[118th Congress Public Law 267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 138 STAT. 2983]]
Public Law 118-267
118th Congress
An Act
To amend title 44, United States Code, to modernize the Federal
Register, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Jan. 4, 2025 - [H.R. 9592]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Federal Register
Modernization Act of 2024.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 41 USC 101 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Register Modernization Act of
2024''.
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 <<NOTE: Regulations.>> 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
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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 at least two physical copies of each published Federal
Register issue. Of those, not less than two copies shall be stored, each
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:
[[Page 138 STAT. 2985]]
``(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
[[Page 138 STAT. 2986]]
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 <<NOTE: Time period.>> of codification shall be supplemented and
republished at least once each calendar year. <<NOTE: Updates. Public
information.>> 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, <<NOTE: 44 USC prec.
1501.>> is amended
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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;
physical copies.''.
Approved January 4, 2025.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 9592:
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SENATE REPORTS: No. 118-308 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 170 (2024):
Nov. 12, considered and passed House.
Dec. 19, considered and passed Senate.
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