[Senate Report 116-57]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 149
116th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                     {      116-57
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


                   FEDERAL REGISTER MODERNIZATION ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 1654

    TO AMEND TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE, TO MODERNIZE THE FEDERAL 
                    REGISTER, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES






[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]









                 July 15, 2019.--Ordered to be printed 
                 
                                    ______
		 		 
                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
		 		 
 89-010                    WASHINGTON : 2019                 
		                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida                  KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
                  Joseph C. Folio, III, Chief Counsel
               Daniel J. Spino, Professional Staff Member
               David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
               Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
          Yogin J. Kothari, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk






















                                                      Calendar No. 149
116th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                     {      116-57

======================================================================



 
                   FEDERAL REGISTER MODERNIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                 July 15, 2019.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1654]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 1654) to amend 
title 44, United States Code, to modernize Federal Register, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported.............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 1654, the Federal Register Modernization Act, provides 
technical edits and updates to the Federal Register publication 
process. The Act updates the statute governing the Federal 
Register to be applicable in the 21st century by replacing 
words like ``printing,'' ``binding,'' and ``distribution,'' 
with words like ``publishing,'' ``website,'' and ``Internet.''

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    The Federal Register is printed and distributed to Federal 
Government and congressional offices daily to provide 
information on Federal Government agency rules, proposed rules, 
public notices and other Executive Branch actions.\1\ Since 
June 8, 1994, the Federal Register has been available to the 
public online.\2\ The online version of the Federal Register is 
updated daily and has navigational features that make it more 
user-friendly than a paper copy.\3\ In 2018, Congress enacted 
legislation that stopped unnecessary printing and distribution 
of hard copies of the Federal Register to Federal Government 
and congressional offices.\4\ However, this law did not 
comprehensively halt automatic publication and distribution of 
Federal Registers throughout Federal regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Off. of the Fed. Register, A Brief History Commemorating the 
70th Anniversary of the Publication of the First Issue of the Federal 
Register March 14, 1936, National Archives and Records Administration, 
2, available at https://www.archives.gov/files/federal-register/the-
federal-register/history.pdf.
    \2\Id.
    \3\Off. of the Fed. Register, About This Site, https://
www.federalregister.gov/reader-aids/government-policy-and-ofr-
procedures/about-this-site (last visited May 21, 2019).
    \4\Fourth Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018, Federal 
Register Printing Savings, Healthy Kids, Health-Related Taxes, and 
Budgetary Effects, Pub. L. No. 115-120, Div. A, 2, 132 Stat. 28, 28-29 
(2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 1654 provides the technical edits and comprehensive 
updates to Chapter 15 to reflect the shift from a printed 
Federal Register to an electronically-published and updated 
Federal Register. H.R. 1654 replaces language like ``printing, 
reprinting, wrapping, binding, and distributing'' with 
``publishing.'' H.R. 1654 also cuts wasteful printing by 
updating submission practices to no longer require two copies 
of a document in addition to the original document for 
inclusion in the Federal Register.

                        III. Legislative History

    Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC-11) introduced H.R. 1654, 
the Federal Register Modernization Act, on March 8, 2019. The 
Act was approved by the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 
the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1674 on March 12, 
2019.
    The Committee considered H.R. 1654 at a business meeting on 
May 15, 2019. The Act was reported favorably en bloc by voice 
vote with Senators Johnson, Paul, Lankford, Scott, Peters, 
Carper, Hassan, and Rosen present. For the record only, 
Senators Portman, Romney, Hawley, and Sinema later asked to be 
recorded as a ``yes''' by unanimous consent.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Act, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the Act's short title as the 
``Federal Register Modernization Act.''

