Electronic Reporting Streamlining Act of 1996

Summary: Electronic Reporting Streamlining Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Advisory Committee Act to establish the Electronic Data Management Advisory Committee to conduct negotiated rulemaking for the purpose of establishing electronic data reporting standards for the electronic interchange of certain data. 
Provides for the demonstration and thorough testing of the proposed standard included in the proposed rule.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Reporting Streamlining 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To streamline governmentwide use of electronic data 
        transmissions in place of paperwork submissions to Federal 
        agencies from non-Federal persons, including businesses and 
        State and local governments.
            (2) To ensure that full advantage is taken of private-
        sector standard setting for electronic data transmission for 
        the benefit of small and large organizations alike.
            (3) To reduce costs to business and government by avoiding 
        further proliferation of incompatible formats and methods for 
        transmitting data in an electronic format.
            (4) To stimulate Government adoption of comprehensive 
        standards for electronic data exchange.
            (5) To increase effective public access to data and other 
        forms of information transmitted to or from Federal agencies, 
        through electronic means.
            (6) To minimize costs to the public of reviewing, 
        obtaining, and searching for data and other forms of 
        information that are available in electronic form.

SEC. 3. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING FOR DATA STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC 
              INTERCHANGE OF DATA.

    Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.) is 
amended to read as follows:

            ``electronic data management advisory committee

    ``Sec. 15. (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall establish and appoint a negotiated 
rulemaking committee in accordance with subchapter III of chapter 5 of 
title 5, United States Code, for the purpose of establishing electronic 
data reporting standards for the electronic interchange of certain data 
that is required to be reported under existing Federal law. The 
committee shall be known as the Electronic Data Management Advisory 
Committee. The Director shall designate the subject matter of the 
negotiated rulemaking to be conducted by the Committee, which shall 
consist of an existing data reporting requirement that applies to 3 or 
more agencies and that relates to the reporting of data commonly 
managed by the private sector in accordance with uniform standards.
    ``(b) Membership of Committee.--In addition to the membership 
requirements for the Committee under section 565(b) of title 5, United 
States Code--
            ``(1) one-third of the membership of the Committee shall be 
        composed of individuals representing private industry;
            ``(2) the membership of the Committee shall include--
                    ``(A) at least one representative of each Federal 
                agency having regulatory authority with respect to the 
                subject matter; and
                    ``(B) representatives of organizations devoted to 
                the public interest in the subject matter; and
            ``(3) not more than one-quarter of the membership of the 
        Committee may be composed of individuals representing a 
        particular department or agency.
    ``(c) Negotiated Rulemaking by Committee.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Committee shall conduct a negotiated 
        rulemaking in accordance with subchapter III of chapter 5 of 
        title 5, United States Code, for the purpose set forth in 
        subsection (a) and on the subject matter. In conducting the 
        rulemaking, the Committee shall seek comment and participation 
        from all persons interested in the subject matter.
            ``(2) Requirements for proposed rule.--Any proposed rule 
        promulgated by the Committee shall--
                    ``(A) provide data necessary to satisfy existing 
                regulatory reporting requirements comprising the 
                subject matter, under a format and protocol that will 
                reasonably accommodate future or revised data element 
                specifications without requiring users to make costly 
                or substantial modifications to hardware or software 
                that they use to submit electronic data;
                    ``(B) give deference to existing, operational, 
                comprehensive electronic data interchange standards for 
                reporting under the subject matter;
                    ``(C) establish data standards that use electronic 
                file formats that are nonproprietary, royalty free, or 
                in the public domain;
                    ``(D) include a list of data elements to be used 
                under the rule, including a description of the 
                characteristics of each data element;
                    ``(E) use data elements that are suitable for 
                placing in publicly accessible electronic databases, to 
                the extent such placement is not otherwise prohibited 
                by law;
                    ``(F) provide for electronic dissemination of data 
                reported under the proposed rule through one or more 
                publicly accessible, searchable databases identified by 
                the Committee, to the extent such dissemination is not 
                otherwise prohibited by law;
                    ``(G) include a schedule for implementation of 
                electronic data interchange for each Federal program to 
                which the proposed rule would apply; and
                    ``(H) set forth a schedule for the dissemination of 
                all publicly releasable information obtained under the 
                proposed rule through electronic data interchange in 
                accordance with chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
                Code, and Office of Management and Budget Circular A-
                130 (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
                section).
            ``(3) Participation of nongovernmental persons.--In 
        developing standards under this section, the Committee shall--
                    ``(A) solicit the participation of nongovernmental 
                persons;
                    ``(B) solicit from such persons proposals for 
                meeting the requirements set forth in paragraph (2); 
                and
                    ``(C) authorize demonstrations by such persons of 
                the operational capacity of any standard proposed to be 
                adopted under this section.
            ``(4) Demonstration of proposed standards.--Before issuing 
        a proposed rule under this section, the Committee shall provide 
        for the demonstration and thorough testing of the proposed 
        standard included in the proposed rule.
    ``(d) Report of Committee.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this section, the Committee shall transmit to the 
Director, the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House 
of Representatives, and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report under section 566(f) of title 5, United States Code, on 
the rulemaking required by this section.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Committee.--The term `Committee' means the Electronic 
        Data Management Advisory Committee established under subsection 
        (a).
            ``(2) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            ``(3) Subject matter.--The term `subject matter' means the 
        subject matter designated by the Director under subsection 
        (a).''.