11:50 AM 27 Apr 1998
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Ingrid M. Schroeder |
| to: |
US, ao - courts - lrm, Broderick, Charles M. Brain, David J., Douglas D. McCormick, Elena Kagan, Ellen J., Kathleen M., Lisa B., ola, omb, Paul J. Weinstein, Peter Jacoby, Randolph M., Robert G., Steven D. Aitken, William P. |
| cc: |
Darlene O., James J. Jukes |
You will not receiv~ a paper copy of this LRM.
Total Pages:
LRM ID: IMS307
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Washington, D.C. 20503-0001
Monday, April 27, 1998
LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL MEMORANDUM
TO: Legislative Liaison Officer - See Distribution below
FROM: James J. Jukes (for) Assistant Director for Legislative Reference
OMB CONTACT: Ingrid M. Schroeder
PHONE: (202) 395- 3883 FAX: (202) 395-3109
SUBJECT: OMB Request for Views on HR1252 Judicial Reform Act of
1998 (as passed by the House on 4/23/98)
DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, April 30, 1998
In accordance with OMB Circular A-19, OMB requests the views of your
agency on the above subject before advising on its relationship to the
program of the President. Please advise us if this item will affect
direct spending or receipts for purposes of the "Pay-As-You-Go" provisions
of Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
COMMENTS: H.R. 1252 as passed by the House on 4/23/98 can be found on the
internet in THOMAS.
DISTRIBUTION LIST
AGENCIES:
11-Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts - Michael W. Blommer - (202)
273-1120
61-JUSTICE - Andrew Fois - (202) 514-2141
118-TREASURY - Richard S. Carro - (202) 622-0650
67-Merit Systems Protection Board - Susan Williams - (202) 653-6772
92-0ffice of Personnel Management - Harry Wolf - (202) 606-1424
76-National Economic Council - Sonyia Matthews - (202) 456-6630
EOP:
David J. Haun
Steven D. Aitken
," ,'If
Robert G. Damus
Douglas D. McCormick
Lisa B. Fairhall
Ellen J. Balis
Kathleen M. Turco
Randolph M. Lyon
William P. Marshall
Paul J. Weinstein Jr.
Elena Kagan
Peter G. Jacoby
Broderick Johnson
Charles M. Brain
LRM ID: IMS307 SUBJECT: OMB Request for Views on HR1252 Judicial Reform
Act of 1998 (as passed by the House on 4/23/98) .
RESPONSE TO
LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL
MEMORANDUM
If your response to this request for views is short (e.g., concur/no
comment), we prefer that you respond bye-mail or by faxing us this
response sheet. If the response is short and you prefer to call, please
call the branch-wide line shown below (NOT the analyst's line) to leave a
message with a legislative assistant.
You may also respond by:
(1) calling the analyst/attorney's direct line (you will be
connected to voice mail if the analyst does not answer); or
(2) sending us a memo or letter
Please include the LRM number shown above, and the subject shown below.
TO: Ingrid M. Schroeder Phone: 395-3883 Fax: 395-3109
Office of Management and Budget
Branch-Wide Line (to reach legislative assistant): 395-3454
FROM: (Date)
(Name)
(Agency)
(Telephone)
The following is the response of our agency to your request for views on
the above-captioned subject:
Concur
No Objection
No Comment
See proposed edits on pages ___________
Other:
FAX RETURN of _____ pages, attached to this response sheet
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1252
AN ACT
To modify the procedures of the Federal courts in certain matters, and for
other purposes.
HR 1252 EH
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1252
AN ACT
To modify the procedures of the Federal courts in certain matters, 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 'Judicial Reform Act of 1998'.
SEC. 2. 3-JUDGE COURT FOR ANTICIPATORY RELIEF.
(a) REQUIREMENT OF 3-JUDGE COURT- Any application for anticipatory
relief against
the enforcement, operation, or execution of a State law adopted by
referendum shall not be
granted by a United States district court or judge thereof upon the
ground that the State law
is repugnant to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United
States unless the application
for anticipatory relief is heard and determined by a court of 3
judges in accordance with
section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. Any appeal of a
determination on such
application shall be to the Supreme Court. In any case to which this
section applies, the
additional judges who will serve on the 3-judge court shall be
designated under section
2284(b) (1) of title 28, United States Code, as soon as practicable,
and the court shall
expedite the consideration of the application for anticipatory relief.
(b) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section--
....
(l) the term 'State' means each of the several States and the
District of columbia;
(2) the term 'State law' means the constitution of a State, or
any statute, rule,
regulation, or other measure of a State that has the force of
law, and any amendment
thereto;
(3) the term 'referendum' means the submission to popular vote,
by the voters of the
State, of a measure passed upon or proposed by a legislative
body or by popular
initiative; and
(4) the term 'anticipatory relief' means an interlocutory or
permanent injunction or a
declaratory judgment.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE- This section applies to any application for
anticipatory relief that is
filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS OF COURT ORDERS RELATING
TO CLASS ACTIONS.
(a) INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS- Section l292(b) of title 28, United States
Code, is
amended--
(l) by inserting' (l)' after' (b) '; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
'(2) A party to an action in which the district court has made a
determination of whether the
action may be maintained as a class action may make application for
appeal of that
determination to the court of appeals which would have jurisdiction
of an appeal of that
action. The court of appeals may, in its discretion, permit the
appeal to be taken from such
determination if the application is made within lO days after the
entry of the court's
determination relating to the class action. Application for an appeal
under this paragraph shall
not stay proceedings in the district court unless the district judge
.or the court of appeals or a
judge thereof shall so order.'.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) applies to
any action
commenced on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. PROCEEDINGS ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST JUDICIAL
CONDUCT.
(a) REFERRAL OF PROCEEDINGS TO ANOTHER JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OR
COURT- Section 372(c) of title 28, United States Code, isamended--
(1) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the following: 'In the
case of a complaint so
identified, the chief judge shall notify the clerk of the court
of appeals of the complaint,
together with a brief statement of the facts underlying the
complaint. ' ;
(2) in paragraph (2) in the second sentence by inserting 'or
statement of facts
underlying the complaint (as the case may be)' after 'copy of
the complaint';
(3) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by inserting '(A)' after '( 3) , ;
(B) by striking 'may--' and all that follows through the
end of subparagraph (B)
and inserting the following: 'may dismiss the complaint if
the chief judge finds it
to be--
'(i) not in conformity with paragraph (1);
'(ii) directly related to the merits of a decision or procedural
ruling; or
'(iii) frivolous. '; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
'(B) If the chief judge does not enter an order under subparagraph
(A), then the complaint or
(in the case of a complaint identified under paragraph (1)) the
statement of facts underlying
the complaint shall be referred to the chief judge of another
judicial circuit for proceedings
under this subsection (hereafter in this subsection referred to as
the 'chief judge'), in
accordance with a system established by rule by the Judicial
conference, which prescribes
the circuits to which the complaints will be referred. The Judicial
Conference shall establish
and submit to the Congress the system described in the preceding
sentence not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of the Judicial Reform Act of
1998.
'(C) After expeditiously reviewing the complaint, the chief judge
may, by written order
explaining the chief judge's reasons,conclude the proceeding if the
chief judge finds that
appropriate corrective action has been taken or that action on the
complaint is no longer
necessary because of intervening events. ';
(4) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking 'paragraph (3)' and inserting 'paragraph
(3) (C) '; and
.,'
(B) in subparagraph (A) by inserting '(to which the
complaint or statement of
facts underlying the complaint is referred)' after 'the
circuit I;
(S) in paragraph (S)--
(A) in the first sentence by inserting 'to which the
complaint or statement of
facts underlying the complaint is referred' after 'the
circuit'; and
(B) in the second sentence by striking 'the circuit' and
inserting 'that circuit';
(6) in the first sentence of paragraph (IS) by inserting before
the period at the end the
following: 'in which the complaint was filed or identified under
paragraph (I) '; and
(7) by amending paragraph (18) to read as follows:
'(18) The Judicial Conference shall prescribe rules, consistent with
the preceding provisions
of this subsection--
'(A) establishing procedures for the filing of complaints with
respect to the conduct of
any judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, the
Court of International
Trade, or the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and for
the investigation and
resolution of such complaints; and
'(B) establishing a system for referring complaints filed with
respect to the conduct of a
judge of any such court to any of the first eleven judicial
circuits or to another court for
investigation and resolution.
