[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 629 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 629

   To amend title 44, United States Code, to promote improved public 
                dissemination of Government information.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 26, 1993

  Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on Government Operations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 44, United States Code, to promote improved public 
                dissemination of Government information.

    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 ``Improvement of Information Access 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) A well-informed citizenry is essential for the well-
        being of a democratic society.
            (2) Access to Government information is essential for 
        citizens who seek to make the Federal Government accountable 
        for its actions.
            (3) The public should have timely, complete, equitable, and 
        affordable access to Government information.
            (4) Federal agencies should use modern information 
        technology for the benefit of citizens of the United States.
            (5) Government information is a national resource that 
        should be treated as a public good.
            (6) Government information is a valuable economic asset 
        that belongs to the public.
            (7) Taxpayers pay for the creation, collection, and 
        organization of Government information and should not be 
        required to pay excessive fees to receive and use that 
        information.
            (8) It is unnecessarily difficult for citizens to provide 
        Federal agencies with comments and suggestions on Federal 
        information policies. As a result, many Federal agencies do not 
        take into account the public interest in the information 
        resources they manage.
            (9) Federal agencies have been slow in developing standards 
        for record and file formats, software query command structures, 
        and other important topics that will make Government 
        information easier to obtain and use.
            (10) Many Federal agencies do not provide timely access to 
        Government information products and services at reasonable 
        costs.

SEC. 3. IMPROVED PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--Title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new chapter:

     ``CHAPTER 41--INFORMATION DISSEMINATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES

``Sec.
``4101. Ensuring public access to Government information products and 
                            services.
``Sec. 4101. Ensuring public access to Government information products 
              and services
    ``(a) Each executive department, military department, and 
independent establishment shall prepare by not later than February 1 of 
each year, and make freely available to the public upon request and at 
no charge, a report which describes the information dissemination 
policies and practices of the department or establishment, including--
            ``(1) plans of the department or establishment to introduce 
        new information products and services or discontinue old ones;
            ``(2) efforts of the department or establishment to develop 
        or implement standards for file and record formats, software 
        query command structures, user interfaces, and other matters 
        that make information easier to obtain and use;
            ``(3) progress of the department or establishment in 
        creating and disseminating comprehensive indexes and 
        bibliographies of information products and services, including 
        coordinated efforts conducted with other agencies;
            ``(4) the methods to be used by the public for accessing 
        information, including the modes and outlets available to the 
        public;
            ``(5) provisions for protecting access to records stored 
        with technologies that are superseded or obsolete;
            ``(6) methods used to make the public aware of information 
        resources, services, and products; and
            ``(7) a summary of the comments received from the public 
        under subsection (b) in the year preceding the report, and the 
        response of the department or establishment to those comments.
    ``(b)(1) Not later than February 1 of each year, each executive 
department, military department, and independent establishment shall 
publish in the Federal Register, and provide in such other manner as 
will notify users of information of the department or establishment, a 
notice of--
            ``(A) the availability of the report prepared under 
        subsection (a); and
            ``(B) a period of not less than 90 days for submission by 
        the public of comments regarding the information dissemination 
        policies and practices of the department or establishment, 
        including comments regarding--
                    ``(i) the types of information the department or 
                establishment collects and disseminates;
                    ``(ii) the methods and outlets the department or 
                establishment uses to store and disseminate 
                information;
                    ``(iii) the prices charged by the department or 
                establishment, or such outlets, for the information; 
                and
                    ``(iv) the validity, reliability, timeliness, and 
                usefulness to the public of the information.
    ``(2) Comments received under this subsection by a department or 
independent establishment shall be available for inspection to the 
public. Each year the department or establishment shall provide a 
reasonable opportunity for dialogue between responsible agency 
officials and interested members of the public, including through 
hearings and informal forums, regarding both proposed and existing 
policies, procedures, and mechanisms for disseminating information 
under this section and for otherwise implementing this section.
    ``(c) Before discontinuing an information product or service, an 
agency shall--
            ``(1) publish in the Federal Register, or provide by other 
        means adequate to inform users of information of the agency, a 
        notice of a period of not less than 120 days for submission by 
        the public of comments regarding that discontinuation;
            ``(2) include in that notice an explanation of the reasons 
        for the discontinuation; and
            ``(3) consider comments received pursuant to the notice.
    ``(d) Each agency shall--
            ``(1) disseminate information in diverse modes and through 
        appropriate outlets that will reinforce statutory requirements 
        for depository distribution, as well as offering other channels 
        of distribution, with adequate documentation software, indexes, 
        or other resources that will permit and broaden public access 
        to Government information;
            ``(2) disseminate information in a manner that ensures the 
        timeliness, usefulness, and reliability of the information for 
        the public;
            ``(3) store and disseminate information products and 
        services in standardized record formats; and
            ``(4) use depository libraries, national computer networks, 
        and other distribution channels that improve and assure free or 
        low-cost public access to Government information.
    ``(e)(1) Except as specifically authorized by statute, an agency 
may not--
            ``(A) charge to depository libraries the costs of 
        distributing information products and services;
            ``(B) charge more than the incremental cost of distributing 
        an information product or service regardless of channels 
        utilized by the agency; or
            ``(C) charge any royalty or other fee for any use or 
        redissemination of Government information.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the incremental cost of 
distributing an information product or service does not include any 
portion of the cost of collecting, organizing, or processing 
information disseminated through the product or service.
    ``(f)(1) The Archivist of the United States and the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology shall jointly issue and 
periodically revise model performance standards under which agencies 
shall be encouraged to provide access to public records.
    ``(2) Standards issued under this subsection shall include the 
establishment of a period within which an agency, upon request, shall 
provide by mail a copy of any decision, rule, notice, docket filing, 
press release, or other public document of the agency.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``41. Government Information Products and Services..........    4101''.

SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS.

    The Archivist of the United States and the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall jointly issue model 
performance standards for providing access to agency records under 
section 4101(f) of title 44, United States Code (as added by section 
3), by not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

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