One Hundred Tenth Congress of the United States of America
2d Session
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, the third day of January, two thousand and eight
S. 1046
AN ACT
To modify pay provisions relating to certain senior-level positions in the Federal Government, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Senior Professional Performance Act of
2008
.
Pay provisions relating to certain senior-level positions
Locality pay
Section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (g), by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
The applicable maximum under this subsection shall be level III of the Executive Schedule for—
positions under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (h)(1); and
any positions under subsection (h)(1)(C) as the President may determine.
; and
in subsection (h)—
in paragraph (1)—
by striking subparagraph (A);
in subparagraph (D)—
in clause (v), by striking
or
at the end;
in clause (vi), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ; or
; and
by adding at the end the following:
a position to which section 5376 applies (relating to certain senior-level and scientific and professional positions).
; and
by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and
in paragraph (2)(B)—
in clause (i)—
by striking subparagraphs (A)
through (C)
and inserting subparagraphs (A) and (B)
;
and
by striking or (vi)
and
inserting (vi), or (vii)
; and
in clause (ii)—
by striking paragraph (1)(D)
and inserting paragraph (1)(C)
; and
by striking or (vi)
and
inserting (vi), or (vii)
.
Access to higher maximum rate of basic pay
Section 5376(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
subject to paragraph (3), not greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule.
; and
by adding at the end the following:
In the case of an agency which has a
performance appraisal system which, as designed and applied, is certified under
section 5307(d) as making meaningful distinctions based on relative
performance, paragraph (1)(B) shall apply as if the reference to level
III
were a reference to level II
.
No employee may suffer a reduction in pay by reason of transfer from an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under paragraph (3) to an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under paragraph (1)(B).
.
Authority for employment; appointments; classification standards
Title 5, United States Code is amended—
in section 3104(a), in the second sentence,
by striking prescribes
and inserting prescribes and
publishes in such form as the Director may determine
;
in section 3324(a) by striking the
Office of Personnel Management
and inserting: the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management on the basis of qualification standards
developed by the agency involved in accordance with criteria specified in
regulations prescribed by the Director
;
in section 3325—
in subsection (a), in the second sentence,
by striking or its designee for this purpose
and inserting the
following: on the basis of standards developed by the agency involved in
accordance with criteria specified in regulations prescribed by the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management
; and
by adding at the end the following:
The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this section.
; and
in section 5108(a)(2) by inserting
published by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management in such
form as the Director may determine
after and
procedures
.
Effective date and application
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after the 180th day following the date of enactment of this Act.
No reductions in rates of pay
In general
The amendments made by this section may not result, at the time such amendments take effect, in a reduction in the rate of basic pay for an individual holding a position to which section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, applies.
Determination of rate of pay
For the purposes of subparagraph (A), the rate of basic pay for an individual described in that subparagraph shall be deemed to be the rate of basic pay set for the individual under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, plus any applicable locality pay paid to that individual on the day before the effective date under paragraph (1), subject to regulations that the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe.
References to maximum rates
Except as otherwise provided by law, any reference in a provision of law to the maximum rate under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code—
as provided before the effective date of the amendments made by this section, shall be considered a reference to the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule; and
as provided on or after the effective date of the amendments made by this section, shall be considered a reference to—
the rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive Schedule; or
if the head of the agency responsible for administering the applicable pay system certifies that the employees are covered by a performance appraisal system meeting the certification criteria established by regulation under section 5307(d), level II of the Executive Schedule.
Limitations on certain payments
In general
Section 5307(d) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (2), by striking all after
purposes of
and inserting: applying the limitation in the
calendar year involved, has a performance appraisal system certified under this
subsection as making, in its design and application, meaningful distinctions
based on relative performance.
; and
in paragraph (3)(B)—
by striking all beginning with
An
through 2 calendar years
and inserting
The certification of an agency performance appraisal system under this
subsection shall be for a period not to exceed 24 months beginning on the date
of certification, unless extended by the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management for up to 6 additional months
; and
by striking , for purposes of either
or both of those years,
.
Extension of certification
Extension to 2009
In general
For any certification of a performance appraisal system under section 5307(d) of title 5, United States Code, in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2008, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may provide that such a certification shall be extended without requiring additional justification by the agency.
Limitation
The expiration of any extension under this paragraph shall be not later than the later of—
June 30, 2009; or
the first anniversary of the date of the certification.
Extension to 2010
In general
For any certification of a performance appraisal system under section 5307(d) of title 5, United States Code, in effect on the date of enactment and scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2009, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may provide that such a certification shall be extended without requiring additional justification by the agency.
Limitation
The expiration of any extension under this paragraph shall be not later than the later of—
June 30, 2010; or
the second anniversary of the date of the certification.
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate