Sec. 4. TRANSITION SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES BEFORE ELECTION
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## SEC. 4 TRANSITION SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES BEFORE ELECTION ###
(a)Definitions In this section— ####
(1)the term “**Administrator**” means the Administrator of General Services; ####
(2)the term “**agency**” means an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; ####
(3)the term “**eligible candidate**” has the meaning given that term in section 3(h)(4); ####
(4)the term “**nonpublic information**”— #####
(A)means information from the Federal Government that a member of a transition team obtains as part of the employment of the member that such member knows or reasonably should know has not been made available to the general public; and #####
(B)includes information that a member of the transition team knows or reasonably should know— ######
(i)is exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, or otherwise protected from disclosure by law; and ######
(ii)is not authorized by the appropriate government agency or officials to be released to the public; and ####
(5)the term “**Presidential election**” means a general election held to determine the electors of President and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, United States Code. ###
(b)General Duties The President shall take such actions as the President determines necessary and appropriate to plan and coordinate activities by the Executive branch of the Federal Government to facilitate an efficient transfer of power to a successor President, including by— ####
(1)establishing and operating a White House transition coordinating council in accordance with subsection (d); and ####
(2)establishing and operating an agency transition directors council in accordance with subsection (e). ###
(c)Federal Transition Coordinator The Administrator shall designate an employee of the General Services Administration who is a senior career appointee to— ####
(1)carry out the duties and authorities of the General Services Administration relating to Presidential transitions under this Act or any other provision of law; ####
(2)serve as the Federal Transition Coordinator with responsibility for coordinating transition planning across agencies, including through the agency transition directors council established under subsection (e); ####
(3)ensure agencies comply with all statutory requirements relating to transition planning and reporting; and ####
(4)act as a liaison to eligible candidates. ###
(d)White House Transition Coordinating Council ####
(1)Establishment Not later than 6 months before the date of a Presidential election, the President shall establish a White House transition coordinating council for purposes of facilitating the Presidential transition. ####
(2)Duties The White House transition coordinating council shall— #####
(A)provide guidance to agencies and the Federal Transition Coordinator regarding preparations for the Presidential transition, including succession planning and preparation of briefing materials; #####
(B)facilitate communication and information sharing between the transition representatives of eligible candidates and senior employees in agencies and the Executive Office of the President; and #####
(C)prepare and host interagency emergency preparedness and response exercises. ####
(3)Membership The members of the White House transition coordinating council shall include— #####
(A)senior employees of the Executive branch selected by the President, which may include the Chief of Staff to the President, any Cabinet officer, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, and the Archivist of the United States; #####
(B)the Federal Transition Coordinator; #####
(C)the transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advisory capacity; and #####
(D)any other individual the President determines appropriate. ####
(4)Chairperson The Chairperson of the White House transition coordinating council shall be a senior employee in the Executive Office of the President, designated by the President. ###
(e)Agency Transition Directors Council ####
(1)In general The President shall establish and operate an agency transition directors council, which shall— #####
(A)ensure the Federal Government has an integrated strategy for addressing interagency challenges and responsibilities around Presidential transitions and turnover of noncareer appointees; #####
(B)coordinate transition activities between the Executive Office of the President, agencies, and the transition team of eligible candidates and the apparent successful candidates (as determined by section 3(c)); and #####
(C)draw on guidance provided by the White House transition coordinating council and lessons learned from previous Presidential transitions in carrying out its duties. ####
(2)Duties As part of carrying out the responsibilities under paragraph (1), the agency transition directors council shall— #####
(A)assist the Federal Transition Coordinator in identifying and carrying out the responsibilities of the Federal Transition Coordinator relating to a Presidential transition; #####
(B)provide guidance to agencies in gathering briefing materials and information relating to the Presidential transition that may be requested by eligible candidates; #####
(C)ensure materials and information described in subparagraph
(B)are prepared not later than November 1 of a year during which a Presidential election is held; #####
(D)ensure agencies adequately prepare career employees who are designated to fill non-career positions under subsection
(f)during a Presidential transition; and #####
(E)consult with the President's Management Council, or any successor thereto, in carrying out the duties of the agency transition directors council. ####
(3)Membership The members of the agency transition directors council shall include— #####
(A)the Federal Transition Coordinator and the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall serve as Co-Chairpersons of the agency transition directors council; #####
(B)other senior employees serving in the Executive Office of the President, as determined by the President; #####