The Judicial Conference shall establish and submit to the Congress
the system described in
subparagraph (B) .not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of the Judicial
Reform Act of 1998.'.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION- Section 372(c} (14) of title 28, United
States
Code, is amended--
(I) in subparagraph (B) by striking 'or' after the semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end and
inserting '; or'; and
(3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the following:
'(D) such disclosure is made to another agency or
instrumentality of any governmental
jurisdiction within or under the control the United States for a
civil or criminal law
enforcement activity authorized by law. ' .
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by subsection (a) apply to
complaints filed
on or after the 180th day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. RANDOM ASSIGNMENT OF HABEAS CORPUS CASES.
Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
'(e) Applications for writs of habeas corpus received in or
transferred to a district court shall
be randomly assigned to the judges of that court. ' .
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY OF PRESIDING JUDGE TO ALLOW MEDIA
COVERAGE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.
(a) AUTHORITY OF APPELLATE COURTS- Notwithstanding any other
provision of
law, the presiding judge of an appellate court of the United States
may, in his or her
discretion, permit the photographing, electronic recording,
broadcasting, or televising to the
public of court proceedings over which that judge presides.
(b) AUTHORITY OF DISTRICT COURTS-
(I) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
presiding judge
of a district court of the United States may, in his or her
discretion, permit the
photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising
to the public of court
proceedings over which that judge presides.
(2) OBSCURING OF WITNESSES- (A) Upon the request of any witness
in a trial
proceeding other than a party, the court shall order the face
and voice of the witness
to be disguised or otherwise obscured in such manner as to rende
r the witness
unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding.
{B} The presiding judge in a trial proceeding shall inform each
witness who is not a
party that the witness has the right to request that his or her
image and voice be
obscured during the witness' testimony.
(c) ADVISORY GUIDELINES- The Judicial Conference of the United States
is authorized
to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge, in his
or her discretion, may
refer in making decisions with respect to the management and admi
nistration of
photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in
subsections (a) and (b).
(d) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section:
(1) PRESIDING JUDGE- The term 'presiding judge' means the judge
presiding over
the court proceeding concerned. In proceedings in which more
than one judge
participates, the presiding judge shall be the senior active
judge so participating or, in
the case of a circuit court of appeals, the senior active
circuit judge so participating,
except that--
(A) in en banc sittings of any United States circuit court
of appeals, the
presiding judge shall be the chief judge of the circuit
whenever the chief judge
participates; and
(B) in en banc sittings of the Supreme Court of the United
States, the presiding
judge shall be the Chief Justice whenever the Chief Justice
participates.
(2) APPELLATE COURT OF THE UNITED STATES- The term 'appellate
court
of the United States' means any United States circuit court o~
appeals and the
Supreme Court of the United States.
(e) SUNSET- The authority under subsection (b) shall terminate on the
date that is 3 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. MULTIPARTY, MULTI FORUM JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT
COURTS.
(a) BASIS OF JURISDICTION-
(1) IN GENERAL- Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
'Sec. 1370. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction
'(a) IN GENERAL- The district courts shall have original jurisdiction
of any civil action
involving minimal diversity between adverse parties that arises from
a single accident, where
at least 25 natural persons have either died or incurred injury in
the accident at a discrete
location and, in the case of injury, the injury has' resulted in
damages which exceed $50,000
per person, exclusive of interest and costs, if--
'(1) a defendant resides in a State and a substantial part of
the accident took place in
another State or other location, regardless of whether that
defendant is also a resident
of the State where a substantial part of the accident took place;
'(2) any two defendants reside in different States, regardless
of whether such
defendants are also residents of the same State or States; or
'(3) substantial parts of the accident took place in different
States.
