H.R. 2530 would amend the authorities of the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) when the board lacks a quorum of members. The board consists of three members and only two may be members of the same political party. Currently there are no appointed members on the board. The bill would allow the MSPB General Counsel to issue a stay of an adverse personnel action in the absence of any board members until the first board member is confirmed by the Senate. In addition, the bill would allow one board member to issue a stay of an adverse personnel action if a quorum is not available.
Using on information from the MSPB and the Congressional Research Service regarding the use of stays and the number of MSPB board members, CBO estimates that the cost of implementing H.R. 2530 would not be significant because it would not impose additional administrative costs on the MSPB or other agencies.