Restore the Partnership Act

II Calendar No. 617 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2967 [Report No. 116–314] To establish the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations of the United States to facilitate the fullest cooperation, coordination, and mutual accountability among all levels of government, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 3, 2019 Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To establish the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations of the United States to facilitate the fullest cooperation, coordination, and mutual accountability among all levels of government, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2967 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore the Partner- 2 ship Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 4 There is established a permanent, bipartisan commis- 5 sion to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Intergovern- 6 mental Relations of the United States’’ (in this Act re- 7 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 8 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to facilitate the fullest 10 cooperation, coordination, and mutual accountability 11 among all levels of government and thus better serve the 12 people of the United States in an increasingly complex so- 13 ciety, it is essential that a commission be established to 14 give continuing attention to federalism and intergovern- 15 mental issues. 16 (b) ACTIVITIES.—It is intended that the Commission, 17 in the performance of the duties of the Commission, will— 18 (1) convene representatives of Federal, State, 19 Tribal, and local governments for the consideration 20 of common problems; 21 (2) provide a forum for discussing ways to im- 22 prove the administration and coordination of Federal 23 grant-in-aid, regulatory, tax, and other programs re- 24 quiring intergovernmental cooperation, and to give 25 State, Tribal, and local governments more flexibility 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2967 RS and discretion in implementing Federal policies and 1 programs; 2 (3) give critical attention to the conditions, con- 3 trols, and oversight involved in the administration of 4 such Federal programs; 5 (4) share lessons and best practices with Fed- 6 eral, State, Tribal, and local governments; 7 (5) encourage discussion and study during the 8 early stages of emerging public challenges that are 9 likely to require intergovernmental cooperation; 10 (6) advise the executive and legislative branches 11 of the Federal Government on ways to improve the 12 intergovernmental operations of the White House 13 and Federal agencies, including their offices of inter- 14 governmental affairs and use of administrative waiv- 15 ers; 16 (7) identify the intergovernmental impacts of 17 rulings by the United States Supreme Court on Fed- 18 eral, State, Tribal, and local governments; and 19 (8) recommend, within the framework of the 20 United States Constitution, the appropriate alloca- 21 tion of governmental functions, responsibilities, reve- 22 nues, and expenditures among the levels of govern- 23 ment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2967 RS SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 1 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 2 shall be composed of 31 members, of whom— 3 (1) 6 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 4 dent, of whom— 5 (A) 3 shall be officers of the executive 6 branch of the Federal Government; and 7 (B) 3 shall be private citizens, each of 8 whom, respectively, shall have experience or fa- 9 miliarity with relations between the levels of 10 government; 11 (2) 3 members shall be appointed by the major- 12 ity leader of the Senate, who shall be Members of 13 the Senate; 14 (3) 3 members shall be appointed by the Speak- 15 er of the House of Representatives, who shall be 16 Members of the House of Representatives; 17 (4) 4 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 18 dent from a panel of not less than 8 Governors sub- 19 mitted by the National Governors Association; 20 (5) 4 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 21 dent from a panel of not less than 8 members of 22 State legislative bodies submitted by the National 23 Conference of State Legislatures; 24 (6) 4 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 25 dent from a panel of not less than 8 mayors sub- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2967 RS mitted jointly by the National League of Cities and 1 the United States Conference of Mayors; 2 (7) 4 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 3 dent from a panel of not less than 8 elected county 4 officers submitted by the National Association of 5 Counties; 6 (8) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi- 7 dent from a panel of not less than 4 town or town- 8 ship elected governing board members submitted by 9 the National Association of Towns and Townships; 10 and 11 (9) 2 members shall be appointed by the Presi- 12 dent from a panel of not less than 4 Tribal officials 13 submitted by the National Congress of American In- 14 dians. 15 (b) POLITICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL COMPOSITION.— 16 The political and geographic composition of the Commis- 17 sion shall be as follows: 18 (1) The private citizen members under sub- 19 section (a)(1) shall be appointed without regard to 20 political affiliation. 21 (2) Two of the appointees under paragraphs (2) 22 and (3) of subsection (a), respectively, shall be from 23 the majority party of the applicable House of Con- 24 gress. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2967 RS (3) Not more than 2 of the appointees under 1 paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) of subsection (a), 2 respectively, shall be from any 1 political party. 3 (4) Not more than 1 of the appointees under 4 paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (9) of subsection (a), 5 respectively, shall be from any 1 State. 6 (5) Not less than 1 of the appointees under 7 subsection (a)(6) shall be from cities with a popu- 8 lation of more than 500,000, and not less than 1 of 9 the appointees under subsection (a)(6) shall be from 10 cities with a population of less than 50,000. 11 (6) Not less than 1 of the appointees under 12 subsection (a)(7) shall be from counties with a popu- 13 lation of more than 500,000, and not less than 1 of 14 the appointees under subsection (a)(7) shall be from 15 counties with a population of less than 50,000. 16 (7) The appointee under subsection (a)(8) shall 17 not be a member of the party of the President. 18 (8) One of the appointees under subsection 19 (a)(9) shall be an official of an Indian tribe engaged 20 in class II gaming or class III gaming, as such 21 terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming 22 Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703), respectively, and 23 the other appointee under subsection (a)(9) shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2967 RS an official of an Indian tribe that is not engaged in 1 such gaming. 