[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4858 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4858
To establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide
guidelines on making public information available on the Internet, to
require publicly available Government information held by the executive
branch to be made available on the Internet, to express the sense of
Congress that publicly available information held by the legislative
and judicial branches should be available on the Internet, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2010
Mr. Israel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide
guidelines on making public information available on the Internet, to
require publicly available Government information held by the executive
branch to be made available on the Internet, to express the sense of
Congress that publicly available information held by the legislative
and judicial branches should be available on the Internet, 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 ``Public Online Information Act of
2010''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Purposes.
Sec. 5. Findings of Congress.
Sec. 6. Establishment of Public Online Information Advisory Committee.
Sec. 7. Executive branch Internet publication mandate.
Sec. 8. Legislative and judicial information.
Sec. 9. Government Printing Office.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an Executive agency
or an independent regulatory agency.
(2) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' means
any of the following:
(A) An Executive department, as defined in section
101 of title 5, United States Code.
(B) A military department, as defined in section
102 of such title.
(C) A Government corporation, as defined in section
103 of such title.
(D) Any other establishment in the executive branch
of the Government (including the Executive Office of
the President), other than an independent regulatory
agency.
(3) Independent regulatory agency.--The term ``independent
regulatory agency'' means an independent establishment, as
defined in section 104 of title 5, United States Code.
(4) Record.--The term ``record'' has the meaning provided
the term ``records'' in section 3301 of title 44, United States
Code.
(5) Public record.--The term ``public record'' means any
record, regardless of form or format, that an agency discloses,
publishes, disseminates, or makes available to the public.
(6) E-government administrator.--The term ``E-Government
Administrator'' means the Administrator of the Office of
Electronic Government established under section 3602 of title
44, United States Code.
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act include the following:
(1) To establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding
guidelines for all three branches of Government regarding
making public information available on the Internet, with
sufficient flexibility to adapt to changes in technology.
(2) To empower the E-Government Administrator to establish
binding rules concerning making publicly available Government
information held by Executive agencies to be made available on
the Internet; and to empower independent regulatory agencies to
do the same.
(3) To express the sense of Congress that publicly
available information held by the legislative and judicial
branches should be available on the Internet.
(4) To encourage the Government Printing Office to make all
of its publications available on the Internet in the formats
most useful to the public, after having considered the formats
identified by the Public Online Information Advisory Committee.
SEC. 5. FINDINGS OF CONGRESS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Federal Government holds a vast repository of
public information. Throughout the Nation's history, the
Government has attempted to make that information available to
the public, whether through the United States Postal Service,
the Federal Depository Library Program, the Presidential
Library System, Agency Reading Rooms, under the Freedom of
Information Act, or by other means. Providing this information
to the general public is a public good: Informed citizens are
informed voters. However, even with these efforts, Government
information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand,
expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a
few locations.
(2) The advent of the Internet presents the opportunity for
the Government to make information readily available to many
more Americans. The Internet is ubiquitous, turning every
computer into a portal to the world's largest library. The
Government has made some efforts to take advantage of this new
medium. As the public moves online, the Government must do so
as well.
(3) In addition to the traditional means of disseminating
public information, the Federal Government should make all of
its public information available on the Internet. It should do
so in ways that take advantage of modern technology, that
anticipate the public's needs, and that provide access to the
greatest number of people. The Government should strive to make
its information available on the Internet in real-time and in
machine processable formats.
(4) The creation of this vast new information library will
empower citizens to gain a better understanding of how their
Government functions and what it does in their name. It will
also give innovators new tools to build on this information and
provide better goods and services to the American people.
Government services will be provided more efficiently, saving
the taxpayers money and allowing them to be more involved in
the lives of their communities.
(5) Accomplishing these goals requires significant
coordination. It also requires the creation of new authorities
and responsibilities within the Government, and the
identification of appropriate technology standards.
SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC ONLINE INFORMATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established an advisory
committee to be known as the ``Public Online Information Advisory
Committee'' (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Advisory
Committee'').
(b) Purposes.-- The purposes of the Advisory Committee are--
(1) to coordinate and encourage the Government's efforts to
make Government information from all three branches of
Government available on the Internet; and
(2) to issue nonbinding guidelines on how the Government
should make public information available on the Internet, and
update those guidelines as appropriate.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall be composed
of 19 members (including the Chair), as follows:
(A) Six members shall be appointed by the E-
Government Administrator.