'(b) SPECIAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section--
'(1) minimal diversity exists between adverse parties if any
party is a citizen of a State
and any adverse party is a citizen of another State, a citizen
or subject of a foreign
state, or a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this
title;
'(2) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of any State, and a
citizen or subject of
any foreign state, in which it is incorporated or has its
principal place of business, and
is deemed to be a resident of any State in which it is
incorporated or licensed to do
business or is doing business;
'(3) the term 'injury' means--
'(A) physical harm to a natural person; and
'(B) physical damage to or destruction of tangible
property, but only if physical
harm described in subparagraph (A) exists;
'(4) the term 'accident' means a sudden accident, or a natural
event culminating in an
accident, that results in death or injury incurred at a discrete
location by at least 25
natural persons; and
'(5) the term 'State' includes the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States.
'(c) INTERVENING PARTIES- In any action in a district court which is
or could have been
brought, in whole or in part, under this section, any person with a
claim arising from the
accident described in subsection (a) shall be permitted to intervene
as a party plaintiff in the
action, even if that person could not have brought an action in a
district court as an original
matter.
'(d) NOTIFICATION OF JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION- A
district court in which an action under this section is pending shall
promptly notify the judicial
panel on multidistrict litigation of the pendency of the action. ' .
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning
of
chapter 85 of title 28, united States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the
following new item:
'1370. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction.'.
(b) VENUE- Section 1391 of title 28, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end
the following:
'(g) A civil action in which jurisdiction of the district court is
based upon section 1370 of this
title may be brought in any district in which any defendant resides
or in which a substantial
part of the accident giving rise to the action took place. ' .
(c) MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION- Section 1407 of title 28, United States
Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
'(i) (1) In actions transferred under this section when jurisdiction
is or could have been based,
in whole or in part, on section 1370 of this title, the transferee
district court may,
notwithstanding any other provision of this section, retain actions
so transferred for the
determination of liability and punitive damages. An action retained
for the determination of
liability shall be remanded to the district court from which the
action was transferred, or to
the State court from which the action was removed, for the
determination of damages, other
than punitive damages, unless the court finds, for the convenience of
parties and witnesses
and in the interest of justice, that the action should be retained
for the determination of
damages.
'(2) Any remand under paragraph (1) shall not be effective until 60
days after the transferee
court has issued an order determining liability and has certified its
intention to remand some
or all of the transferred actions for the determination of damages.
An appeal with respect to
the liability determination and the choice of law determination of
the transferee court may be
taken during that 60-day period to the court of appeals with
appellate jurisdiction over the
transferee court. In the event a party files such an appeal, the
remand shall not be effective
until the appeal has been finally disposed of. Once the remand has
become effective, the
liability determination and the choice of law determination shall not
be subject to further
review by appeal or otherwise.
'(3) An appeal with respect to determination of punitive damages by
the transferee court may
be taken, during the 60-day period beginning on the date the order
making the determination
is issued, to the court of appeals with jurisdiction over the
transferee court.
-(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the
determination of damages
shall not be reviewable by appeal or otherwise.
-(S) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of the
transferee court to transfer or
dismiss an action on the ground of inconvenient forum.'.
(d) REMOVAL OF ACTIONS- section 1441 of title 28, United States Code,
is
amended- -
(I) in subsection (e) by striking -(e) The court to which such
civil action is removed'
and inserting -(f) The court to which a civil action is removed
under this section'; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new
subsection:
-(e) (I) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, a defendant in a civil
action in a State court may remove the action to the district court
of the United States for the
district and division embracing the place where the action is pending
if- -
-(A) the action could have been brought in a United States
district court under section
1370 of this title; or
-(B) the defendant is a party to an action which is or could
have been brought, in
whole or in part, under section 1370 in a United States district
court and arises from
the same accident as the action in State court; even if the
action to be removed could
not have been brought in a district court as an original matter.