Section 2. Federal Register modernization

    This section substitutes references to the terms 
``printing'', ``printing and distribution'', and ``printed and 
bound in permanent form'' with the term ``publishing'' in 
Chapter 15 of title 44 U.S. Code. It also replaces the term 
``comments''' with ``news commentary.''
    This section also eliminates the requirement for filing a 
document with the Office of the Federal Register that two 
duplicate copies must be provided. It also authorizes the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register to regulate 
the manner in which the Federal Register receives information 
and comments from the public and to issue special editions of 
the Federal Register.

Section 3. Determination of budgetary effects

    To comply with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
this section states that the budgetary effects of the Act shall 
be determined by the latest statement from the ``Budgetary 
Effects of PAYGO Legislation.''

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this Act and determined 
that the Act will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the Act contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 10, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1654, the Federal 
Register Modernization Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    Under the Federal Register Act, the Office of the Federal 
Register (OFR) within the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) produces the Federal Register. That 
publication compiles and organizes thousands of rules, 
regulations, executive orders, presidential documents, and 
notices generated by federal departments and agencies. 
Currently, the Federal Register is updated daily and is printed 
and published Monday through Friday, except for federal 
holidays. The OFR, working with the Government Publishing 
Office (GPO), has made the Federal Register available online 
since 1994. In addition, the OFR produces the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), which contains all agency rules that first 
appeared in the Federal Register.
    Under H.R. 1654, OFR would no longer be required to print 
the Federal Register or the CFR, but would be required to 
continue making it available online. CBO expects that under 
H.R. 1654 fewer copies of the Federal Register and CFR would be 
printed; however, we estimate that any decreased costs over the 
next five years would be insignificant because most of the 
costs associated with the submission of those documents involve 
their preparation, not their duplication.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman:

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 44--PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


      CHAPTER 15--FEDERAL REGISTER AND CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS

Sec.
1501. Definitions.
1502. Custody and [printing] publishing of Federal documents; 
                            appointment of Director.
1503. Filing documents with Office; notation of time, public 
                            inspection; transmission for [printing] 
                            publishing.
1504. ``Federal Register''; [printing] publishing; contents; 
                            distribution; price.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 1501. DEFINITIONS

    As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 
requires--
          ``document'' means a Presidential proclamation or 
        Executive order and an order, regulation, rule, 
        certificate, code of fair competition, license, notice, 
        or similar instrument, issued, prescribed, or 
        promulgated by a Federal agency;
          ``Federal agency'' or ``agency'' means the President 
        of the United States, or an executive department, 
        independent board, establishment, bureau, agency, 
        institution, commission, or separate office of the 
        administrative branch of the Government of the United 
        States but not the legislative or judicial branches of 
        the Government;
          ``person'' means an individual, partnership, 
        association, or corporation [; and];
          ``publish'' means to circulate for sale or 
        distribution to the public; and
          ``National Archives of the United States'' has the 
        same meaning as in section 2901 (11) of this title.

SEC. 1502. CUSTODY AND [PRINTING] PUBLISHING OF FEDERAL DOCUMENTS; 
                    APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR

    The Archivist of the United States, acting through the 
Office of the Federal Register, is charged with the custody 
and, together with the Director of the Government Publishing 
Office, with the prompt and uniform [printing and distribution] 
publishing of the documents required or authorized to be 
published by section 1505 of this title. There shall be at the 
head of the Office a director, appointed by, and who shall act 
under the general direction of, the Archivist of the United 
States in carrying out this chapter and the regulations 
prescribed under it.

SEC. 1503. FILING DOCUMENTS WITH OFFICE; NOTATION OF TIME; PUBLIC 
                    INSPECTION; TRANSMISSION FOR PUBLISHING