(C)a senior representative serving in a career position from each agency described in section 901(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Government Ethics, and the National Archives and Records Administration whose responsibilities include leading Presidential transition efforts within the agency; #####
(D)a senior representative serving in a career position from any other agency determined by the Co-Chairpersons to be an agency that has significant responsibilities relating to the Presidential transition process; and #####
(E)during a year during which a Presidential election will be held, a transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advisory capacity. ####
(4)Meetings The agency transition directors council shall meet— #####
(A)subject to subparagraph (B), not less than once per year; and #####
(B)during the period beginning on the date that is 6 months before a Presidential election and ending on the date on which the apparent successful candidate for the office of President is inaugurated, on a regular basis as necessary to carry out the duties and authorities of the agency transition directors council. ###
(f)Interim Agency Leadership for Transitions ####
(1)Oversight and implementation of transition Not later than 6 months before the date of a Presidential election, the head of each agency shall designate a senior career employee of the agency and a senior career employee of each major component and subcomponent of the agency to oversee and implement the activities of the agency, component, or subcomponent relating to the Presidential transition. ####
(2)Acting officers Not later than September 15 of a year during which a Presidential election occurs, and in accordance with subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, the head of each agency shall ensure that a succession plan is in place for each senior noncareer position in the agency. ###
(g)Memorandums of Understanding ####
(1)In general Not later than October 1 of a year during which a Presidential election occurs, the President (acting through the Federal Transition Coordinator) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the transition representative of each eligible candidate, which shall include, at a minimum, the conditions of access to employees, facilities, and documents of agencies by transition staff. ####
(2)Existing resources To the maximum extent practicable, the memorandums of understanding negotiated under paragraph
(1)shall be based on memorandums of understanding from previous Presidential transitions. ####
(3)Ethics plan #####
(A)In general Each memorandum of understanding under paragraph
(1)shall include an agreement that the eligible candidate will implement and enforce an ethics plan to guide the conduct of the transition beginning on the date on which the eligible candidate becomes the apparent successful candidate for the office of President. #####
(B)Contents The ethics plan shall include, at a minimum— ######
(i)a description of the ethics requirements that will apply to all members of the transition team, including any specific requirement for transition team members who will have access to nonpublic or classified information; ######
(ii)a description of how the transition team will— ######
(I)address the role on the transition team of— ######
(aa)lobbyists registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and individuals who were former lobbyists registered under that Act; and ######
(bb)persons registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), foreign nationals, and other foreign agents; ######
(II)prohibit a transition team member with conflicts of interest similar to those applicable to Federal employees under section 2635.402(a) and section 2635.502(a) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, related to current or former employment, affiliations, clients, or investments, from working on particular matters involving specific parties that affect the interests of such member; and ######
(III)address how the covered eligible candidate will address his or her own conflicts of interest during a Presidential term if the covered eligible candidate becomes the apparent successful candidate for the office of President; ######
(iii)a Code of Ethical Conduct, which each member of the transition team will sign and be subject to, that reflects the content of the ethics plans under this paragraph and at a minimum requires transition team members to— ######
(I)seek authorization from transition team leaders or their designees before seeking, on behalf of the transition, access to any nonpublic information; ######
(II)keep confidential any nonpublic information provided in the course of the duties of the member with the transition and exclusively use such information for the purposes of the transition; and ######
(III)not use any nonpublic information provided in the course of transition duties, in any manner, for personal or private gain for the member or any other party at any time during or after the transition; and ######
(iv)a description of how the transition team will enforce the Code of Ethical Conduct, including the names of the members of the transition team responsible for enforcement, oversight, and compliance. #####
(C)Publicly available The transition team shall make the ethics plan described in this paragraph publicly available on the internet website of the General Services Administration the earlier of— ######
(i)the day on which the memorandum of understanding is completed; or ######
(ii)October 1. ###
(h)Equity in Assistance Any information or other assistance provided to eligible candidates under this section shall be offered on an equal basis and without regard to political affiliation. ###
(i)Reports ####
(1)In general The President, acting through the Federal Transition Coordinator, shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate reports describing the activities undertaken by the President and agencies to prepare for the transfer of power to a new President. ####
(2)Timing The reports under paragraph
(1)shall be provided 6 months and 3 months before the date of a Presidential election.
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