### §2801. Definitions

In this chapter—

(1) the term "Advisory Committee" means the National Geospatial Advisory Committee established under section 2803(a) of this title;

(2) the term "Committee" means the Federal Geographic Data Committee established under section 2802(a) of this title;

(3) the term "covered agency"—

(A) means—

(i) an Executive department, as defined in section 101 of title 5 that collects, produces, acquires, maintains, distributes, uses, or preserves geospatial data on paper or in electronic form to fulfill the mission of the Executive department, either directly or through a relationship with another organization, including a State, local government, Indian tribe, institution of higher education, business partner or contractor of the Federal Government, and the public;

(ii) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; or

(iii) the General Services Administration; and

(B) does not include the Department of Defense (including 30 components and agencies performing national missions) or any element of the intelligence community;

(4) the term "GeoPlatform" means the GeoPlatform described in section 2807(a) of this title;

(5) the term "geospatial data"—

(A) means information that is tied to a location on the Earth, including by identifying the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth, and that is generally represented in vector datasets by points, lines, polygons, or other complex geographic features or phenomena;

(B) may be derived from, among other things, remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies;

(C) includes images and raster datasets, aerial photographs, and other forms of geospatial data or datasets in digitized or non-digitized form; and

(D) does not include—

(i) geospatial data and activities of an Indian tribe not carried out, in whole or in part, using Federal funds, as determined by the tribal government;

(ii) classified national security-related geospatial data and activities of the Department of Defense, unless declassified;

(iii) classified national security-related geospatial data and activities of the Department of Energy, unless declassified;

(iv) geospatial data and activities under chapter 22 of title 10 or section 3045 of title 50;

(v) intelligence geospatial data and activities, as determined by the Director of National Intelligence; or

(vi) certain declassified national security-related geospatial data and activities of the intelligence community, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, or the Director of National Intelligence;

(6) the term "Indian tribe" has the meaning given that term under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); 1

(7) the term "institution of higher education" has the meaning given that term under section 1002 of title 20;

(8) the term "intelligence community" has the meaning given that term in section 3003 of title 50;

(9) the term "lead covered agency" means a lead covered agency for a National Geospatial Data Asset data theme designated under section 2805(b)(1) of this title;

(10) the term "local government" means any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State;

(11) the term "metadata for geospatial data" means information about geospatial data, including the content, source, vintage, accuracy, condition, projection, method of collection, and other characteristics or descriptions of the geospatial data;

(12) the term "National Geospatial Data Asset data theme" means the National Geospatial Data Asset core geospatial datasets (including electronic records and coordinates) relating to a topic or subject designated under section 2805 of this title;

(13) the term "National Spatial Data Infrastructure" means the technology, policies, criteria, standards, and employees necessary to promote geospatial data sharing throughout the Federal Government, State, tribal, and local governments, and the private sector (including nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education); and

(14) the term "proven practices" means methods and activities that advance the use of geospatial data for the benefit of society.

(Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title VII, §752, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3414.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### References in Text

Section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b), referred to in par. (6), is section 4 of Pub. L. 93–638, Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2204, which was formerly classified to section 450b of Title 25, Indians, prior to editorial reclassification as section 5304 of Title 25.

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Short Title

Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title VII, §751(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3413, provided that: "This subtitle [subtitle F (§§751–759C) of title VII of div. B of Pub. L. 115–254, enacting this chapter] may be cited as the 'Geospatial Data Act of 2018'."

#### Findings

Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title VII, §751(b), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3413, provided that: "Congress finds that—

"(1) open and publicly available data is essential to the successful operation of the GeoPlatform;

"(2) the private sector in the United States, for the purposes of acquiring and producing quality geospatial data and geospatial data services, has been and continues to be invaluable in carrying out the varying missions of Federal departments and agencies, as well as contributing positively to the United States economy; and

"(3) over the last 2 decades, Congress has passed legislation that promotes greater access and use of Government information and data, which has—

"(A) sparked new, innovative start-ups and services;

"(B) spurred economic growth in many sectors, such as in the geospatial services;

"(C) advanced scientific research;

"(D) promoted public access to Federally funded services and data; and

"(E) improved access to geospatial data for the purposes of promoting public health, weather forecasting, economic development, environmental protection, flood zone research, and other purposes."

1 See References in Text note below.