II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 621 

To establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide guidelines on making public information available on the Internet, to require 

publicly available Government information held by the executive branch 

to be made available on the Internet, to express the sense of Congress 

that publicly available information held by the legislative and judicial 

branches should be available on the Internet, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2017 

Mr. TESTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide guidelines on making public information 

available on the Internet, to require publicly available 

Government information held by the executive branch 

to be made available on the Internet, to express the 

sense of Congress that publicly available information held 

by the legislative and judicial branches should be available on the Internet, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Online Informa3 tion Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Purposes. 

Sec. 5. Findings of Congress. 

Sec. 6. Establishment of Public Online Information Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 7. Executive branch Internet publication mandate. 

Sec. 8. Legislative and judicial information. 

Sec. 9. Government Publishing Office. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means an 

9 Executive agency or an independent regulatory agen10 cy. 

11 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

12 agency’’ means— 

13 (A) an Executive department, as defined in 

14 section 101 of title 5, United States Code; 

15 (B) a military department, as defined in 

16 section 102 of such title; 

17 (C) a Government corporation, as defined 

18 in section 103 of such title; and 

19 (D) any other establishment in the execu20 tive branch of the Government (including the 


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1 Executive Office of the President), other than 

2 an independent regulatory agency. 

3 (3) INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCY.—The 

4 term ‘‘independent regulatory agency’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term ‘‘independent establish6 ment’’ in section 104 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (4) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’ has the 

8 meaning given the term ‘‘records’’ in section 3301 of 

9 title 44, United States Code. 

10 (5) PUBLIC RECORD.—The term ‘‘public 

11 record’’ means any record, regardless of form or for12 mat, that an agency discloses, publishes, dissemi13 nates, or makes available to the public. 

14 (6) E-GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

15 term ‘‘E-Government Administrator’’ means the Ad16 ministrator of the Office of Electronic Government 

17 established under section 3602 of title 44, United 

18 States Code. 

19 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 

20 The purposes of this Act are— 

21 (1) to establish an advisory committee to issue 

22 nonbinding guidelines for all three branches of Gov23 ernment regarding making public information avail24 able on the Internet, with sufficient flexibility to 

25 adapt to changes in technology; 


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1 (2) to empower the E-Government Adminis2 trator to establish binding rules concerning making 

3 publicly available Government information held by 

4 Executive agencies to be made available on the 

5 Internet, and to empower independent regulatory 

6 agencies to do the same; 

7 (3) to express the sense of Congress that pub8 licly available information held by the legislative and 

9 judicial branches should be available on the Internet; 

10 and 

11 (4) to encourage the Government Publishing 

12 Office to make all of its publications available on the 

13 Internet in the formats most useful to the public, 

14 after having considered the formats identified by the 

15 Public Online Information Advisory Committee. 

16 SEC. 5. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) The Federal Government holds a vast re19 pository of public information. Throughout the Na20 tion’s history, the Government has attempted to 

21 make that information available to the public, 

22 whether through the United States Postal Service, 

23 the Federal Depository Library Program, the Presi24 dential Library System, Agency Reading Rooms, 

25 under the Freedom of Information Act, or by other 


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1 means. Providing this information to the general 

2 public is a public good: Informed citizens are in3 formed voters. However, even with these efforts, 

4 Government information is too often hard to find, 

5 difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful 

6 formats, and available in only a few locations. 

7 (2) The advent of the Internet presents the op8 portunity for the Government to make information 

9 readily available to many more Americans. The 

10 Internet is ubiquitous, turning every computer into 

11 a portal to the world’s largest library. The Govern12 ment has made some efforts to take advantage of 

13 this new medium. As the public moves online, the 

14 Government must do so as well. 

15 (3) In addition to the traditional means of dis16 seminating public information, the Federal Govern17 ment should make all of its public information avail18 able on the Internet. It should do so in ways that 

19 take advantage of modern technology, that antici20 pate the public’s needs, and that provide access to 

21 the greatest number of people. The Government 

22 should strive to make its information available on 

23 the Internet in real-time and in machine processable 

24 formats. 


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1 (4) The creation of this vast new information li2 brary will empower citizens to gain a better under3 standing of how their Government functions and 

4 what it does in their name. It will also give 

5 innovators new tools to build on this information 

6 and provide better goods and services to the Amer7 ican people. Government services will be provided 

8 more efficiently, saving the taxpayers money and al9 lowing them to be more involved in the lives of their 

10 communities. 

11 (5) Accomplishing these goals requires signifi12 cant coordination. It also requires the creation of 

13 new authorities and responsibilities within the Gov14 ernment, and the identification of appropriate tech15 nology standards. 

16 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC ONLINE INFORMATION 

17 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

19 an advisory committee to be known as the ‘‘Public Online 

20 Information Advisory Committee’’ (in this Act referred to 

21 as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 

22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Advisory Com23 mittee are— 

24 (1) to coordinate and encourage the Govern25 ment’s efforts to make Government information 


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1 from all three branches of Government available on 

2 the Internet; and 

3 (2) to issue nonbinding guidelines on how the 

4 Government should make public information avail5 able on the Internet, and update those guidelines as 

6 appropriate. 