The removal of an action under this subsection shall be made in
accordance with section
1446 of this title, except that a notice of removal may also be filed
. before trial of the action in
State court within 30 days after the date on which the defendant
first becomes a party to an
action under section 1370 in a United States district court that
arises from the same accident
as the action in State court, or at a later time with leave of the
district court.
-(2) Whenever an action is removed under this subsection and the
district court to which it is
removed or transferred under section 1407(i} has made a liability
determination requiring
further proceedings as to damages, the district court shall remand
the action to the State
court from which it had been removed for the determination of
..
damages, unless the court
finds that, for the convenience of parties and witnesses and in the
interest of justice, the action
should be retained for the determination of damages.
-(3) Any remand under paragraph (2) shall not be effective until 60
days after the district
court has issued an order determining liability and has certified its
intention to remand the
removed action for the determination of damages. An appeal with
respect to the liability
determination and the choice of law determination of the district
court may be taken during
that 60-day period to the court of appeals with appellate
jurisdiction over the district court.
In the event a party files such an appeal, the remand shall not be
effective until the appeal has
been finally disposed of. Once the remand has become effective, the
liability determination
and the choice of law determination shall not be subject to further
review by appeal or
otherwise.
-(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the
determination of damages
shall not be reviewable by appeal or otherwise.
-(5) An action removed under this subsection shall be deemed to be an
action under section
1370 and an action in which jurisdiction is based on section 1368 of
this title for purposes of
this section and sections 1407, 1660, 1697, and 1785 of this title.
-(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of the
district court to transfer or
dismiss an action on the ground of inconvenient forum.'.
(e) CHOICE OF LAW-
(l) DETERMINATION BY THE COURT- Chapter 111 of title 28, United
States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
-Sec. 1660. Choice of law in multiparty, multiforum actions
-(a) FACTORS- In an action which is or could have been brought, in
whole or in part, under
section 1370 of this title, the district court in which the action is
brought or to which it is
removed shall determine the source of the applicable substantive law,
except that if an action
is transferred to another district court, the transferee court shall
determine the source of the
applicable substantive law. In making this determination, a district
court shall not be bound by
the choice of law rules of any State, and the factors that the court
may consider in choosing
the applicable law include--
-(1) the place of the injury;
."
-(2) the place of the conduct causing the injury;
-(3) the principal places of business or domiciles of the
parties;
-(4) the danger of creating unnecessary incentives for forum
shopping; and
-(5) whether the choice of law would be reasonably foreseeable
to the parties.
The factors set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) shall be
evaluated according to their
relative importance with respect to the particular action. If good
cause is shown in
exceptional cases, including constitutional reasons, the court may
allow the law of more than
one State to be applied with respect to a party, claim, or other
element of an action.
-(b) ORDER DESIGNATING CHOICE OF LAW- The district court making the
determination under subsection (a) shall enter an order designating
the single jurisdiction
whose substantive law is to be applied in all other actions under
section 1370 arising from the
same accident as that giving rise to the action in which the
determination is made. The
substantive law of the designated jurisdiction shall be applied to
the parties and claims in all
such actions before the court, and to all other elements of each
action, except where ,Federal
law applies or the order specifically provides for the application of
the law of another
jurisdiction with respect to a party, claim, or other element of an
action.
-(c) CONTINUATION OF CHOICE OF LAW AFTER REMAND- In an action
remanded to another district court or a State court under ,section
1407 (i) (1) or 1441 (e) (2) of
this title, the district court's choice of law under subsection (b)
shall continue to apply. ' .
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning
of
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the
following new item:
-1660. Choice of law in multiparty, multiforum actions. '.