    The original [and two duplicate originals or certified 
copies of a] document required or authorized to be published by 
section 1505 [of this title] shall be filed with the Office of 
the Federal Register [, which shall be open for that purpose 
during all hours of the working days when the National Archives 
Building is open for official business] 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 [and duplicate 
originals or certified copies] of each document the day and 
hour of filing. [When the original is issued, prescribed, or 
promulgated outside the District of Columbia, and certified 
copies are filed before the filing of the original, the 
notation shall be of the day and hour of filing of the 
certified copies.] Upon filing, [at least one copy] the 
document shall be immediately available for public inspection 
in the Office. 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 [of the 
Federal Register] and authorized by the Archivist pursuant to 
regulations issued under chapter 33 [of this title]; 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 [immediately] to the Government Publishing 
Office [for printing], as provided by this chapter, [one 
duplicate original or certified copy of] each document required 
or authorized to be published by section 1505 [of this title]. 
Every Federal agency shall cause to be transmitted for filing 
the original [and the duplicate originals or certified copies] 
of all such documents issued, prescribed, or promulgated by the 
agency.

SEC. 1504. `FEDERAL REGISTER'; PUBLISHING; CONTENTS; DISTRIBUTION; 
                    PRICE

    Documents required or authorized to be published by section 
1505 [of this title] shall be [printed and distributed] 
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 [printing and distribution] 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 be indexed and shall 
comprise 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 [distribution] 
publication fixed by regulations under this chapter. There 
shall be [printed] published with each document a copy of the 
notation, required to be made by section 1503 [of this title], 
of the day and hour when, upon filing with the Office, the 
document was made available for public inspection. Distribution 
shall be made [by delivery or by deposit at a post office] 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 [of this title] without reference to the 
restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government 
publications by sections 1705 and 1708 [of this title].

SEC. 1505. DOCUMENTS TO BE PUBLISHED IN FEDERAL REGISTER

    (a) * * *
    (b) Documents Authorized To Be Published by Regulations; 
[Comments] News Commentary and News Items Excluded.--In 
addition to the foregoing there shall also be published in the 
Federal Register other documents or classes of documents 
authorized to be published by regulations prescribed under this 
chapter with the approval of the President, but [comments] news 
commentary or news items of any character may not be published 
in the Federal Register.
    (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 a website to 
publish the Federal Register until such time that the 
Government Publishing Office resumes publication.
    [(c)] (d) Suspension of Requirements for Filing of 
Documents; Alternate Systems for Promulgating, Filing, or 
Publishing Documents; Preservation of Originals.--In the event 
of an attack or threatened attack upon the continental United 
States and a determination by the President that as a result of 
an attack or threatened attack--
          (1) publication of the Federal Register or filing of 
        documents with the Office of the Federal Register is 
        impracticable, or
          (2) under existing conditions publication in the 
        Federal Register would not serve to give appropriate 
        notice to the public of the contents of documents, the 
        President may, without regard to any other provision of 
        law, suspend all or part of the requirements of law or 
        regulation for filing with the Office or publication in 
        the Federal Register of documents or classes of 
        documents.
    The suspensions shall remain in effect until revoked by the 
President, or by concurrent resolution of the Congress. The 
President shall establish alternate systems for promulgating, 
filing, or publishing documents or classes of documents 
affected by such suspensions, including requirements relating 
to their effectiveness or validity, that may be considered 
under the then existing circumstances practicable to provide 
public notice of the issuance and of the contents of the 
documents. The alternate systems may, without limitation, 
provide for the use of regional or specialized publications or 
depositories for documents, or of the press, the radio, 
telecommunications, the Internet, or similar mediums of general 
communication. Compliance with alternate systems of filing or 
publication shall have the same effect as filing with the 
Office or publication in the Federal Register under this 
chapter or other law or regulation. With respect to documents 
promulgated under alternate systems, each agency shall preserve 
the original [and two duplicate originals or two certified 
copies] documents for filing with the Office when the President 
determines that it is practicable.