(B) Six members shall be appointed by the Director
of the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(C) Three members shall be appointed by the
Chairman, in consultation with the Ranking Member, of
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate.
(D) Three members shall be appointed by the Chair,
in consultation with the Ranking Member, of the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives.
(E) The Chair shall be appointed by the
Administrator of General Services, after conferring
with the E-Government Administrator, the Director of
the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Chairman
of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, and the Chair of the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Vice chair.--A Vice Chair shall be selected from among
the members of the Advisory Committee by the Chair.
(3) Limitation on government employee members.--Not more
than six members of the Advisory Committee may be Government
employees.
(4) Terms of office.--Each member of the Advisory Committee
shall be appointed for a renewable term of five years, except
that one-third of the members initially appointed shall be
appointed for a three-year term, one-third of such members
shall be appointed for a four-year term, and one-third of such
members and the Chair shall be appointed for a five-year term.
(5) Initial appointments.--The initial appointments of
members of the Advisory Committee shall be made not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(6) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall meet no fewer
than six times per year.
(d) Powers of Advisory Committee.--
(1) In general.--From time to time, the Advisory Committee
shall examine its legislative charter, structure, and funding,
and shall make recommendations to Congress, the President, and
the Courts regarding how it could be restructured to better
accomplish its mission of making Government information
available to the public on the Internet. The recommendations
shall be published in print and on the Internet.
(2) Specific powers.--In order to carry out its purposes,
the Advisory Committee is authorized to do the following:
(A) Hold hearings.
(B) Issue recommendations to Congress.
(C) Issue recommendations to agencies.
(D) Issue reports, guidelines, and memoranda.
(E) Articulate guidelines on how the Government
should make public records available on the Internet,
update those guidelines as appropriate, and inquire
into Government compliance with those guidelines.
(F) Hold or host conferences and symposia.
(G) Enter into cooperative agreements with outside
experts to obtain relevant advice or expertise, and
oversee staff.
(H) Establish subcommittees.
(I) Establish rules of procedure.
(3) Relationship to faca.--The Advisory Committee shall not
be subject to the control of any advisory committee management
officer designated under section 8(b)(1) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act.
(e) Operations.--
(1) Open government procedures.--In addition to the rules
in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), in the
interest of improving transparency, the Advisory Committee
shall adhere to the following rules that supplement and modify
such Act (in accordance with section 4(a) of such Act):
(A) Subcommittees shall have the same duties and
obligations as the full committee as delineated under
sections 10 through 13 of such Act. Subcommittees shall
similarly be bound by the terms of this section.
(B) All information made available on the Internet
shall be done so by state-of-the-art methods.
(C) Information required to be made available on
the Internet shall be done so in a timely fashion.
(D) Notice of all meetings shall be available on
the Advisory Committee's website, with agendas
available on the Internet at least 3 days prior to any
meeting.
(E) All records available for public copying under
section 10 of the Act shall also be made available on
the website of the Advisory Committee.
(F) The Advisory Committee shall make available on
the Internet and to any person, at no cost, transcripts
of Advisory Committee proceedings.
(G) Videos recordings of proceedings shall be made
available on the Internet.
(H) Documents submitted to the Advisory Committee
shall be made publicly available unless the Advisory
Committee determines that those materials would
disclose matters described in section 552(b) of title
5, United States Code.
(I) The Advisory Committee shall make publicly
available the names and brief biographies of its
members.
(J) All members of the Advisory Committee shall
file financial disclosure forms, which shall be made
available on the Advisory Committee website after
redactions to remove personally identifiable
information, such as social security numbers.
(K) All members of the Advisory Committee shall
have to state and publicly disclose conflicts of
interest. These statements must be updated whenever new
conflicts arise or on an annual basis, whichever is
more frequent. These disclosures shall be placed on the
Internet.
(2) Support services.--The General Services Administration
shall be responsible for providing all support services to the
Advisory Committee, including quarters and staff, and for
requesting funds from Congress on behalf of the Advisory
Committee. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Advisory
Committee from communicating with Congress directly regarding
funding or other matters.
(3) Duration.--The Advisory Committee is a continuing body
and is not subject to termination as provided in section 14 of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
(4) Application of faca.--Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.) shall apply to the Advisory Committee.
(f) Reports.--The Advisory Committee shall issue a report on its
activities every two years, or as appropriate, whichever is more
frequent.
(g) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the
General Services Administration such sums as may be necessary for the
operations of the Advisory Committee.
SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE BRANCH INTERNET PUBLICATION MANDATE.
(a) Online Publication Requirements.--
(1) Free availability.--
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the
Government shall make public records available on the
Internet at no charge (including a charge for recovery
of costs) to the public.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of
a charge imposed by Federal law before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Permanence.--Public records shall be permanently
available on the Internet.
(3) Current technology.--Current information technology
capabilities shall be applied to the means by which records are
made available on the Internet, and the formats in which they
are available.
(4) Searchable list.--Each agency shall publish on the
Internet a comprehensive, searchable, machine processable list
of all records it makes publicly available. With respect to
those records, the list shall include at least the following
information:
(A) Where the records can be found.
(B) Whether the records are available to the public
at no cost or for a fee (and the amount of the fee, if
applicable).
(C) Brief descriptions of the records.
(b) Rulemaking Authority.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in the grant of authority in this
subsection shall be construed to limit the Government's
obligation to make records publicly available as required by
law.
(2) Executive agencies.--
(A) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall delegate to the E-Government Administrator
the authority to administer all functions under this
section, except that any such delegation shall not
relieve the Director of responsibility for the
administration of such functions.
(B) The E-Government Administrator, after
consulting with the Office of Information and
Regulatory Policy, shall promulgate such regulations as
are necessary to ensure that all public records held by
Executive agencies are available on the Internet in the
formats and by the means the E-Government Administrator
designates. In promulgating the regulations, the E-
Government Administrator shall consider the guidelines
issued by the Public Online Information Advisory
Committee.
(C) In the regulations promulgated under
subparagraph (B), the E-Government Administrator shall
include--
(i) rules on how Executive agencies shall
publish records on the Internet, including the
format and timeframe; and
(ii) procedures through which Executive
agencies may object to placing public records
on the Internet, in accordance with the
exceptions under paragraph (4), and a method by
which the objections can be reviewed.
(D) The regulations promulgated under subparagraph
(B) shall not preclude Executive agencies from making
additional records available on the Internet beyond
those required by the regulations, or in additional
formats beyond those required by the regulations, or on
a more rapid timeframe than required by the
regulations. In addition, each Executive agency head
shall designate a person within the agency responsible
for Internet publication of public records.
(E) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall ensure that the E-Government Administrator
has adequate staff and resources to properly fulfill
all the Administrator's functions under this Act.
(3) Independent regulatory agencies.--
(A) A Chief Information Officer of an independent
regulatory agency (hereafter in this section referred
to as a ``CIO'') or an official designated by the head
of an independent regulatory agency shall promulgate
such regulations as are necessary to ensure that public
records are available on the Internet in the formats
and by the means the CIO designates. In promulgating
the regulations, the CIO or other official shall
consider the guidelines issued by the Public Online
Information Advisory Committee, as well as regulations
promulgated by the E-Government Administrator under
paragraph (1).
(B) The regulations promulgated under subparagraph
(A) shall not preclude the heads of offices within an
independent regulatory agency from making additional
records available on the Internet beyond those required
by the regulations, or in additional formats beyond
those required by the regulations, or on a more rapid
timeframe than required by the regulations.
(C) The head of the independent regulatory agency
shall ensure that the CIO or the official designated by
the head of the independent regulatory agency has
adequate staff and resources to properly fulfill all of
the CIO's functions under this Act.
(4) Exceptions.--
(A) In general.--The regulations promulgated under
this subsection may contain exceptions, in accordance
with this paragraph, to the requirement that all public
records be made available on the Internet.
(B) Scope of exceptions.--The exceptions may be no
broader than the exceptions recognized under section
552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly referred
to as the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
(C) Additional exceptions by request.--In addition
to the exceptions provided under subparagraph (B), the
regulations shall provide for the E-Government
Administrator or, in the case of an independent
regulatory agency, the CIO or official designated by
the head of the agency, to grant narrow case-by-case
exceptions to the Internet publication requirement if
an agency requests an exception and the agency
demonstrates that--
(i) there is a clear and convincing reason
for the record to not be made available on the
Internet; and
(ii) on balance, the harm cause by
disclosure significantly outweighs the public's
interest in having the record available on the
Internet.
