Federal Ninth Circuit Reorganization Act of 1999
Latest action. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Administrative oversightCongress's review of how the executive branch carries out the laws it passed: hearings, document demands, investigations, and the spending power behind them.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) and judiciaryThe branch of government made up of the courts and judges. The federal judiciary is the Supreme Court plus the courts Congress created beneath it.Read the full definition (opens a new tab). Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 106-681.
Federal Ninth Circuit Reorganization Act of 1999 - Organizes the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into three regional divisions, designated as the Northern, Middle, and Southern Divisions, and a nonregional Circuit Division. Makes provisions of the Federal judicial code regarding circuits in which decisions are reviewable inapplicable to the Ninth Circuit, with such review instead governed by this Act. Directs that appeals from: (1) the districts of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington be taken to the Northern Division; (2) the districts of Eastern California, Northern California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Northern Mariana Islands be taken to the Middle Division; (3) the districts of Arizona, Central California, and Southern California be taken to the Southern Division; and (4) the Tax Court, petitions to enforce the orders of administrative agencies, and specified other proceedings be filed in the court of appeals and assigned to the division that would have jurisdiction if the division were a separate court of appeals. Allows judges to be assigned: (1) to serve for specified, staggered terms of three years or more in a division in which they do not reside; and (2) at random, by means determined by the court, in such numbers as necessary to enable the divisions to function effectively. Directs the Ninth Circuit to establish a Circuit Division which shall have jurisdiction to review, and to affirm, reverse, or modify, any final decision rendered in any of the court's divisions that conflicts on an issue of law with a decision in another division of the court. Requires: (1) the Federal Judicial Center to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the Ninth Circuit divisions, and report to the Judicial Conference of the United States; and (2) the Judicial Conference to submit recommendations to the Congress. (Sec. 2) Rewrites provisions regarding the assignment of judges to direct a court of appeals or any regional division thereof to consider and decide cases and controversies through three judge panels, at least two of whom shall be judges of the court, with exceptions. Directs the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to determine a procedure for the rotation of judges. (Sec. 3) Amends the judicial code to authorize the judicial council of each circuit to establish a district court appellate panel service. Directs the judicial council to specify the categories or types of cases over which such panels shall have appellate jurisdiction. Directs the Federal Judicial Center to monitor the implementation under this section and to report to the Judicial Conference.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 19, 1999. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 16, 1999: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 106-681.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
FRANK MURKOWSKI (R-AK) introduced it on January 19, 1999, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 19, 1999, 10096 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9918 days ago, on July 16, 1999.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers