[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4809 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4809

To amend the provisions of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 
    commonly referred to as the Paperwork Reduction Act, to ensure 
usability and clarity of information disseminated by Federal agencies, 
   and to facilitate compliance with Federal paperwork requirements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2006

  Mrs. Miller of Michigan (for herself and Mr. Lynch) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government 
                                 Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the provisions of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 
    commonly referred to as the Paperwork Reduction Act, to ensure 
usability and clarity of information disseminated by Federal agencies, 
   and to facilitate compliance with Federal paperwork requirements.

    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 ``Regulation in Plain Language Act of 
2006''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an Executive agency, 
        as that term is defined in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Regulation.--The term ``regulation'' means a rule, as 
        that term is defined in section 551(4) of title 5, United 
        States Code, that is issued by an agency.

SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR ENSURING USABILITY AND CLARITY IN RULEMAKING.

    (a) Definition of Plain Language.--Section 3502 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (13);
            (2) by striking the period and inserting ``; and'' at the 
        end of paragraph (14); and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(15) the term `plain language' means language that is 
        clear and readily understandable to the intended reader and 
        complies with the following standards:
                    ``(A) Uses short words, sentences, and paragraphs.
                    ``(B) Uses active verbs.
                    ``(C) Contains explanations of legal, foreign, and 
                technical terms, unless the terms are commonly 
                understood.
                    ``(D) Avoids defining terms that are commonly 
                understood.
                    ``(E) Uses personal pronouns to refer to affected 
                persons and the responsible agency if helpful to 
                improve clarity.
                    ``(F) Minimizes cross-references.
                    ``(G) Avoids sentences with double negatives or 
                exceptions to exceptions.
                    ``(H) Uses tables, diagrams, pictures, maps, and 
                vertical lists to improve clarity.
                    ``(I) Demonstrates logical organization.
                    ``(J) Addresses separate audiences separately.
                    ``(K) Places general material before exceptions and 
                specialized information.
                    ``(L) Addresses processes covered by a rule in 
                chronological order.
                    ``(M) Follows other best practices of plain 
                language writing.''.
    (b) Responsibility of Federal Agencies to Promote Plain Language.--
Section 3506(d) of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) ensure that regulations are written in plain, 
        understandable language consistent with the definition of 
        `plain language' in section 3502(15) of this title, through--
                    ``(A) designating an agency official as plain 
                language coordinator;
                    ``(B) establishing a process for reviewing each 
                regulation to ensure its compliance with this paragraph 
                before publishing it in the Federal Register;
                    ``(C) publishing guidelines to implement this 
                paragraph--
                            ``(i) not later than 120 days after the 
                        date of the enactment of this paragraph;
                            ``(ii) after consulting with other Federal 
                        agencies and the Interagency Committee on 
                        Government Information to promote consistency 
                        of application between agencies; and
                            ``(iii) after consulting with affected 
                        stakeholders;
                    ``(D) training employees who write regulations to 
                write in plain language;
                    ``(E) reporting to the Committee on Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
                of the Senate annually for the first 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this paragraph and once every 
                3 years thereafter on compliance with this paragraph, 
                including--
                            ``(i) agency implementation of its 
                        guidelines;
                            ``(ii) agency actions to ensure consistency 
                        with other Federal agency guidelines; and
                            ``(iii) examples of some of the changes 
                        made to draft regulations in the previous year 
                        to conform with this paragraph.''.
                                 <all>