike subparagraphs (1), (2), and
(3), and redesignate subparagraphs (4), (5), and (6), as
subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.
(2)(A) Paragraph (b)(1) is amended by striking ``(A)'', by
striking ``a resolution, report, recommendation, or'' and
inserting ``an'', and by striking ``, or, except as provided in
subparagraph (2), undertake an investigation'', and by striking
subdivision (B).
(B) Paragraph (b) is further amended by striking
subparagraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) and by redesignating
subparagraphs (6) and (7) as subparagraphs (2) and (3),
respectively.
(3) Strike paragraphs (j) (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), and
(q).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 803 of the Ethics Reform Act of
1989 (2 U.S.C. 29d) is amended by striking subsections (c) and (d).
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect upon the date of its enactment, except
that sections 3, 4, and 8 shall not take effect until the later of 6
months after such date of enactment or immediately prior to noon
January 3, 2009.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H3341-3342)
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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