(f) SERVICE OF PROCESS-
(1) OTHER THAN SUBPOENAS- (A) Chapter 113 of title 28, United
States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
-Sec. 1697. Service in mUltiparty, multiforum actions
-When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or in
."
part upon section 1370 of
this title, process, other than subpoenas, may be served at any place
within the united States,
or anywhere outside the United States if otherwise permitted by law. '.
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 113 of
title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
'1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions. '.
(2) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS- (A) Chapter 117 of title 28, United
States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
'Sec. 1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions
'When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or in
part upon section 1370 of
this title, a subpoena for attendance at a hearing or trial may, if
authorized by the court upon
motion for good cause shown, and upon such terms and conditions as
the court may impose,
be served at any place within the United States, or anywhere outside
the United States if
otherwise permitted by law. ' .
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 117 of
title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
'1785. Subpoenas in mUltiparty, multiforum actions.'.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section shall apply
to a civil action if
the accident giving rise to the cause of action occurred on or after
the 90th day after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. APPEALS OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD.
(a) APPEALS- Section 7703 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b) (1), by striking '30' and inserting '60';
and
(2) in the first sentence of subsection (d), by inserting after
'filing' the following: "
within 60 days after the date the Director received notice of
the final order or decision
of the Board, ' .
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by subsection (a) take effect
on the date of
the enactment of this Act and apply to any administrative or judicial
proceeding pending on
that date or commenced on or after that date.
SEC. 9. EXTENSION OF JUDICIARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
FUND.
..
Section 612 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking 'equipment' each place it appears and inserting
'resources' ;
(2) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating subsequent
subsections accordingly;
(3) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph
(3); and
(4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking 'JUdiciary' each place it appears and
inserting 'judiciary';
(B) by striking 'subparagraph (c) (1) (B)' and inserting
'subsection (c) (1) (B) ';
and
(C) by striking 'under (c) (1) (B)' and inserting 'under
subsection (c) (1) (B) , .
SEC. 10. OFFSETTING RECEIPTS.
For fiscal year 1999 and thereafter, any portion of miscellaneous
fees collected as prescribed
by the Judicial Conference of the United States pursuant to sections
1913, 1914 (b) ,
1926(a), 1930(b), and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, exceeding
the amount of such
fees in effect on September 30, 1998, shall be deposited into the
special fund of the Treasury
established under section 1931 of title 28, United States Code.
SEC. 11. MEMBERSHIP IN CIRCUIT JUDICIAL COUNCILS.
Section 332(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
'(I) The chief judge of each judicial circuit shall call and preside
at a meeting of the judicial
council of the circuit at least twice in each year and at such pl'aces
as he or she may
designate. The council shall consist of an equal number of circuit
.judges (including the chief
judge of the circuit) and district judges, as such number is
determined by majority vote of all
such judges of the circuit in regular active service, ';
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
'(3) Except for the chief judge of the circuit, either judges in
regular active service or judges
retired from regular active service under section 371(b) of this
title may serve as members of
the council.'; and
..
(3) by striking 'retirement,' in paragraph (5) and inserting
'retirement under section
371(a) or section 372(a) of this title,'.
SEC. 12. SUNSET OF CIVIL JUSTICE EXPENSE AND DELAY
REDUCTION PLANS.
Section 103(b) (2) (A) of the civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (Public
Law 101-650; 104
Stat. 5096; 28 U.S.C. 471 note), as amended by Public Law 105-53 (111
Stat. 1173), is
amended by inserting '471,' after 'sections'.
SEC. 13. CREATION OF CERTIFYING OFFICERS IN THE JUDICIAL
BRANCH.
(a) APPOINTMENT OF DISBURSING AND CERTIFYING OFFICERS- Chapter 41
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
'Sec. 613. Disbursing and certifying officers
'(a) DISBURSING OFFICERS- The Director may designate in writing
officers and
employees of the judicial branch of the Government, including the
courts as defined in section
610 other than the Supreme Court, to be disbursing officers in such n
umbers and locations as
the Director considers necessary. Such disbursing officers shall--
'(I) disburse moneys appropriated to the judicial branch and
other funds only in strict
accordance with payment requests certified by the Director or in
accordance with
subsection (b);
'(2) examine payment requests as necessary to ascertain whether
they are in proper
form, certified, and approved; and
'(3) be held accountable for their actions as provided by law,
except that such a
disbursing officer shall not be held accountable or responsible
for any illegal, improper,
or incorrect payment resulting from any false, inaccurate, or
misleading certificate for
which a certifying officer is responsible under subsection (b).
