Sponsors (7)
The bill increases transparency and accountability by reclassifying long‑serving SGEs and publishing their appointment and financial information, trading improved ethics oversight for added costs, privacy and national‑security risks, possible legal friction, and reduced flexibility in accessing outside expertise.
Long‑serving special government employees (SGEs) and executive-branch staff who exceed the 130-day threshold will be reclassified and gain clearer civil‑service protections and workplace rights, while agencies are forced to stop using repeated short contacts to evade that limit — increasing accountability in hiring and reductions in misuse of temporary status.
The bill creates a searchable, accessible public database (meeting Section 508/WCAG standards) showing covered SGEs' names, roles, pay, and appointment dates, making basic workforce information easier for the public to find and use.
Required posting of financial disclosures plus API/sortable data improves public and journalistic oversight and strengthens ethics enforcement by making potential conflicts of interest easier to detect and analyze.
Agencies and OPM will bear increased administrative workloads and costs — from reclassifying SGEs and providing benefits to building, maintaining, auditing, and reporting database information — with taxpayers ultimately paying and agencies diverting staff time.
Some outside experts may decline SGE appointments to avoid triggering reclassification and benefit obligations, reducing agencies' flexible access to outside expertise and potentially harming program quality or timeliness.
Making names, pay, roles, appointment dates, and financial disclosures public raises privacy and harassment risks for SGEs and their families, potentially deterring qualified candidates from service.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Caps SGE service at 130 days per 365 days, requires agency reclassification after the cap and creates a public, searchable SGE database with posted financial disclosures for covered SGEs.
Official title: To require Executive agencies to limit the use of special Government employees to 130 days, to require the maintenance of a public database of certain special Government employees, to require the release of financial disclosures filed by certain special Government employees, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Dave Min · Last progress March 27, 2025
Limits how long experts can serve as "special Government employees" (SGEs) in the executive branch and requires a public, searchable database listing higher‑level SGEs and their basic employment and financial disclosure information. SGEs automatically lose SGE status after 130 days of service in any 365‑day period; agencies must reclassify anyone who exceeds that limit and notify the worker of rights and appeal options. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), working with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), must build a Section 508/WCAG‑compliant public SGE Database (with API) within 210 days and agencies must post covered SGEs' financial disclosure reports and keep listings current.