[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 483 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 483
To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide for the
automatic appointment of judges to the District of Columbia courts
without the advice and consent of the Senate, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 24, 2023
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the
Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide for the
automatic appointment of judges to the District of Columbia courts
without the advice and consent of the Senate, and for other purposes.
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 ``District of Columbia Courts Judicial
Vacancy Reduction Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS.
(a) Appointments by President.--
(1) In general.--Section 433(a) of the District of Columbia
Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.33(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended
by striking ``the President shall nominate'' and all that
follows and inserting the following: ``from the list of persons
recommended by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination
Commission established under section 434, the President shall
appoint all judges of the District of Columbia courts.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--Section 433 of such Act (sec.
1-204.33, D.C. Official Code) is further amended--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``nomination and'';
(B) in subsection (b) in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``nominated or'';
(C) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b), by striking
``nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
(D) in paragraph (3) of subsection (b), by striking
``nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
(E) in paragraph (4) of subsection (b), by striking
``the President, for such nomination and appointment,''
and inserting ``the President for such appointment'';
(F) in paragraph (5) of subsection (b), by striking
``his nomination'' and inserting ``appointment'';
(G) in the fifth sentence of subsection (c), by
striking ``then the President may nominate'' and all
that follows and inserting ``the President may
reappoint such candidate as judge.'';
(H) in the sixth sentence of subsection (c), by
striking ``not to so nominate such declaring candidate,
he shall nominate another candidate'' and inserting
``not to so reappoint such declaring candidate, the
President shall appoint another candidate''; and
(I) in the seventh sentence of subsection (c), by
striking ``then the President shall not submit to the
Senate for advice and consent the renomination of the
declaring candidate as judge'' and inserting ``the
President shall not reappoint the declaring candidate
as judge''.
(3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act
is amended by amending the item relating to section 433 to read
as follows:
``Sec. 433. Appointment of judges.''.
(b) Appointments by Judicial Nomination Commission.--Section 434(d)
of such Act (sec. 1-204.34(d), D.C. Official Code) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by striking
``for possible nomination and appointment'' and inserting ``for
possible appointment'';
(2) in the second sentence of paragraph (1), by striking
``more than one nominee'' and inserting ``more than one
person'';
(3) in the third sentence of paragraph (1), by striking
``of nominees'';
(4) in the fourth sentence of paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``the President fails to nominate,
for Senate confirmation,'' and inserting ``the
President fails to appoint''; and
(B) by striking ``the Commission shall nominate,
and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
appoint'' and inserting ``the Commission shall
appoint''; and
(5) in paragraph (3), by striking ``nomination'' each place
it appears and inserting ``appointment''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZING CONGRESS TO PREVENT APPOINTMENT THROUGH RESOLUTION
OF DISAPPROVAL.
(a) Resolutions of Disapproval.--Part C of title IV of the District
of Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.31 et seq., D.C. Official Code)
is amended by inserting after section 434 the following new section:
``authorizing congress to prevent appointment through resolution of
disapproval
``Sec. 434A. (a) Requiring Transmission of Notice of Appointment
to Congress.--Notice of the appointment of a judge of a District of
Columbia court under this part shall be transmitted to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the
Senate by--
``(1) the President, in the case of an appointment under
section 433; or
``(2) the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination
Commission, in the case of an appointment under section
434(d)(1).
``(b) Timing of Appointment.--The appointment of a judge of the
District of Columbia courts shall take effect upon the expiration of
the 30-calendar-day period (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays,
and any day on which neither House is in session because of an
adjournment sine die, a recess of more than three days, or an
adjournment of more than three days) beginning on the date on which
notice of the appointment is transmitted to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate under
subsection (a), unless during such 30-calendar-day period there has
been enacted into law a joint resolution disapproving of the
appointment.
``(c) Application of Expedited Procedures for Consideration of
Resolutions of Disapproval of Council Acts to Consideration of
Resolutions of Disapproval of Appointment of Judges.--
``(1) Application of procedures.--The provisions of section
604 shall apply with respect to a joint resolution described in
paragraph (2) in the same manner and to the same extent as such
provisions apply to a joint resolution which is described in
section 604(b) and which disapproves an act of the District of
Columbia Council which is transmitted pursuant to section
602(c)(1).
``(2) Resolutions described.--A resolution described in
this paragraph is a resolution, the matter after the resolving
clause of which is as follows: `That the ________ disapproves
of the appointment of ________ as a judge of the ________.',
with the first blank filled in with the name of the House of
Congress involved, the second blank filled in with the name of
the individual involved, and the third blank filled in with the
name of the District of Columbia court involved, but does not
include any resolution which specifies more than one action.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 434 the
following new item:
``Sec. 434A. Authorizing Congress to prevent appointment through
resolution of disapproval.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to appointments of judges of the District of Columbia courts
which are made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Transition Rule for Current Nominees.--Section 434A of the
District of Columbia Home Rule Act (as added by section 3(a)) shall
apply with respect to an individual whose nomination as a judge of the
District of Columbia courts is pending as of the date of the enactment
of this Act as follows:
(1) In the case of an individual nominated by the President
under section 433 of such Act (as in effect prior to the
effective date of this Act), the President shall be deemed to
have transmitted notice of the appointment of the individual as
a judge of the District of Columbia courts to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of
the Senate on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) In the case of an individual nominated by the District
of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission under section 434 of
such Act (as in effect prior to the effective date of this
Act), the Commission shall be deemed to have transmitted notice
of the appointment of the individual as a judge of the District
of Columbia courts to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate on
the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>