Administrative Law Judges Competitive Service Restoration Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7225 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7225

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2024

Mr. Connolly (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                             Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``Administrative Law Judges 
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) Selection; Examination.--Administrative law judges shall be 
appointed by the head of an Executive 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, 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 preparing 
        for, litigating, adjudicating, participating in, or reviewing 
        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 Agency Heads.--
            ``(1) Chief alj.--A chief administrative law judge shall 
        report directly to the head of the Executive 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 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 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) Conversions.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 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 agency (as that term 
        is defined in section 105 of such title) employing the 
        individual shall noncompetitively convert such individual to a 
        career appointment in the competitive service in the Executive 
        agency.
            (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
        individual serving on the date of the enactment of this Act in 
        an excepted service position as an administrative law judge and 
        who was appointed under such section 3105, as in effect on the 
        day before the date of the enactment of this Act, during the 
        period beginning on July 11, 2018, and ending on such date of 
        enactment.
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