To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an Inspector General for the judicial branch, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill strengthens oversight of Hatch Act enforcement by requiring the Office of Special Counsel to report more frequently to Congress and publish enforcement statistics online. It creates a distinction between career federal employees and political appointees (noncareer employees) to track whether Hatch Act violations are being enforced equally across both groups.
Who Benefits and How
Career federal employees benefit from greater transparency that may reveal if political appointees receive more lenient treatment for the same violations. Watchdog groups and the public gain access to demographic data and enforcement statistics that will be published on the OSC website for at least 10 years. Congressional oversight committees receive detailed reports every 180 days including complaint copies, employee names, and positions.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Office of Special Counsel faces significantly increased reporting and data collection requirements, including tracking demographic information and publishing detailed statistics. The Office of Personnel Management and agency heads must provide demographic data upon request. Political appointees (noncareer employees) face increased scrutiny as their Hatch Act enforcement outcomes will be separately tracked and reported to Congress, including detailed explanations when the Special Counsel declines to prosecute.
Key Provisions
- Requires 180-day reports to Congress on Hatch Act complaints, including names and positions of accused employees
- Mandates annual reports specifically on allegations against political appointees with confidential addenda
- Requires public website publication of enforcement statistics broken down by career vs. noncareer status with demographic data
- Requires written explanation when Special Counsel declines to prosecute noncareer employees found to have violated the Hatch Act
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Increases transparency and accountability in Hatch Act enforcement by requiring detailed public reporting on investigations and disciplinary actions, with particular focus on tracking enforcement against political appointees versus career employees.
Key Policy Areas
Government Operations, Ethics & Transparency, Federal Workforce
Primary Purpose
Increases transparency and accountability in Hatch Act enforcement by requiring detailed public reporting on investigations and disciplinary actions, with particular focus on tracking enforcement against political appointees versus career employees.
Policy Domains
Main Body - Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Career federal employees
- Government accountability organizations
- Congressional oversight committees
- The general public
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Office of Special Counsel
- Office of Personnel Management
- Noncareer employees (political appointees)
- Federal agency heads
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Stansbury (for herself, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Cleaver, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Chief Justice of the United States, Federal Judges
Positive-direction: Judicial Branch Employees
Negative-direction: Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Federal Judges, Federal Judges (non-Supreme Court), Federal Judiciary, Judicial Conference of the United States, Supreme Court Justices
Audit and Investigation Services Providers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_board"
- → Merit Systems Protection Board
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Personnel Management
- "the_special_counsel"
- → Special Counsel (Office of Special Counsel)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An individual who is an employee as defined in section 7322 and is not a noncareer employee
An allegation concerning political activity prohibited under subchapter III of chapter 73 (Hatch Act violations)
An employee serving in the executive branch who was appointed by the President (including noncareer appointees, positions comparable to SES without merit-based procedures, and certain other political positions), excluding uniformed service members and career Foreign Service
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology