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Week Ending September 29, 2006
H.R.3508 To authorize improvements in the operation of the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
The District of Columbia (The District), home of the Nation’s Capital, is in a unique, although often lamented, position unlike the fifty States. The District is represented in the House but the representative (Delegate) may not vote on bills. The District has an elected mayor and council who manage its affairs but the budget is approved and supported by Congress.
The District affairs are managed by the Government Reform Committee that is implementing an annual or biannual authorization process with which to provide funds as well as more flexibility in the administration of the funds. The bill clarifies the Mayor’s authority as the Chief Operating Officer.
The bill looks into most aspects of The District government from the establishment of an interstate committee to address insurance matters to General Services Administration contracts to provide buildings and services. Federal courts in The District are authorized to do business elsewhere when facing an emergency such as a terrorist attack and are also freed to keep records electronically in contrast to hard copy book records.
Sponsor: Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA-11th)
Vote: Passed Senate by unanimous Consent August 3, 2006. Passed House by voice vote September 25, 2006
Cost to the taxpayers: CBO estimates that provisions in the bill would not have a significant effect on spending subject to appropriation, direct spending, or revenues
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MORE INFORMATION
Subtitles A and B include provisions requested by the District government and the D.C. Court; subtitle C contains technical corrections suggested by legislative counsel.
Subtitle A--General District of Columbia Governance
Sec. 101. Budget flexibility
To ensure that the District government has sufficient resources available to administer services in the event of unforeseen circumstances, this section would authorize the D.C. to spend an aggregate amount of not more than 6% of unappropriated local funds during the 2006-2008 fiscal years.
Sec. 102. Authority to allocate reserve funds
This section would authorize the District to tap into the emergency and contingency reserve funds, provided that D.C. reimburses the funds.
Sec. 103. Public Charter School Board reform
This section would amend the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to remove the Department of Education from the process of selecting members to serve on the D.C. Public Charter School Board.
Sec. 104. Assistance for DCPDS for space and services
This section would authorize the District of Columbia Public Defender Service--a nonfederal entity that is fully funded through federal appropriations--to use the services of the General Services Administration in managing its real estate. This section was added to the bill by the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Sec. 105. Authority to DC to enter into Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact
This section would authorize the District to enter into an interstate insurance compact (included at the request of the District, based on the District's concern that it might not have the legal authority to enter into an interstate compact since it is not a State). This section was added to the bill by the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Subtitle B--District of Columbia Courts
Sec. 111. Register of wills modernization
This section would enable the D.C. Court to integrate information technology into their administrative services by removing outdated requirements such as the requirement that the Court maintain records in `strong bound books.'
Sec. 112. Pay cap for nonjudicial court employees
This section would revise the pay cap available for nonjudicial employees from Executive Schedule IV to Executive Schedule III to enable the courts to effectively implement a performance management system. This would put the nonjudicial personnel of the D.C. Courts on par with the nonjudicial employees of the federal courts in the District.
Sec. 113. Services of investigators
This section would provide a technical change to the statute governing the rate of pay available for individuals providing services to indigent defendants pay applying the $25/hour pay cap to only investigator services rather than experts and other service providers.
Sec. 114. Emergency authority to conduct affairs outside the District
This section would provide the D.C. Court with the authority to conduct business outside D.C. in the event of an emergency that made it impossible or impracticable to operate within the District.
Sec. 115. CSOSA Volunteer Authority
This section would authorize the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to accept the use of volunteers in administering its services (requested by CSOSA). This section was added to the bill by the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Sec. 116. D.C. Court technical corrections
This section would provide technical corrections to an authorizing provision that was carried in last year's D.C. appropriations bill relating to the statutes governing the D.C. Court.
Subtitle C--Other Miscellaneous Technical Corrections
Sec. 121. 2004 D.C. Omnibus Authorization Act
This section would make a technical change to a provision carried in last year's authorization bill pertaining to the District Council's consideration of the budget.
Sec. 122. 2005 D.C. Appropriations Act
This section would make a technical change to the D.C. Home Rule Act to clean up a change to the Act that was adopted as part of last year's D.C. appropriations bill.
Sec. 123. Technical corrections regarding D.C. Bank Oversight
This section includes a handful of technical corrections to federal banking laws to reflect a change that was included in last year's D.C. Authorization bill (P.L. 108-386) that transferred oversight of D.C.-chartered banks from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This section was added to the bill by the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
These provisions are similar to the CFO language passed by the Senate in S. 1267, except that the hiring and firing of the District's Chief Financial Officer would be subject to a 30-day review by Congress before taking effect.
