[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4195 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4195
To amend chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as
the Federal Register Act), to modernize the Federal Register, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2014
Mr. Issa (for himself, Mr. Cummings, and Mr. Connolly) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as
the Federal Register Act), to modernize the Federal Register, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Register Modernization
Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL REGISTER MODERNIZATION.
(a) References to Printing.--Chapter 15 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in section 1502--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``printing'' and
inserting ``publishing''; and
(B) by striking ``printing and distribution'' and
inserting ``publishing'';
(2) in section 1507 is amended--
(A) by striking ``the duplicate originals or
certified copies of the document have'' and inserting
``the document has''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``printed'' and
inserting ``published''; and
(3) in section 1509, in subsections (a) and (b) of, by
striking ``printing, reprinting, wrapping, binding, and
distributing'' and inserting ``publishing'', each place it
appears.
(b) Publish Defined.--Section 1501 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by striking ``; and'' at the end of the definition for
``person'' and inserting a semicolon;
(2) by inserting after the definition for ``person'' the
following:
```publish' means to circulate for sale or distribution to
the public; and''.
(c) Filing Documents With Office Amendment.--Section 1503 of title
44, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1503. Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public
inspection; transmission for publishing
``The original document required or authorized to be published by
section 1505 of this title shall be filed with the Office of the
Federal Register for publication at times established by the
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register by regulation. The
Archivist of the United States shall cause to be noted on the original
of each document the day and hour of filing. Upon filing, the document
shall be immediately available for public inspection in the Office. The
original shall be retained by the National Archives and Records
Administration and shall be available for inspection under regulations
prescribed by the Archivist, unless such original is disposed of in
accordance with disposal schedules submitted by the Administrative
Committee and authorized by the Archivist pursuant to regulations
issued under chapter 33 of this title; however, originals of
proclamations of the President and Executive orders shall be
permanently retained by the Administration as part of the National
Archives of the United States. The Office shall transmit to the
Government Printing Office, as provided by this chapter, each document
required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title.
Every Federal agency shall cause to be transmitted for filing the
original of all such documents issued, prescribed, or promulgated by
the agency.''.
(d) Federal Register Amendment.--Section 1504 of title 44, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1504. `Federal Register'; publishing; contents; distribution;
price
``Documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505
of this title shall be published immediately by the Government Printing
Office in a serial publication designated the `Federal Register'. The
Public Printer shall make available the facilities of the Government
Printing Office for the prompt publication of the Federal Register in
the manner and at the times required by this chapter and the
regulations prescribed under it. The contents of the daily issues shall
constitute all documents, required or authorized to be published, filed
with the Office of the Federal Register up to the time of the day
immediately preceding the day of publication fixed by regulations under
this chapter. There shall be published with each document a copy of the
notation, required to be made by section 1503 of this title, of the day
and hour when, upon filing with the Office, the document was made
available for public inspection. Distribution shall be made at a time
in the morning of the day of distribution fixed by regulations
prescribed under this chapter. The prices to be charged for the Federal
Register may be fixed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register established by section 1506 of this title without reference to
the restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government
publications by sections 1705 and 1708 of this title.''.
(e) Documents To Be Published in Federal Register.--Section 1505 of
title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Comments'' and
inserting ``News Commentary''; and
(B) by striking ``comments'' and inserting ``news
commentary''; and
(2) in subsection (c), in the matter following paragraph
(2)--
(A) by inserting ``telecommunications, the
Internet,'' after ``the press, the radio,''; and
(B) by striking ``and two duplicate originals or
two certified copies'' and inserting ``document''.
(f) Administrative Committee of the Federal Register Amendment.--
Section 1506 of title 44, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``Sec. 1506. Administrative Committee of the Federal Register;
establishment and composition; powers and duties
``The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register shall
consist of the Archivist of the United States or Acting Archivist, who
shall chair the committee, an officer of the Department of Justice
designated by the Attorney General, and the Public Printer or Acting
Public Printer. The Director of the Federal Register shall act as
secretary of the committee. The committee shall prescribe, with the
approval of the President, regulations for carrying out this chapter.
The regulations shall provide for, among other things--
``(1) the documents which shall be authorized under section
1505(b) of this title to be published in the Federal Register;
``(2) the manner and form in which the Federal Register
shall be published;
``(3) the manner of distribution to Members of Congress,
officers and employees of the United States, or Federal agency,
for official use, and the number which shall be available for
distribution to the public;
``(4) the prices to be charged for individual copies of,
and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and any reprints and
bound volumes of it;
``(5) the manner and form by which the Federal Register may
receive information and comments from the public, if
practicable and efficient; and
``(6) special editions of the Federal Register.''.
(g) Code of Federal Regulations Amendment.--Section 1510 of title
44, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1510. Code of Federal Regulations
``(a) Special Edition for Codification of Agency Documents.--The
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, with the approval of
the President, may require, from time to time as it considers
necessary, the preparation and publication in a special edition of the
Federal Register a complete codification of the documents of each
agency of the Government having general applicability and legal effect,
issued or promulgated by the agency by publication in the Federal
Register or by filing with the Administrative Committee, and which are
relied upon by the agency as authority for, or are invoked or used by
it in the discharge of, its activities or functions, and are in effect
as to facts arising on or after dates specified by the Administrative
Committee.
``(b) Code of Federal Regulations.--A codification prepared under
subsection (a) of this section shall be published and shall be
designated as the `Code of Federal Regulations'. The Administrative
Committee shall regulate the manner and forms of publishing this
codification.
``(c) Supplementation, Collation, and Republication.--The
Administrative Committee shall regulate the supplementation and the
collation and republication of the codification with a view to keeping
the Code of Federal Regulations as current as practicable. Each unit of
codification shall be supplemented and republished at least once each
calendar year. The Office of the Federal Register may create updates of
each unit of codification from time to time and make the same available
electronically or may provide public access using an electronic edition
that allows a user to select a specific date and retrieve the version
of the codification in effect as of that date.
``(d) Preparation and Publication by the Federal Register.--The
Office of the Federal Register shall prepare and publish the
codifications, supplements, collations, and user aids authorized by
this section.
``(e) Prima Facie Evidence.--The codified documents of the several
agencies published in the Code of Federal Regulations under this
section, as amended by documents subsequently filed with the Office and
published in the daily issues of the Federal Register, shall be prima
facie evidence of the text of the documents and of the fact that they
are in effect on and after the date of publication.
``(f) Regulations.--The Administrative Committee, with approval of
the President, shall issue regulations for carrying out this section.
``(g) Exception.--This section does not require codification of the
text of Presidential documents published and periodically compiled in
supplements to title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.''.
(h) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The table of sections for
chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by striking the
items related to sections 1502, 1503, and 1504 and inserting the
following:
``1502. Custody and publishing of Federal documents; appointment of
Director.
``1503. Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public
inspection; transmission for publishing.
``1504. `Federal Register'; publishing; contents; distribution;
price.''.
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