LENGTH OF SERVICE REQUIRED FOR ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE JUDICIAL SURVIVORS’ ANNUITIES ACT.

SEC. 322. LENGTH OF SERVICE REQUIRED FOR ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE JUDICIAL SURVIVORS’ ANNUITIES ACT. (a) Eligibility in Case of Death by Assassination.— Section 376(h)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— (A) by inserting “(A)” before “after having completed”; and (B) by inserting after “have actually been made” the following: “, or (B) if the death of such judicial official was by assassination, before having satisfied the requirements of clause (A) if, for the period of such service, the deductions provided by subsection (b) or, in lieu thereof, the deposits required by subsection (d) have actually been made”; (2) by redesignating existing subparagraph (A) as clause (i); (3) in existing subparagraph (B)— 104 STAT. 5118 (A) by striking out “(B)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(ii)”; (B) by striking out “(i)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(I)”; and (C) by striking out “(ii)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(II)”; (4) in existing subparagraph (C)— (A) by striking out “(C)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(iii)”; (B) in clause (i)— (i) by striking out “(i)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(I)”; (ii) by striking out “subparagraph (1)(A) of this subsection” and inserting in lieu thereof “clause (i) of this paragraph”; (iii) by striking out “(ii)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(II)”; and (iv) by striking out “(iii)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(III)”; and (5) by adding at the end of subsection (h) the following: “(6) In the case of the survivor or survivors of a judicial official to whom paragraph (1)(B) applies, there shall be deducted from the annuities otherwise payable under this section an amount equal to the amount of salary deductions that would have been made if such deductions had been made for 18 months prior to the judicial official’s death.”. (b) Definition of Assassination.— Section 376(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (5)(C) by striking out “and” after the semicolon; (2) in paragraph (6) by striking out the period and inserting in lieu thereof “; and”; and (3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph: “(7) ‘assassinated’ and ‘assassination’ mean the killing of a judicial official described in paragraph (1) (A), (B), (F), or (G) of this subsection that is motivated by the performance by that judicial official of his or her official duties.”. (c) Determination of Assassination by Director.— Section 376(i) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting “(1)” after “(i)”; and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: “(2) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall determine whether the killing of a judicial official was an assassination, subject to review only by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The head of any Federal agency that investigates the killing of a judicial official shall provide information to the Director that would assist the Director in making such determination.”. (d) Computation of Widow’s and Widower’s Annuity.— Section 376(l)(1)(ii) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking out “but more than eighteen months,”. (e) Refund of Contributions to Fund.— Section 376(o) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting “(1)” after “(o)”; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; 104 STAT. 5119 (3) in subparagraph (A) as so redesignated, by inserting “subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection,” before “before having completed”; and (4) by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: “(2) In cases in which a judicial official dies as a result of assassination and leaves a survivor or survivors who are entitled to receive the annuity benefits provided by subsection (h) or (t) of this section, paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection shall not apply.”. (f) Other Benefits.— Section 376 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “(u) In the case of a judicial official who is assassinated, an annuity shall be paid under this section notwithstanding a survivor’s eligibility for or receipt of benefits under chapter 81 of title 5, except that the annuity for which a surviving spouse is eligible under this section shall be reduced to the extent that the total benefits paid under this section and chapter 81 of title 5 for any year would exceed the current salary for that year of the office of the judicial official.”. (g) Effective Date and Transition.— (1) Effective date.— Subject to paragraph (2), the amendments made by this Act shall apply to all judicial officials assassinated on or after May 28, 1979. (2) Rules for retroactive application.— (A) In the case of a judicial official who was assassinated on or after May 28, 1979, and before the date of the enactment of this Act, if the salary deductions provided by subsection (b) of section 376 of title 28, United States Code, or the deposits required by subsection (d) of such section, have been withdrawn pursuant to subsection (o) of such section, there shall be deducted from the annuities otherwise payable to the survivor or survivors of such judicial official, and the payment authorized by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, an amount equal to the amount so withdrawn, with interest on the amount withdrawn at 3 percent per annum compounded on December 31 of each year. (B) In the case of the survivor or survivors of a judicial official to whom this paragraph applies who had less than 18 months of service before being assassinated, there shall be deducted from the annuities otherwise payable to the survivor or survivors of such judicial official, and the payment authorized by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, an amount equal to the amount of salary deductions that would have been made if such deductions been made for 18 months before the judicial official’s death, plus interest as described in subparagraph (A). (C) Subject to subparagraphs (A) and (B), the survivor or survivors of a judicial official to whom this paragraph applies shall be entitled to the payment of annuities they would have received under section 376 of title 28, United States Code, for the period beginning on the date such judicial official was assassinated and ending the date of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay into the Judicial Survivors’ Annuities fund, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount of the annuities to which the survivor or survivors are entitled under this subparagraph. (3) Definition.— For purposes of this subsection, the term— (A) “assassinated” has the meaning given that term in section 376(a)(7) of title 28, United States Code, as added by this section; and 104 STAT. 5120 (B) “judicial official” has the meaning given that term in section 376(a)(1)(A) and (B) of title 28, United States Code. (g) Conforming Amendments.— Section 376 of title 28, United States Code, is amended as follows: (1) Subsection (h) is amended— (A) in paragraph (2) by striking out “subparagraphs (1)(A) or (1)(B)” and inserting in lieu thereof “clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)”; (B) in paragraph (3) by striking out “subparagraph” each place it appears and inserting in each such place “paragraph”; (C) in paragraph (4)— (i) by striking out “subparagraph (1)(B)” each place it appears and inserting in each such place “paragraph (l)(ii)”; and (ii) by striking out “subparagraph (1)(C)” and inserting in lieu thereof “paragraph (l)(iii)”. (2) Subsection (a)(5)(C) is amended by striking out “subparagraph” and inserting in lieu thereof “paragraph”.