Sec. 201. Permanently authorizing the District CFO
This section would permanently authorize the District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer, detailing the responsibilities, the hiring and firing procedures, and the term for the Chief Financial Officer. This section would also establish in statute the duties and responsibilities of the D.C. Treasurer.
Sec. 202. Personnel authority for the CFO
This section would provide independent personnel authority for the District Chief Financial Officer.
Sec. 203. Procurement authority for the CFO
This section would provide procurement authority for the District Chief Financial Officer.
Sec. 204. Fiscal impact statements
This section would require that all legislation passed by the D.C. Council be accompanied by a fiscal impact statement.
All of the following provisions have traditionally been carried in annual D.C. appropriations bills.
Sec. 301. Acceptance of gifts by CSOSA
This section would authorize, for fiscal years 2006 through 2008, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to accept gift of space and training to support offender and defendant programs and the Public Defender Service to charge fees to cover the costs of materials distributed to attendees of educational events (also for FY06-08).
Sec. 302. Public school employee negotiation process
This section would exempt the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating DCPS employees from collective bargaining.
Sec. 303. Exemption of District employees from federal civil service laws
This section would permanently exempt District government employees from title 5 of the United States Code.
Sec. 304. Criteria for renewing or extending sole source contracts
This section would iterate that, during fiscal years 2006 through 2008, a noncompetitively bid contract could not be renewed or extended unless the CFO determined that the contract was renewed or extended in accordance with duly promulgated rules and procedures.
Sec. 305. Acceptance of grants
This section would authorize the Mayor to accept, obligate and expend federal, private or other grants received by the District that are not reflected in the District's budget as approved by Congress, provided that certain reporting requirements are met.
Sec. 306. Annual independent audit standards
This section would clarify, for fiscal years 2006 through 2008, the requirements of the annual independent audit conducted by the District's Inspector General.
Sec. 307. Use of fines imposed for violation of traffic alcohol laws
This section would require the District to use any revenue generated from District traffic alcohol laws exclusively for the enforcement and prosecution of the District traffic alcohol laws.
Sec. 308. IDEA attorneys
This section would require the CFO to establish practices to enhance the transparency of the disclosure processes for attorneys in special education processes.
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SEC. 422. The executive power of the District shall be vested in the Mayor who shall be the chief executive officer of the District government. In addition, except as otherwise provided in this Act, all functions granted to or vested in the Commissioner of the District of Columbia, as established under reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 1967, shall be carried out by the Mayor in accordance with this Act. The Mayor shall be responsible for the proper execution of all laws relating to the District, and for the proper administration of the affairs of the District coming under his jurisdiction or control, including but not limited to the following powers, duties, and functions:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) The Mayor shall administer
the personnel functions of the District covering employees of all District
departments, boards, commissions, offices and agencies, except as otherwise
provided by this Act. Personnel legislation enacted by Congress prior to or
after the effective date of this section, including, without limitation,
legislation relating to appointments, promotions, discipline, separations, pay,
unemployment compensation, health, disability and death benefits, leave,
retirement, insurance, and veterans' preference applicable to employees of the
District government as set forth in section 714(c), shall continue to be
applicable until such time as the Council shall, pursuant to this section,
provide for coverage under a District government merit system. The District
government merit system shall be established by act of the Council. [Struck
out->][
The system may provide
][<-Struck
out] The system shall apply with respect to the compensation of employees of
the District government during fiscal year 2006 and each succeeding fiscal year,
except that the system may provide for continued participation in all or
part of the Federal Civil Service System and shall provide for persons employed
by the District government immediately preceding the effective date of such
system personnel benefits, including but not limited to pay, tenure, leave,
residence, retirement, health and life insurance, and employee disability and
death benefits, all at least equal to those provided by legislation enacted by
Congress, or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, and applicable to such
officers and employees immediately prior to the effective date of the system
established pursuant to this Act, except that nothing in this Act shall prohibit
the District from separating an officer or employee subject to such system in
the implementation of a financial plan and budget for the District government
approved under subtitle A of title II of the District of Columbia Financial
Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995. The District government
merit system shall take effect not earlier than one year nor later than five
years after the effective date of this section.
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