[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1865 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1865
To direct agencies to be transparent when using automated and augmented
systems to interact with the public or make critical decisions, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 7, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Braun, and Mr. Lankford) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct agencies to be transparent when using automated and augmented
systems to interact with the public or make critical decisions, 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 ``Transparent Automated Governance
Act'' or the ``TAG Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code.
(2) Augmented critical decision process.--The term
``augmented critical decision process'' means the use by an
agency, or by a third party on behalf of the agency, of an
automated system to determine or substantially influence the
outcomes of critical decisions.
(3) Automated system.--The term ``automated system''--
(A) means a set of computational processes derived
from statistics or artificial intelligence techniques,
or that otherwise rely on data about specific
individuals or groups, to substantially influence the
outcome of critical decisions, including computational
processes that stand alone or are embedded within
another process, system, or application, including
paper-based processes; and
(B) does not include computational processes or
infrastructure the function of which is not directly
related to influencing or determining the outcome of
critical decisions.
(4) Critical decision.--The term ``critical decision''
means an agency determination, including the assignment of a
score or classification, related to the status, rights,
property, or well-being of specific individuals or groups, the
outcome of which--
(A) is likely to meaningfully differ from one
individual or group to another; and
(B) meaningfully affects access to, or the cost,
terms, or availability of--
(i) education and vocational training;
(ii) employment;
(iii) essential utilities, including
electricity, heat, water, and internet;
(iv) transportation;
(v) any benefits or assistance under any
Federal public assistance program or under any
State or local public assistance program
financed in whole or in part with Federal
funds;
(vi) financial services, including access
to credit or insurance;
(vii) asylum and immigration services;
(viii) healthcare;
(ix) housing, lodging, or public
accommodations; and
(x) any other service, program, or
opportunity a determination about which would
have a legal, material, or significant effect
on the life of an individual, as determined by
the Director.
(5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
(6) Plain language.--The term ``plain language'' has the
meaning given the term in section 1311(e)(3)(B) of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(e)(3)(B)).
(7) Transparent automated governance guidance.--The term
``transparent automated governance guidance'' means the
guidance issued by the Director pursuant to section 3(a).
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENT AUTOMATED GOVERNANCE GUIDANCE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance that--
(1) is consistent with relevant legal authorities relating
to privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections; and
(2) requires agencies to provide disclosure and opportunity
for appeal when using certain automated systems and augmented
critical decision processes.
(b) Guidance.--The transparent automated governance guidance issued
under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an identification by the Director of any additional
services, programs, or opportunities relating to critical
decisions described in section 2(4)(B)(x), if appropriate, for
use by agencies with respect to the requirements under this
Act;
(2) a list of automated systems that may be used in
augmented critical decision processes, that, as determined by
the Director, are not subject to the requirements of this Act;
(3) with respect to automated systems that contribute to
augmented critical decision processes and interact with the
public, guidance for how agencies shall design, develop, or
update those automated systems to provide plain language notice
to individuals not later than the time and at the place of
interaction with such an automated system that they are
interacting with such an automated system;
(4) the proper contents of the notice described in
paragraph (3);
(5) examples of what the notice described in paragraph (3)
could look like in practice;
(6) with respect to augmented critical decision processes,
guidance for how agencies shall provide plain language notice
to individuals not later than the time a critical decision is
issued to an individual that a critical decision concerning the
individual was made using an augmented critical decision
process;
(7) the proper contents of the notice described in
paragraph (6);
(8) examples of what the notice described in paragraph (6)
could look like in practice;
(9) guidance for how agencies shall establish an appeals
process for critical decisions made by an augmented critical
decision process in which an individual is harmed as a direct
result of the use of an automated system in the augmented
critical decision process;
(10) with respect to critical decisions made by an
augmented critical decision process, guidance for how agencies
should provide individuals with the opportunity for an
alternative review, as appropriate, by an individual working
for or on behalf of the agency with respect to the critical
decision, independent of the augmented critical decision
process; and
(11) criteria for information that each agency is required
to track and collect relating to issues that arise during the
use of augmented critical decision processes--
(A) to ensure that the information collected can be
used to determine whether each automated system and
augmented critical decision process covered by this Act
is accurate, reliable, and, to the greatest extent
practicable, explainable; and
(B) that the agency shall make accessible for use
by the agency, the Comptroller General of the United
States, and Congress.
(c) Consultation.--In developing the transparent automated
governance guidance, the Director shall solicit input from experts
from--
(1) other agencies, including the National Institute for
Science and Technology, the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, and the Government Accountability Office;
(2) academia;
(3) the private sector; and
(4) the nonprofit sector, including experts in civil rights
and civil liberties.
(d) Artificial Intelligence Guidance.--The guidance required by
section 104 of the AI in Government Act of 2020 (40 U.S.C. 11301 note)
may be used to satisfy the requirement for the transparent automated
governance guidance with respect to relevant automated systems and
augmented critical decision processes, or a subset thereof, if such
guidance addresses each requirement under subsection (b) of this
section with respect to the automated system or augmented critical
decision process.
(e) Updates.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the
Director issues the transparent automated governance guidance, and
biennially thereafter, the Director shall issue updates to the
guidance.
SEC. 4. AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) Agency Implementation of Transparent Automated Governance
Guidance.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which the Director
issues the transparent automated governance guidance, the head of each
agency shall implement the transparent automated governance guidance to
the extent that implementation does not require rulemaking.
(b) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall review agency compliance
with this Act and submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
Accountability of the House of Representatives a report with findings
and recommendations.
SEC. 5. SUNSET.
Beginning on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, this Act shall have no force or effect.
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