Federal Courts of Appeals Modernization Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 723 To establish a Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 7, 2019 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Courts of Ap- 4 peals Modernization Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 6 There is established a Commission on Structural Al- 7 ternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals (in this Act 8 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S723.IS S723 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 723 IS SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 1 (a) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com- 2 posed of 5 members who shall be appointed by the Chief 3 Justice of the United States. 4 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the Commis- 5 sion shall be appointed not later than 30 days after the 6 date of enactment of this Act. 7 (c) VACANCY.—Any vacancy in the Commission shall 8 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 9 (d) CHAIR.—The Commission shall elect a chair and 10 vice chair from among its members. 11 (e) QUORUM.—Three members of the Commission 12 shall constitute a quorum. 13 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 14 The Commission shall— 15 (1) study the present division of the United 16 States courts of appeals, with particular references 17 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 18 Circuit; and 19 (2) submit to the President and Congress a re- 20 port on the recommendations of the Commission 21 with respect to changes in circuit boundaries or 22 structure as may be appropriate for the expeditious 23 and effective disposition of the caseload of the 24 United States courts of appeals, consistent with fun- 25 damental concepts of fairness and due process. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S723.IS S723 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 723 IS SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 1 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 2 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 3 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 4 to $300 for each day (including travel time) during which 5 such member is engaged in the performance of the duties 6 of the Commission. All members of the Commission who 7 are officers or employees of the United States shall serve 8 without compensation in addition to that received for their 9 services as officers or employees of the United States. 10 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com- 11 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 12 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates not greater than those 13 described in section 456 of title 28, United States Code. 14 SEC. 6. STAFF. 15 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission may 16 appoint an Executive Director who shall be compensated 17 at a rate not greater than the daily equivalent of the an- 18 nual rate of basic pay prescribed for a position at GS– 19 15 of the General Schedule for each day (including travel 20 time) during which the Executive Director is engaged in 21 the performance of the duties of the Commission. 22 (b) STAFF.—The Executive Director, with the ap- 23 proval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the com- 24 pensation of such additional personnel as the Executive 25 Director determines necessary, without regard to the pro- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S723.IS S723 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 723 IS visions of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint- 1 ments in the competitive service, and without regard to 2 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 3 53 of such title relating to classification and General 4 Schedule pay rates, except that a rate of pay fixed under 5 this subsection may not exceed the annual maximum rate 6 of basic pay for a position above GS–15 of the General 7 Schedule under section 5108 of title 5, United States 8 Code. 9 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Executive 10 Director may procure by contract the temporary or inter- 11 mittent services of experts or consultants in accordance 12 with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at rates 13 for individuals that are not greater than the daily equiva- 14 lent of the annual rate of basic pay for a comparable posi- 15 tion paid under the General Schedule. 16 (d) SERVICES.—The Administrative Office of the 17 United States Courts shall provide administrative services, 18 including financial and budgeting services, to the Commis- 19 sion on a reimbursable basis. The Federal Judicial Center 20 shall provide necessary research services to the Commis- 21 sion on a reimbursable basis. 22 SEC. 7. INFORMATION. 23 The Commission may request from any department, 24 agency, or independent instrumentality of the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S723.IS S723 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 723 IS States any information and assistance the Commission de- 1 termines necessary to carry out its functions under this 2 Act. Each such department, agency, and independent in- 3 strumentality may provide such information and assist- 4 ance to the extent permitted by law when requested by 5 the chair of the Commission. 6 SEC. 8. STUDY AND REPORT. 7 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 300 days after the first 8 date on which a quorum of the Commission is present, 9 the Commission shall conclude a study on the issues de- 10 scribed in section 4(1). 11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 12 by which the Commission is required to conclude the study 13 under subsection (a), the Commission shall submit to the 14 President and Congress the report required under section 15 4(2). 16 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 17 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 18 date on which the Commission submits the report de- 19 scribed in section 8(b). 20 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 22 as are necessary, not to exceed $1,000,000, to carry out 23 this Act, to remain available until expended. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S723.IS S723 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS