Preserving Data in Government Act of 2017

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving Data in Government Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. PRESERVING GOVERNMENT DATA.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 3502--
                    (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) the term `data' means recorded information, 
        regardless of form or the media on which the data is recorded;
            ``(16) the term `data asset' means a collection of data 
        elements or data sets that may be grouped together;
            ``(17) the term `machine-readable' means a format in which 
        information or data can be easily processed by a computer 
        without human intervention while ensuring no semantic meaning 
        is lost;
            ``(18) the term `open format' means a technical format that 
        is not encumbered by restrictions that would impede use or 
        reuse;
            ``(19) the term `open Government data' means a public data 
        asset that is--
                    ``(A) machine-readable;
                    ``(B) available in an open format; and
                    ``(C) part of the worldwide public domain or, if 
                necessary, published with an open license; and
            ``(20) the term `public data asset' means a data asset 
        created or maintained by an agency, or a contractor of an 
        agency, that--
                    ``(A) is not protected under copyright or patent 
                laws; and
                    ``(B)(i) may be released to the public; or
                    ``(ii) has been released to the public in an open 
                format.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3522. Requirement to preserve Government data
    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided under subsection (c), any 
open Government data that is made available to the public for a period 
of not less than 90 consecutive days shall--
            ``(1) remain machine-readable, available in an open format, 
        and part of the worldwide public domain or, if necessary, 
        published with an open license; and
            ``(2) not be altered in such a way as to decrease the 
        machine-readable nature of the open Government data.
    ``(b) Alteration of Digital Location, Format, or Content.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall not be a violation of 
        subsection (a) to alter--
                    ``(A) the digital location or format of open 
                Government data for the purpose of routine asset 
                maintenance or long-term archiving if the alteration 
                does not decrease the open public accessibility or the 
                machine-readable nature of the open Government data; or
                    ``(B) the contents of open Government data for 
                purposes of updating the open Government data or 
                correcting an error in the open Government data.
            ``(2) Permanence of data after updates.--For purposes of 
        subsection (a), any alteration of the digital location, format, 
        or contents of open Government data under subparagraph (A) or 
        (B) of paragraph (1) shall not constitute a renewal of the 
        period for which the open Government data has been made 
        available to the public.
            ``(3) Record of data changes after updates.--Any 
        substantial alteration of the contents of open Government data 
        under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall be 
        recorded in a log that is made available to the public in an 
        open format along with the open Government data.
    ``(c) Exceptions.--
            ``(1) Conservation of agency resources.--An agency may 
        remove open Government data from public availability if--
                    ``(A) the head of the agency determines that the 
                open Government data--
                            ``(i) is too costly to maintain; or
                            ``(ii) does not provide sufficient value to 
                        the public;
                    ``(B) not less than 6 months before the date on 
                which the agency removes the open Government data from 
                public availability, the agency publishes a notice of 
                the removal in the Federal Register, including--
                            ``(i) a clear identification of the open 
                        Government data;
                            ``(ii) if applicable, the digital object 
                        identifier of the open Government data;
                            ``(iii) a detailed description of the 
                        reasons for the removal; and
                            ``(iv) a detailed description of efforts to 
                        make the open Government data permanently 
                        publicly available; and
                    ``(C) the open Government data is available for 
                download on the worldwide public domain for a period of 
                not less than 6 months before the date on which the 
                agency removes the open Government data from public 
                availability.
            ``(2) Other provisions of law.--Subsection (a) shall not 
        apply in the case of open Government data that is required to 
        be removed from public availability or altered under another 
        provision of law.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 3521 the following:

``3522. Requirement to preserve Government data.''.

Summary: Preserving Data in Government Act of 2017 This bill requires that any open government data that is made available to the public for at least 90 consecutive days must: (1) remain machine-readable, available in an open format, and part of the worldwide public domain or, if necessary, be published with an open license. And (2) not be altered in such a way as to decrease its machine-readable nature. It shall not be a violation of such requirement to alter: (1) the digital location or format of open government data for routine asset maintenance or long-term archiving if such alteration does not decrease the open public accessibility or the machine-readable nature of the data, or (2) the contents of such data to update it or correct an error. Any substantial alteration of the data's contents shall be recorded in a log that is made available to the public in an open format along with the data. An agency may remove such data from public availability if: the agency determines that the data is too costly to maintain or does not provide sufficient value to the public, the agency publishes specified notice at least six months in advance of such removal, and the data is available for download on the worldwide public domain for at least six months before such removal. This bill shall not apply to such data that is required to be removed from public availability or altered under another provision of law.