7 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

9 shall be composed of 19 members (including the 

10 Chair), as follows: 

11 (A) Six members shall be appointed by the 

12 E-Government Administrator. 

13 (B) Six members shall be appointed by the 

14 Director of the Administrative Office of the 

15 Courts. 

16 (C) Three members shall be appointed by 

17 the Chairman, in consultation with the Ranking 

18 Member, of the Committee on Homeland Secu19 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

20 (D) Three members shall be appointed by 

21 the Chair, in consultation with the Ranking 

22 Member, of the Committee on Oversight and 

23 Government Reform of the House of Represent24 atives. 


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1 (E) The Chair shall be appointed by the 

2 Administrator of General Services, after confer3 ring with the E-Government Administrator, the 

4 Director of the Administrative Office of the 

5 Courts, the Chairman of the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

7 of the Senate, and the Chair of the Committee 

8 on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 (2) VICE CHAIR.—A Vice Chair shall be se11 lected from among the members of the Advisory 

12 Committee by the Chair. 

13 (3) LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE

14 MEMBERS.—Not more than 6 members of the Advi15 sory Committee may be Government employees. 

16 (4) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member of the 

17 Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a renew18 able term of 5 years, except that one-third of the 

19 members initially appointed shall be appointed for a 

20 3-year term, one-third of such members shall be ap21 pointed for a 4-year term, and one-third of such 

22 members and the Chair shall be appointed for a 5- 

23 year term. 

24 (5) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The initial ap25 pointments of members of the Advisory Committee 


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1 shall be made not later than 90 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act. 

3 (6) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

4 meet not fewer than 6 times per year. 

5 (d) POWERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—From time to time, the Ad7 visory Committee shall examine its legislative char8 ter, structure, and funding, and shall make rec9 ommendations to Congress, the President, and the 

10 Courts regarding how the Advisory Committee could 

11 be restructured to better accomplish the mission of 

12 making Government information available to the 

13 public on the Internet. The recommendations shall 

14 be published in print and on the Internet. 

15 (2) SPECIFIC POWERS.—To carry out the pur16 poses of the Advisory Committee, the Advisory Com17 mittee may— 

18 (A) hold hearings; 

19 (B) issue recommendations to Congress; 

20 (C) issue recommendations to agencies; 

21 (D) issue reports, guidelines, and memo22 randa; 

23 (E) articulate guidelines on how the Gov24 ernment should make public records available 

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1 propriate, and inquire into Government compli2 ance with those guidelines; 

3 (F) hold or host conferences and symposia; 

4 (G) enter into cooperative agreements with 

5 outside experts to obtain relevant advice or ex6 pertise, and oversee staff; 

7 (H) establish subcommittees; and 

8 (I) establish rules of procedure. 

9 (3) RELATIONSHIP TO FACA.—The Advisory 

10 Committee shall not be subject to the control of any 

11 Advisory Committee Management Officer designated 

12 under section 8(b) of the Federal Advisory Com13 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

14 (e) OPERATIONS.— 

15 (1) OPEN GOVERNMENT PROCEDURES.—In ad16 dition to the rules in the Federal Advisory Com17 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), in the interest of im18 proving transparency, the Advisory Committee shall 

19 adhere to the following rules that supplement and 

20 modify such Act (in accordance with section 4(a) of 

21 such Act): 

22 (A) Subcommittees shall have the same du23 ties and obligations as the full committee as de24 lineated under sections 10 through 13 of such 


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1 Act. Subcommittees shall similarly be bound by 

2 the terms of this section. 

3 (B) All information made available on the 

4 Internet shall be done so by state-of-the-art 

5 methods. 

6 (C) Information required to be made avail7 able on the Internet shall be done so in a timely 

8 fashion. 

9 (D) Notice of all meetings shall be avail10 able on the website of the Advisory Committee’s 

11 website, with agendas available on the Internet 

12 not less than 3 days prior to any meeting. 

13 (E) All records available for public copying 

14 under section 10 of such Act shall be made 

15 available on the website of the Advisory Com16 mittee. 

17 (F) The Advisory Committee shall make 

18 available on the Internet and to any person, at 

19 no cost, transcripts of Advisory Committee pro20 ceedings. 

21 (G) Video recordings of proceedings shall 

22 be made available on the Internet. 

23 (H) Documents submitted to the Advisory 

24 Committee shall be made publicly available un25 less the Advisory Committee determines that 


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1 those materials would disclose matters de2 scribed in section 552(b) of title 5, United 

3 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom 

4 of Information Act’’). 

5 (I) The Advisory Committee shall make 

6 publicly available the names and brief biog7 raphies of the members of the Advisory Com8 mittee. 

