,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aaif ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bg1 #bjbe,mr4 ,lujn 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,kelly1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 and ,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require ,executive agencies to limit the use of special ,government employees to #acj days1 to require the maintenance of a public database of certain special ,government employees1 to require the release of financial disclosures filed by certain special ,government employees1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,special ,government ,employees ,transparency ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,limitation on the use of special ,government employees 7a7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term special ,government employee means an individual who-- 7#a7 qualifies as a special ,government employee under section #bjb7;a7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other provision of ,federal law2 and 7#b7 is employed by an agency1 department1 office1 or other entity within the executive branch of the ,united ,states ,government1 without regard to whether employees of that agency1 department1 office1 or entity are subject to the requirements of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,establishment of limit ,notwithstanding any other provision of law-- 7#a7 an individual who otherwise qualifies as a special ,government employee shall cease to be a special ,government employee after having served as a special ,government employee for #acj days1 regardless of whether those days were consecutive1 during any period of #cfe consecutive days2 and 7#b7 if an individual described in paragraph 7#a7 exceeds the #acj-;day threshold described in that paragraph-- 7,a7 the employing authority of the individual shall1 not later than #cj days after the date of cessation of such special ,government employee status-- 7i7 determine the appropriate employment classification for the individual in accordance with applicable civil service laws and regulations1 including which position the individual shall be considered to occupy beginning on the date of that determination2 7ii7 with respect to the individual1 follow an appropriate applicable ,federal personnel framework in a manner consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the position in which the individual is serving as determined under clause 7i7 and with the personnel management policies of the employing authority2 and 7iii7 provide written notice to the individual-- 7,i7 of the new classification determination required under clause 7i72 and 7,,ii7 that the individual may appeal or seek review of the new classification determination through appeal and review procedures applicable to the position in which the individual is serving as determined under clause 7i72 and 7,b7 the individual shall be subject to all applicable provisions of law1 including legal obligations and rights1 relating to employees occupying the position in which the individual is serving as determined under subparagraph 7,a77i74 7c7 ,counting days of service ,for purposes of subsection 7b71 #a full day of service shall be counted toward the #acj-;day limit described in subsection 7b77#a7 for each day-- 7#a7 during which an individual has provided any service as a special ,government employee that is purely administrative in nature1 such as making a brief telephone call to confirm the date of a meeting or completing and filing personnel paperwork1 for more than #a hour2 7#b7 during which the individual has performed any service as a special ,government employee1 such as reading official materials or substantively preparing for a meeting1 that is not purely administrative in nature1 regardless of the length of time spent performing such service2 or 7#c7 for which the individual has been compensated by the ,government for service as a special ,government employee4 #c4 ,transparency for special ,government employees 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,advisory committee ,the term advisory committee-- 7,a7 has the meaning given the term in section #ajja of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,b7 does not include-- 7i7 the ,united ,states ,,doge ,service1 or any successor organization2 7ii7 the ,u4,s4 ,,doge ,service ,temporary ,organization1 or any successor organization2 or 7iii7 any ,,doge ,team 7as described in ,executive ,order #adaeh 7#ij ,fed4 ,reg4 #hdda71 relating to establishing and implementing the ,president's ,department of ,government ,efficiency71 or any successor organization4 7#b7 ,appropriate congressional parties ,the term appropriate congressional parties means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,c7 the majority leader of the ,senate2 7,d7 the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,e7 the minority leader of the ,senate2 and 7,f7 the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#c7 ,covered special ,government employee ,the term covered special ,government employee means any individual-- 7,a7 who qualifies as a special ,government employee under section #bjb7;a7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other provision of ,federal law2 and 7,b7 7i7 who is not serving on an advisory committee2 7ii7 whose responsibilities are substantially comparable to the types of duties that are classified at the ,,gs-#aa level or above2 and 7iii7 who is not appointed to a position in the civil service that may only be filled by a full-time student enrolled in an institution of higher education1 as defined in section #ajb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb74 7#d7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management4 7#e7 ,executive agency ,the term ,executive agency-- 7,a7 has the meaning given the term in section #aje of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,b7 includes the ,executive ,office of the ,president4 7#f7 ,national defense information ,the term national defense information has the meaning given the term classified information in section #gih7;b7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#g7 ,,sge ,database ,the term ,,sge ,database means the database established under subsection 7b77#a74 7b7 ,,sge ,database 7#a7 ,establishment ,not later than #baj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,office of ,government ,ethics1 shall establish a searchable1 sortable database for the public release of1 with respect to each covered special ,government employee-- 7,a7 the name of the covered special ,government employee2 7,b7 the title of the position of the covered special ,government employee2 7,c7 the rate of basic pay1 if any1 of the covered special ,government employee2 7,d7 the employing ,executive agency of the covered special ,government employee2 7,e7 the employing organizational component of the employing ,executive agency of the covered special ,government employee2 7,f7 the appointment date of the covered special ,government employee2 and 7,g7 if applicable1 the termination date of the covered special ,government employee4 7#b7 ,public availability 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,,sge ,database shall be accessible to the public through the official website of the ,office of ,personnel ,management without charge and without a requirement that users register for access4 7,b7 ,requirements ,the ,director shall ensure that the ,,sge ,database-- 7i7 allows access through an application programming interface2 and 7ii7 is fully compliant with-- 7,i7 section #ejh of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid;d72 and 7,,ii7 the most recent ,web ,content ,accessibility ,guidelines 7or successor guidelines74 7#c7 ,currency of information ,the head of each ,executive agency shall-- 7,a7 notify the ,director of each appointment1 designation1 conversion1 termination1 or other personnel action involving or affecting a covered special ,government employee not later than #cj days after the date of such personnel action2 and 7,b7 from time to time1 review information contained in the ,,sge ,database that pertains to that ,executive agency to ensure that the information is current1 complete1 and accurate4 7#d7 ,oversight of submissions 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall conduct such periodic audits as may be necessary to ensure that ,executive agencies have established adequate procedures for submitting current1 complete1 and accurate information relating to covered special ,government employees for inclusion in the ,,sge ,database4 7,b7 ,report ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional parties that-- 7i7 describes the efforts undertaken to comply with paragraph 7#a72 and 7ii7 assesses the degree to which information in the ,,sge ,database is current1 complete1 and accurate4 7c7 ,public availability of financial disclosure reports ,notwithstanding section #acaji of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 each ,executive agency shall make publicly available any financial disclosure report filed by a covered special ,government employee with the ,executive agency after the date of enactment of this ,act1 using the procedures established under section #acajg of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 except that this subsection shall not apply to any financial disclosure report-- 7#a7 that is filed by an individual described in paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of section #acajg7;a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 7#b7 that is filed by a special ,government employee who is not a covered special ,government employee2 or 7#c7 that contains national defense information4