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Public Law No: 116-121 (03/03/2020)
[116th Congress Public Law 121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 137]]
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ENHANCEMENT
ACT OF 2019
[[Page 134 STAT. 138]]
Public Law 116-121
116th Congress
An Act
To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to improve the orderly
transfer of the executive power during Presidential
transitions. <>
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 ``Presidential Transition Enhancement
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ENHANCEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 3 of the Presidential Transition Act of
1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) <> in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``upon request,'' and all
that follows through ``including'' and inserting ``upon
request, to each President-elect, each Vice-President-
elect, and, for up to 60 days after the date of the
inauguration of the President-elect and Vice-President-
elect, each President and Vice President, for use in
connection with the preparations for the assumption of
official duties as President or Vice President necessary
services and facilities, including''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``, or an employee of a
committee of either House of Congress, a joint
committee of the Congress, or an individual Member
of Congress,'' after ``any branch of the
Government''; and
(ii) by inserting ``, or in the case of an
employee in a position in the legislative branch,
with the consent of the supervising Member of
Congress'' after ``with the consent of the head of
the agency'';
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) The Administrator shall expend funds for the provision of
services and facilities under this section--
``(1) <> in connection with any
obligation incurred by the President-elect or Vice-President-
elect, or after the inauguration of the President-elect as
President and the inauguration of the Vice-President-elect as
Vice President incurred by the President or Vice President,
during the period--
``(A) beginning on the day after the date of the
general elections held to determine the electors of the
President and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of
title 3, United States Code; and
[[Page 134 STAT. 139]]
``(B) ending on the date that is 60 days after the
date of such inauguration; and
``(2) without regard to whether the President-elect, Vice-
President-elect, President, or Vice President submits to the
Administrator a request for payment regarding services or
facilities before the end of such period.'';
(3) in subsection (h)(2)(B)(ii), by striking ``computers''
and inserting ``information technology''; and
(4) By adding at the end the following:
``(i) Memorandums of Understanding.--
``(1) <> In general.--Not later than
September 1 of a year during which a Presidential election
occurs, the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, enter into a memorandum of understanding with each
eligible candidate, which shall include, at a minimum, the
conditions for the administrative support services and
facilities described in subsection (a).
``(2) Existing resources.--To the maximum extent
practicable, a memorandum of understanding entered into under
paragraph (1) shall be based on memorandums of understanding
relating to previous Presidential transitions.
``(3) Transition representative.--
``(A) Designation of representative for inquiries.--
Each memorandum of understanding entered into under this
subsection shall designate a representative of the
eligible candidate to whom the Administrator shall
direct any inquiries or legal instruments regarding the
records of the eligible candidate that are in the
custody of the Administrator.
``(B) Change in transition representative.--The
designation of a new individual as the transition
representative of an eligible candidate shall not
require the execution of a new memorandum of
understanding under this subsection.
``(C) Termination of designation.--The designation
of a transition representative under a memorandum of
understanding shall terminate--
``(i) not later than September 30 of the year
during which the inauguration of the President-
elect as President and the inauguration of the
Vice-President-elect as Vice President occurs; or
``(ii) before the date described in clause
(i), upon request of the President-elect or the
Vice-President-elect or, after such inauguration,
upon request of the President or the Vice
President.
``(4) Amendments.--Any amendment to a memorandum of
understanding entered into under this subsection shall be agreed
to in writing.
``(5) <> Prior notification of
deviation.--Each party to a memorandum of understanding entered
into under this subsection shall provide written notice, except
to the extent prohibited under another provision of law, not
later than 3 days before taking any action that deviates from
the terms and conditions agreed to in the memorandum of
understanding.
``(6) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `eligible
candidate' has the meaning given that term in subsection
(h)(4).''.
(b) Agency Transitions.--Section 4 of the Presidential Transition
Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended--
[[Page 134 STAT. 140]]
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5);
and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(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'';
(2) in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subsection (e)(3), by
inserting ``serving in a career position'' after ``senior
representative'';
(3) by striking subsection (f)(2) and inserting the
following:
``(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.''; and
(4) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``November 1'' and
inserting ``October 1''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(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 President-elect.
``(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.
[[Page 134 STAT. 141]]
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
President-elect;
``(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-
[[Page 134 STAT. 142]]
Administration the earlier of--
``(i) the day on which the memorandum of
understanding is completed; or
``(ii) October 1.''.
Approved March 3, 2020.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 394:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SENATE REPORTS: No. 116-13 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 165 (2019):
Aug. 1, considered and passed
Senate.
Vol. 166 (2020):
Feb. 5, considered and passed House.
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