Bill Summary
The Official Time Reporting Act requires the Office of Personnel Management to submit an annual report to Congress on the use of official time by Federal employees. Official time refers to time granted to employees for representational or consultative functions, and the report must include information on the total amount of official time granted, the average amount of time used per employee, the specific activities or purposes for which official time was granted, and the impact on agency operations. This information must be provided by each agency and will be made available to Congress for analysis and comparison. The act will go into effect 6 months after its enactment.
Possible Impacts
1. Federal employees who use official time for representational or consultative functions may be required to track and report their time, which could potentially increase their workload and limit their flexibility.
2. With the new reporting requirement, Congress will have more information on the use of official time by federal employees, which could potentially lead to changes in policies and funding for such activities.
3. The Office of Personnel Management may need to allocate additional resources to compile and analyze the data for the annual report, which could affect their budget and staffing.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 605 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 605
To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the Office of
Personnel Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to
the use of official time by Federal employees.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2019
Mr. Hice of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Arrington, Mr.
Gosar, and Mr. David P. Roe of Tennessee) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the Office of
Personnel Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to
the use of official time by Federal employees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Official Time Reporting Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 7131 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e)(1)(A) Not later than March 31 of each calendar year, the
Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Office of
Management and Budget, shall submit to each House of Congress a report
on the operation of this section during the fiscal year last ending
before the start of such calendar year.
``(B) Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, each agency
(as defined by section 7103(a)(3)) shall furnish to the Office of
Personnel Management the information which such Office requires, with
respect to such agency, for purposes of the report which is next due
under subparagraph (A).
``(2) Each report by the Office of Personnel Management under this
subsection shall include, with respect to the fiscal year described in
paragraph (1)(A), at least the following information:
``(A) The total amount of official time granted to
employees.
``(B) The average amount of official time expended per
bargaining unit employee.
``(C) The specific types of activities or purposes for
which official time was granted, and the impact which the
granting of such official time for such activities or purposes
had on agency operations.
``(D) The total number of employees to whom official time
was granted, and, of that total, the number who were not
engaged in any activities or purposes except activities or
purposes involving the use of official time.
``(E) The total amount of compensation (including fringe
benefits) afforded to employees in connection with activities
or purposes for which they were granted official time.
``(F) A description of any room or space designated at the
agency (or its subcomponent) where official time activities
will be conducted, including the square footage of any such
room or space.
``(3) All information included in a report by the Office of
Personnel Management under this subsection with respect to a fiscal
year--
``(A) shall be shown both agency-by-agency and for all
agencies; and
``(B) shall be accompanied by the corresponding information
(submitted by the Office in its report under this subsection)
for the fiscal year before the fiscal year to which such report
pertains, together with appropriate comparisons and analyses.
``(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term `official time'
means any period of time, regardless of agency nomenclature--
``(A) which may be granted to an employee under this
chapter (including a collective bargaining agreement entered
into under this chapter) to perform representational or
consultative functions; and
``(B) during which the employee would otherwise be in a
duty status.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be
effective beginning with the report which, under the provisions of such
amendment, is first required to be submitted by the Office of Personnel
Management to each House of Congress by a date which occurs at least 6
months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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