2 (c) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Each initial appoint- 3 ment under subsection (a) shall be made not later than 4 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 5 (d) TERMS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com- 7 mission shall— 8 (A) serve a term of 2 years; 9 (B) be eligible for reappointment; and 10 (C) except as provided in paragraph (2), 11 continue to serve until a successor is appointed. 12 (2) TERMINATION OF SERVICE IN OFFICIAL PO- 13 SITION FROM WHICH ORIGINALLY APPOINTED.—If 14 any member of the Commission ceases to serve in 15 the official position to which the member was ap- 16 pointed under subsection (a), the place of the mem- 17 ber on the Commission shall be deemed to be vacant. 18 (3) VACANCIES IN MEMBERSHIP.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 20 subparagraph (B), any vacancy in the member- 21 ship of the Commission shall be filled for the 22 remainder of the vacant term in the same man- 23 ner in which the original appointment was 24 made. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2967 RS (B) EXCEPTION.—If the number of vacan- 1 cies in the membership of the Commission is 2 fewer than the number of members specified in 3 paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of sub- 4 section (a), each panel of names submitted in 5 accordance with the those paragraphs shall con- 6 tain not less than 2 names for each vacancy. 7 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF COMMISSION. 8 (a) INITIAL MEETING.—The President shall convene 9 the Commission not later than 90 days after the date of 10 enactment of this Act at such time and place as the Presi- 11 dent may designate. 12 (b) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall des- 14 ignate a Chair and a Vice Chair of the Commission 15 from among the members of the Commission. 16 (2) PROCESS FOR ELECTION.—After the Presi- 17 dent designates a Chair and Vice Chair under para- 18 graph (1), the Commission may subsequently estab- 19 lish a process for electing a Chair and Vice Chair. 20 (c) QUORUM.—Seventeen members of the Commis- 21 sion shall constitute a quorum, but 2 or more members, 22 representing more than 1 of the class of members de- 23 scribed in section 4(a), shall constitute a quorum for the 24 purpose of conducting hearings. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2967 RS SEC. 6. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 2 (1) engage in such activities and make such 3 studies, investigations, convenings, and communica- 4 tions as are necessary or desirable in the accomplish- 5 ment of the purposes set forth in section 3; 6 (2) consider, on its own initiative, mechanisms 7 for fostering better relations and more productive 8 partnerships between and among the levels of gov- 9 ernment; 10 (3) make available technical assistance to the 11 executive and legislative branches of the Federal 12 Government in the review of proposed legislation to 13 determine the overall effect of the proposed legisla- 14 tion on all levels of government; 15 (4) recommend, within the framework of the 16 United States Constitution, the appropriate alloca- 17 tion of governmental functions, responsibilities, reve- 18 nues, and expenditures among the levels of govern- 19 ment; 20 (5) recommend ways to improve the manage- 21 ment, performance, and coordination of Federal 22 grant-in-aid and regulatory programs on State, Trib- 23 al, and local governments, including metrics to in- 24 form intergovernmental improvements; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2967 RS (6) recommend methods of coordinating and 1 simplifying tax laws and administrative policies and 2 practices to achieve a more orderly and less competi- 3 tive fiscal relationship between the levels of govern- 4 ment and to reduce the burden of compliance for 5 taxpayers. 6 (b) REPORTS.— 7 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and on or 9 before January 31 of each year thereafter, the Com- 10 mission shall submit to the President and Congress 11 a report that— 12 (A) identifies trends in federalism, emerg- 13 ing and persistent issues needing intergovern- 14 mental attention, data needs, and areas requir- 15 ing intergovernmental cooperation and coordi- 16 nation for better outcomes; 17 (B) summarizes any actions taken in ac- 18 cordance with the recommendations of the Com- 19 mission contained in any prior report, and the 20 results thereof; 21 (C) contains the recommendations de- 22 scribed in subsection (a) made in the year pre- 23 ceding the submission of the report; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2967 RS (D) provide details on the activities, ad- 1 ministration, expenditures, and receipts of the 2 Commission; and 3 (E) communicate any other matters as the 4 Commission may determine important. 5 (2) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—The Commission 6 may submit additional reports to the President, to 7 Congress or any committee of Congress, and to any 8 unit of government or organization as the Commis- 9 sion may determine appropriate. 10 (c) HEARINGS.—Not later than 90 days after the 11 date on which Congress receives a report described in sub- 12 section (b)(1), Congress shall hold hearings on the rec- 13 ommendations of the Commission. 14 SEC. 7. POWERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 15 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, on the 17 authorization of the Commission, any subcommittee 18 or members thereof, may, for the purpose of car- 19 rying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hear- 20 ings, take such testimony, and sit and act at such 21 times and places as the Commission determines to 22 be advisable. 23 (2) OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.—Any member 24 authorized by the Commission may administer oaths 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2967.RS S2967 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2967 RS or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the 1 Commission or any subcommittee or members there- 2 of. 3 (b) COOPERATION BY EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.— 4 (1) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—Each de- 5 partment, agency, and instrumentality of the execu- 6 tive branch of the Federal Government, including 7 each independent agency, is authorized and directed, 8 consistent with law, to furnish to the Commission, 9 upon request made by the Chair or Vice Chair, such 10 information as the Commission determines to be 11 necessary to carry out the functions of the Commis- 12 sion under this [Text truncated for display. 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