Norton’s Two Bills to Improve Operations and Transparency of D.C. Courts Pass Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR) today passed two bills introduced by Norton to improve the District of Columbia’s local justice system. Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress has the exclusive authority to regulate the D.C. courts. One Norton bill (H.R. 4419) enhances financial disclosure requirements for local D.C. court judges, making them similar to the disclosure requirements already set for federal judges, and makes other improvements to the D.C. courts. In 2014, the D.C. courts were given a failing grade by a Center for Public Integrity national survey of judicial financial disclosure rules. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) last month passed an identical version of the bill, introduced by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) with original cosponsors HSGAC Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI), HSGAC Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Norton’s other bill (H.R. 5037) provides the D.C. courts and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) with the same authority that federal courts and federal agencies have to offer voluntary separation incentive payments, or buyouts, to their employees. Norton said that buyouts for staff who are ready to retire or who otherwise want to leave an agency open jobs for others, right-size an agency, and improve its efficiency. The fiscal year 2016 omnibus bill already gives D.C. courts buyout authority—but Norton’s bill would make this authorization permanent, and would extend it to PDS in addition to the courts.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for working with me to pass two important bills that will improve the operations of and bring transparency to the D.C. courts,” Norton said. “Transparency and accountability are fundamental to ensuring the public’s trust in our courts. Senator Lankford’s leadership has been instrumental in passing our judicial transparency bill out of committee in the Senate and hopefully soon on the Senate floor.

“In addition, allowing buyouts would allow the D.C. courts and PDS to respond to their future administrative and budget needs, and would provide the flexibility to extend buyout offers to their employees. I look forward to working to move both bills toward final passage on the House floor.”

H.R. 4419 includes four provisions, in addition to the transparency measures, to improve the operations of the D.C. courts: authorizes the use of magistrate judges to serve in the Probate Division; grants the D.C. courts authority to accept credits cards, other forms of electronic funds transfer, and checks; increases the jurisdictional amount of the Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of the D.C. Superior Court from $5,000 to $10,000; and allows chief judges of the Superior Court and the Court of Appeals to delegate authority to approve certain vouchers.