[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9592 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9592

    To amend title 44, United States Code, to modernize the Federal 
                   Register, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 16, 2024

Mr. Higgins of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. Connolly) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                             Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 44, United States Code, 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--
                    (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, by striking ``printing, reprinting, 
        wrapping, binding, and distributing'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``publishing''.
    (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; and
            (2) by inserting after the definition for ``person'' the 
        following:
            ```publish' means to circulate for sale or distribution to 
        the public, as determined by the Administrative Committee of 
        the Federal Register; 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 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. 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; 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 Publishing Office, as provided by this chapter, each 
document required or authorized to be published by section 1505. 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; physical copies
    ``Documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 
shall be published immediately by the Government Publishing Office in a 
serial publication designated the `Federal Register'. The Director of 
the Government Publishing Office shall make available the facilities of 
the Government Publishing 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 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 without reference to the 
restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government 
publications by sections 1705 and 1708. The Government Publishing 
Office shall print two physical copies of each published Federal 
Register issue. Each copy shall be stored in a separate facility to 
ensure the preservation of the Federal Register for the purposes of 
continuity of government.''.
    (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'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d);
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Alternative Publication.--In a continuity of operations event 
in which the Government Publishing Office does not fulfill the 
publication requirements of this chapter, the Office of the Federal 
Register may establish an alternative method to publish the Federal 
Register until such time that the Government Publishing Office resumes 
publication.''; and
            (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, 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.--
Subsection (a) of section 1506 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Composition; 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 
Director of the Government Publishing Office or Acting Director of the 
Government Publishing Office. The Director of the Federal Register 
shall act as secretary of the committee. The committee shall prescribe, 
with the approval of the President or their designee, regulations for 
carrying out this chapter. The regulations shall provide for, among 
other things, the following:
            ``(1) The documents which shall be authorized under section 
        1505(b) to be published in the Federal Register.
            ``(2) The manner and form in which the Federal Register 
        shall be published.
            ``(3) The manner and form in which agencies submit 
        documents for publication in the Federal Register and special 
        editions of the Federal Register.
            ``(4) Subject to subsection (b), 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.
            ``(5) The prices to be charged for individual copies of, 
        and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and any reprints and 
        bound volumes of it.
            ``(6) The manner and form by which the Federal Register may 
        receive information and comments from the public, if 
        practicable and efficient.
            ``(7) 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 or their designee, 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, indices, 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 or their designee, 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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