SEC. 1506. ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER; 
                    ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION; POWERS AND DUTIES

    (a) Composition; Duties.--The Administrative Committee of 
the Federal Register shall consist of the Archivist of the 
United States or Acting Archivist, who shall [be chairman] 
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, 
regulations for carrying out this chapter. The regulations 
shall provide, among other things--
          [(1) the manner of certification of copies required 
        to be certified under section 1503 of this title, which 
        certification may be permitted to be based upon 
        confirmed communications from outside the District of 
        Columbia;
          [(2) the documents which shall be authorized under 
        section 1505(b) of this title to be published in the 
        Federal Register;
          [(3) the manner and form in which the Federal 
        Register shall be printed, reprinted, and compiled, 
        indexed, bound, and distributed;
          [(4) subject to subsection (b), the number of copies 
        of the Federal Register, which shall be printed, 
        reprinted, and compiled, the number which shall be 
        distributed without charge 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; and
          [(5) the prices to be charged for individual copies 
        of, and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and 
        reprints and bound volumes of it.]
          (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; and
          (7) special editions of the Federal Register.

SEC. 1507.  FILING DOCUMENT AS CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE; PUBLICATION IN 
                    FEDERAL REGISTER AS PRESUMPTION OF VALIDITY; 
                    JUDICIAL NOTICE; CITATION

    A document required by section 1505(a) of this title to be 
published in the Federal Register is not valid as against a 
person who has not had actual knowledge of it until [the 
duplicate originals or certified copies of the document have] 
the document has been filed with the Office of the Federal 
Register and a copy made available for public inspection as 
provided by section 1503 of this title. Unless otherwise 
specifically provided by statute, filing of a document, 
required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this 
title, except in cases where notice by publication is 
insufficient in law, is sufficient to give notice of the 
contents of the document to a person subject to or affected by 
it. The publication in the Federal Register of a document 
creates a rebuttable presumption--
          (1) that it was duly issued, prescribed, or 
        promulgated;
          (2) that it was filed with the Office of the Federal 
        Register and made available for public inspection at 
        the day and hour stated in the [printed] published 
        notation;
          (3) * * *
          (4) * * *

SEC. 1508. * * *

SEC. 1509.  COSTS OF PUBLICATION, ETC.

    (a) The cost of [printing, reprinting, wrapping, binding, 
and distributing] publishing the Federal Register and the Code 
of Federal Regulations, and, except as provided in subsection 
(b), other expenses incurred by the Government Publishing 
Office in carrying out the duties placed upon it by this 
chapter shall be charged to the revolving fund provided in 
section 309. Reimbursements for such costs and expenses shall 
be made by the Federal agencies and credited, together with all 
receipts, as provided in section 309(b).
    (b) The cost of [printing, reprinting, wrapping, binding, 
and distributing] publishing all other publications of the 
Federal Register program, and other expenses incurred by the 
Government Publishing Office in connection with such 
publications, shall be borne by the appropriations to the 
Government Publishing Office and the appropriations are made 
available, and are authorized to be increased by additional 
sums necessary for the purposes, the increases to be based upon 
estimates submitted by the Director of the Government 
Publishing Office.

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, may require, from time to time as it 
considers necessary, the preparation and publication in a 
special [or supplemental] edition[s] of the Federal Register 
[of] a complete codification[s] 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 published 
under subsection (a) of this section shall be [printed and 
bound in permanent form] published and shall be designated as 
the ``Code of Federal Regulations''. The Administrative 
Committee shall regulate the [binding of the printed 
codifications into separate books with a view to practical 
usefulness and economical manufacture. Each book shall contain 
an explanation of its coverage and other aids to users that the 
Administrative Committee may require. A general index to the 
entire Code of Federal Regulations shall be separately printed 
and bound.] 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 [printed] 
codification[s] with a view to keeping the Code of Federal 
Regulations as current as practicable. Each [book] unit of 
codification shall be [either] supplemented [or collated] 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, [and indexes] 
indices, and user aids authorized by this section.
    (e) Prima Facie Evidence.--The codified documents of the 
several agencies published in the [supplemental edition of the 
Federal Register] 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 [shall 
prescribe], with the approval of the President, 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.

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