S. 1353, the Limousine Limitation Act of 1979

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to preclude government agencies from acquiring or operating limousines and from employing chauffeurs. It prohibits the use of governmentowned and operated motor vehicles to transport an agency officer or employee in any government branch between his home and his place of employment. The bill states that no officer or employee of a government agency, with certain exceptions, may be furnished a motor vehicle for exclusive use. Because there are some inconsistencies between the proposed legislation and an existing law which would leave the status of the present law in doubt, GAO suggested that this bill be redrafted as an amendment to the present law. GAO also suggested that the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs be more specific as to the size and type of motor vehicle the bill is intended to cover; that the term chauffeur be defined; and that the Committee obtain a governmentwide determination of the special transportation needs for key individuals and those who may have a special requirement. In deciding whether the guidelines to determine transportation needs should be accomplished by statute or executive discretion, GAO favored executive discretion subject to general rules and regulations promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget or the General Services Administration, after consultation with the House Operations Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. GAO had no objection to restricting the type of passenger car that agencies may obtain, providing the scope of that restriction is clarified. It believed that the additional prohibitions on the hiring of drivers and on the uses of these vehicles by all but the few officials listed in the bill are unrealistic and not in the best interests of an efficiently functioning government.