Public Officials Accountability Act

Chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1346 the following new section:

For purposes of this chapter, the term scheme or artifice to defraud also includes a scheme or artifice by a public official to engage in undisclosed self-dealing.

As used in this section:

The term official act —

(A) includes any act within the range of official duty, and any decision, recommendation, or action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding, or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be brought before any public official, in such public official’s official capacity or in such official’s place of trust or profit;

(B) may be a single act, more than one act, or a course of conduct; and

(C) includes a decision or recommendation that a government should not take action.

The term public official means an officer, employee, or elected or appointed representative, or person acting for or on behalf of, the United States, a State, or a subdivision of a State, or any department, agency or branch of government thereof, in any official function, under or by authority of any such department, agency, or branch of government.

The term State includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

The term undisclosed self-dealing means that—

(A) a public official performs an official act for the purpose, in whole or in part, of benefitting or furthering a financial interest of—

(i) the public official;

(ii) the spouse or minor child of a public official;

(iii) a general business partner of the public official;

(iv) a business or organization in which the public official is serving as an employee, officer, director, trustee, or general partner; or

(v) an individual, business, or organization with whom the public official is negotiating for, or has any arrangement concerning, prospective employment or financial compensation; and

(B) the public official knowingly falsifies, conceals, covers up, or fails to disclose material information regarding that financial interest that is required to be disclosed by any Federal, State, or local statute, rule, regulation, or charter applicable to the public official.

The table of sections for chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1346 the following new item:

The amendments made by this section apply to acts engaged in on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.