'(b) CERTIFYING OFFICERS- (1) The Director may designate in writing
officers and
employees of the judicial branch of the Government, including the
courts as defined in section
610 other than the Supreme Court, to certify payment requests payable
from appropriations
and funds. Such certifying officers shall be responsible and
accountable for--
'(A) the existence and correctness of the facts recited in the
certificate or other request
for payment or its supporting papers;
.'
'(B) the legality of the proposed payment under the
appropriation or fund involved;
and
'(C) the correctness of the computations of certified payment
requests.
'(2) The liability of a certifying officer shall be enforced in the
same manner and to the same
extent as provided by law with respect to the enforcement of the
liability of disbursing and
other accountable officers. A certifying officer shall be required to
make restitution to the
United States for the amount of any illegal, improper, or incorrect
payment resulting from any
false, inaccurate, or misleading certificates made by the certifying
officer, as well as for any
payment prohibited by law or which did not represent a legal
obligation under the
appropriation or fund involved.
'(c) RIGHTS- A certifying or disbursing officer--
'(I) has the right to apply for and obtain a decision by the
Comptroller General on any
question of law involved in a payment request presented for
certification; and
'(2) is entitled to relief from liability arising under this
section in accordance with title
31, United States Code.
'(d) OTHER AUTHORITY NOT AFFECTED- Nothing in this section affects
the authority
of the courts with respect to moneys deposited with the courts under
chapter 129 of this
title. ' .
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of sections for chapter 41 of
title 28,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
item:
'613. Disbursing and certifying officers.'.
(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR- paragraph (8) of subsection (a) of section
604 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
'(8) Disburse appropriations and other funds for the maintenance
and operation of the
courts; , .
SEC. 14. LIMITATION ON PRISONER RELEASE ORDERS.
(a) IN GENERAL- Chapter 99 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
.'
'Sec. 1632. Limitation on prisoner release orders
'(a) LIMITATION- Notwithstanding section 3626(a) (3) of title 18 or
any other provision of
law, in a civil action with respect to prison conditions, no court of
the United States or other
court listed in section 610 shall have jurisdiction to enter or carry
out any prisoner release
order that would result in the release from or nonadmission to a
prison, on the basis of prison
conditions, of any person subject to incarceration, detention, or
admission to a facility
because of a conviction of a felony under the laws of the relevant
jurisdiction, or a violation of
the terms or conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or a
diversionary program,
relating to the commission of a felony under the laws of the relevant
jurisdiction.
'(b) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section--
'(1) the terms 'civil action with respect to prison conditions',
'prisoner', 'prisoner
release order', and 'prison' have the meanings given those terms
in section 3626(g) of
title 18; and
'(2) the term 'prison conditions' means conditions of
confinement or the effects of
actions by government officials on the lives of persons confined
in prison.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of sections for chapter 99 of
title 28,
united States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
item:
'1632. Limitation on prisoner release orders.'.
(c) CONSENT DECREES-
(1) TERMINATION OF EXISTING CONSENT DECREES- Any consent decree
that was entered into before the date ofthe enactment of the
Prison Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, that is in effect on the day before the date of the
enactment of this Act,
and that provides for remedies relating to prison conditions
shall cease to be effective
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) DEFINITIONS- As used in this subsection--
(A) the term 'consent decree' has the meaning given that
term in section
3626(g) of title 18, United States Code; and
(B) the term 'prison conditions' has the meaning given that
term in section
1632(c) of title 28, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a) of this
section.
Passed the House of Representatives April 23, 1998.
Attest:
Clerk.
END