(D) Availability of segregable portions.--If the E-
Government Administrator, CIO, or official designated
by the head of an independent regulatory agency
approves a request for an exception with respect to a
public record under subparagraph (C), any reasonably
segregable portion of the public record shall be made
available on the Internet in a timely fashion after
deletion of the portions that are subject to the
exception. The amount of information deleted shall be
indicated on the portion of the record that is made
available on the Internet, unless including that
indication would significantly harm the interest
protected by the exception. If technically feasible,
the amount of the information deleted shall be
indicated at the place in the record where such
deletion is made.
(E) Disclosure of withheld records.--The E-
Government Administrator, CIO, or official designated
by the head of an independent regulatory agency shall
maintain a list of records not made available on the
Internet by reason of an exception under subparagraph
(C) and publish such list on the Internet, excluding
any records the identification of which would
significantly harm the interest protected by the
exception.
(5) Publication.--Regulations promulgated under this
subsection shall be published in the Federal Register and on
the relevant agency website.
(6) Applicability.--Regulations promulgated under this
subsection shall apply only to public records generated,
updated, or released after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(7) Effective date.--Regulations promulgated under this
subsection shall take effect no sooner than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Reports to Congress.--At least once every four years, the E-
Government Administrator and each independent regulatory agency CIO
shall review the exceptions provided under subsection (b)(4) to making
public records available on the Internet and, if warranted, make
recommendations to the President and to Congress regarding whether
Federal law should be changed. The report shall be made publicly
available, including being published on the Internet.
(d) Inspector General Reviews.--The Inspector General of each
agency shall conduct periodic reviews regarding agency compliance with
Internet publication requirements, no less often than once every four
years. The reviews shall be published on the Internet.
(e) Enforcement of Public Access by Private Individuals or
Organizations.--
(1) Requests.--Private individuals or organizations may
request that an Executive agency place public records on the
Internet, including the comprehensive searchable list of
publicly available records referred to in section 7(a)(4), in
accordance with Federal regulations. An agency has 30 days to
respond to the request in writing or to place the record on the
Internet. If an agency denies the request in whole or in part,
the private individual or organization may file a complaint in
Federal court.
(2) Jurisdiction.--(A) On complaint, the district court of
the United States in the district in which the complainant
resides, or has his principal place of business, or in which
the agency records are situated, or in the District of
Columbia, has jurisdiction to enjoin the agency from refusing
to publish agency records on the Internet, or refusing to
publish it in an appropriate format, and to order the Internet
online publication of any agency records improperly withheld.
In such a case the court shall determine the matter de novo,
and may examine the contents of such agency records in camera
to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be
withheld under any of the exceptions provided under subsection
(b)(4), and the burden is on the agency to sustain its action.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
defendant shall serve an answer or otherwise plead to any
complaint made under this subsection within 30 days after
service upon the defendant of the pleading in which such
complaint is made, unless the court otherwise directs for good
cause shown.
(3) Attorney fees.--The court may assess against the United
States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs
reasonably incurred in any case under this subsection in which
the complainant has substantially prevailed.
(4) Special counsel.--Whenever the court orders the
production of any agency records improperly withheld from the
complainant and assesses against the United States reasonable
attorney fees, litigation costs, and interest, and the court
additionally issues a written finding that the circumstances
surrounding the withholding raise questions whether agency
personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously with respect to the
withholding, a Special Counsel shall promptly initiate a
proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is
warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily
responsible for the withholding. A Special Counsel, after
investigation and consideration of the evidence submitted,
shall submit his findings and recommendations to the
administrative authority of the agency concerned and shall send
copies of the findings and recommendations to the officer or
employee or his representative. The administrative authority
shall take the corrective action that the Special Counsel
recommends.
(5) Contempt.--In the event of noncompliance with the order
of the court, the district court may punish for contempt the
responsible employee, and in the case of a uniformed service,
the responsible member.
SEC. 8. LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL INFORMATION.
It is the sense of Congress that judicial and legislative agencies
(within the meaning of section 3701 of title 31, United States Code)
should adopt or adapt the recommendations of the Advisory Committee for
their own use. In addition, judicial and legislative agencies are
encouraged to consider the guidelines issued by the Public Online
Information Advisory Committee and the regulations promulgated by the
E-Government Administrator.
SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
It is the sense of Congress that the Government Printing Office
should make all of its publications permanently available on the
Internet in a multiplicity of formats that best meet the needs of the
public. In doing so, the Government Printing Office is strongly
encouraged to consider the recommendations of the Public Online
Information Advisory Committee and the E-Government Administrator.
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