Public Law 117-328, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

Public Law 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, took effect on December 29, 2022. It changed 40 parts of the United States Code.

Title 3, Section 1: amended. Rewrote section 1 of title 3 to appoint electors of President and Vice President on election day under State laws enacted before election day.

Title 3, Section 2: removed. Struck section 2 of title 3 and replaced it with section 1 requiring electors to be appointed on election day under State laws enacted before election day.

Title 3, Section 4: amended. Inserted “enacted prior to election day” after “by law” in section 4 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 5: rewritten. Rewrote section 5 of title 3 to require State certificates of ascertainment, set certificate contents, and direct transmission to the Archivist and electors.

Title 3, Section 5, heading: amended. Rewrote section 5 of title 3 as "Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors" and set the rules for issuing and formulating the certificate.

Title 3, Section 6: rewritten. Rewrote section 6 of title 3 to require the Archivist to preserve certificates for one year, treat them as public records, and open them to public inspection.

Title 3, Section 6, heading: amended. Rewrote section 6 of title 3 to require the Archivist to preserve certificates of ascertainment for one year, keep them as public records, and open them to public inspection.

Title 3, Section 7: amended. Replaced “Monday” with “Tuesday” in section 7 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 7: amended. Replaced “as the legislature of such State shall direct” with “in accordance with the laws of the State enacted prior to election day” in section 7 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 9: amended. Replaced the required annexed elector list with a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors in section 9 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 10: amended. Replaced “the certificates so made by them” with the certificates of votes and annexed certificates of ascertainment of appointment of electors in section 10 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 11: rewritten. Rewrote section 11 of title 3 to require electors to immediately transmit certificates of votes and annexed certificates of ascertainment of appointment of electors by the most expeditious method available, and to send specified sets to the President of the Senate, chief election officer, Archivist, and district judge.

Title 3, Section 11, heading: amended. Rewrote section 11 of title 3 to require electors to transmit certificates of votes and certificates of ascertainment at the same time by the most expeditious method available.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Inserted “, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held,” after “When” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Struck “and list” each place it appears in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Struck “in December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held,” and inserted “in December,” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Inserted “the President of the Senate be absent” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Struck “secretary of state” and inserted “chief election officer” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Struck “lodged with him” and inserted “lodged with such officer” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Struck “his duty” and inserted “the duty of such chief election officer of the State” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 12: amended. Replaced “by registered mail” with “by the most expeditious method available” in section 12 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 13: amended. Inserted “, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held,” after “When” in section 13 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 13: amended. Struck “in December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been held,” and inserted “in December,” in section 13 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 13: amended. Replaced “or, if he be absent” with “or, if the President of the Senate be absent” in section 13 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 13: amended. Replaced “that list” with “that certificate” in section 13 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 14: removed. Struck section 14 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 15: rewritten. Rewrote section 15 of title 3 to add subsections on the President of the Senate’s ministerial role and denied powers, teller appointments, and joint-session procedures.

Title 3, Section 16: amended. Replaced “meeting” with “session” each place it appears in section 16 of title 3, including the heading.

Title 3, Section 16, heading: amended. Replaced "meeting" with "session" in section 16 of title 3, including the heading.

Title 3, Section 17: rewritten. Rewrote section 17 of title 3 to limit debate on objections tied to section 15(d)(2)(C)(i), set five-minute speeches and a two-hour total per House, and require votes on each objection and question.

Title 3, Section 18: amended. Inserted "under section 15(d)(2)(C)(i)" after "motion to withdraw" in section 18 of title 3.

Title 3, Section 18: amended. Struck "meeting" and inserted "session" each place it appears in section 18 of title 3, including the heading.

Title 3, Section 18, heading: amended. Replaced "meeting" with "session" in section 18 of title 3, including the heading.

Title 3, Section 21: renumbered. Redesignated subsections (a) and (b) as paragraphs (2) and (3) in section 21 of title 3 and inserted paragraph (1) defining "election day".

Title 3, Section 21: rewritten. Replaced paragraph (3) in section 21 of title 3 with a definition of "executive" for each State.

Title 3, Section 22: added. Added section 22 of title 3 and provided that invalidation of one provision does not affect the rest of the chapter.

Title 35, Section 41(h)(1): amended. Raised the fee reduction from 50 percent to 60 percent in section 41(h)(1) of title 35.

Title 35, Section 41(h)(3): amended. Raised the electronic filing fee reduction from 75 percent to 80 percent in section 41(h)(3) of title 35.

Title 35, Section 41: amended. Added section 41(j) of title 35, requiring a fine of at least 3 times the unpaid amount for falsely asserting entitlement to a fee reduction under this section.

Title 35, Section 123: amended. Added section 123(f) of title 35, requiring a fine of at least 3 times the unpaid amount for falsely making a certification under this section.