9 (J) All members of the Advisory Com10 mittee shall file financial disclosure forms, 

11 which shall be made available on the Advisory 

12 Committee website after redactions to remove 

13 personally identifiable information, such as so14 cial security numbers. 

15 (K) All members of the Advisory Com16 mittee shall have to state and publicly disclose 

17 conflicts of interest. These statements must be 

18 updated whenever new conflicts arise or on an 

19 annual basis, whichever is more frequent. These 

20 disclosures shall be placed on the Internet. 

21 (2) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The General Services 

22 Administration shall be responsible for providing all 

23 support services to the Advisory Committee, includ24 ing quarters and staff, and for requesting funds 

25 from Congress on behalf of the Advisory Committee. 


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1 Nothing in this section shall prevent the Advisory 

2 Committee from communicating with Congress di3 rectly regarding funding or other matters. 

4 (3) DURATION.—The Advisory Committee is a 

5 continuing body and is not subject to termination as 

6 provided in section 14 of the Federal Advisory Com7 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 (4) APPLICATION OF FACA.—Except as other9 wise provided in this section, the Federal Advisory 

10 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the 

11 Advisory Committee. 

12 (f) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall issue 

13 a report on the activities of the Advisory Committee every 

14 2 years, or as appropriate, whichever is more frequent. 

15 (g) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap16 propriated to the General Services Administration such 

17 sums as may be necessary for the operations of the Advi18 sory Committee. 

19 SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE BRANCH INTERNET PUBLICATION MAN20 DATE. 

21 (a) ONLINE PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (1) FREE AVAILABILITY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), the Government shall make 

25 public records available on the Internet at no 


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1 charge (including a charge for recovery of 

2 costs) to the public. 

3 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

4 not apply in the case of a charge imposed by 

5 Federal law before the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 (2) PERMANENCE.—Public records shall be per8 manently available on the Internet. 

9 (3) CURRENT TECHNOLOGY.—Current informa10 tion technology capabilities shall be applied to the 

11 means by which records are made available on the 

12 Internet, and the formats in which they are avail13 able. 

14 (4) SEARCHABLE LIST.—Each agency shall 

15 publish on the Internet a comprehensive, searchable, 

16 machine processable list of all records it makes pub17 licly available. With respect to those records, the list 

18 shall include at least the following information: 

19 (A) Where the records can be found. 

20 (B) Whether the records are available to 

21 the public at no cost or for a fee (and the 

22 amount of the fee, if applicable). 

23 (C) Brief descriptions of the records. 

24 (b) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in the grant of au2 thority in this subsection shall be construed to limit 

3 the obligation of the Government to make records 

4 publicly available as required by law. 

5 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.— 

6 (A) The Director of the Office of Manage7 ment and Budget shall delegate to the E-Gov8 ernment Administrator the authority to admin9 ister all functions under this section, except 

10 that any such delegation shall not relieve the 

11 Director of responsibility for the administration 

12 of such functions. 

13 (B) The E-Government Administrator, 

14 after consulting with the Office of Information 

15 and Regulatory Policy, shall promulgate such 

16 regulations as are necessary to ensure that all 

17 public records held by Executive agencies are 

18 available on the Internet in the formats and by 

19 the means the E-Government Administrator 

20 designates. In promulgating the regulations, the 

21 E-Government Administrator shall consider the 

22 guidelines issued by the Public Online Informa23 tion Advisory Committee. 


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1 (C) In the regulations promulgated under 

2 subparagraph (B), the E-Government Adminis3 trator shall include— 

4 (i) rules on how Executive agencies 

5 shall publish records on the Internet, in6 cluding the format and timeframe; and 

7 (ii) procedures through which Execu8 tive agencies may object to placing public 

9 records on the Internet, in accordance with 

10 the exceptions under paragraph (4), and a 

11 method by which the objections can be re12 viewed. 

13 (D) The regulations promulgated under 

14 subparagraph (B) shall not preclude Executive 

15 agencies from making additional records avail16 able on the Internet beyond those required by 

17 the regulations, or in additional formats beyond 

18 those required by the regulations, or on a more 

19 rapid timeframe than required by the regula20 tions. In addition, each Executive agency head 

21 shall designate a person within the agency re22 sponsible for Internet publication of public 

23 records. 

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1 ernment Administrator has adequate staff and 

2 resources to properly fulfill all the Administra3 tor’s functions under this Act. 

4 (3) INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES.— 

5 (A) A Chief Information Officer of an 

6 independent regulatory agency (hereafter in this 

7 section referred to as a ‘‘CIO’’) or an official 

8 designated by the head of an independent regu9 latory agency shall promulgate such regulations 

10 as are necessary to ensure that public records 

11 are available on the Internet in the formats and 

12 by the means the CIO designates. In promul13 gating the regulations, the CIO or other official 

14 shall consider the guidelines issued by the Pub15 lic Online Information Advisory Committee, as 

16 well as regulations promulgated by the E-Gov17 ernment Administrator under paragraph (1). 

18 (B) The regulations promulgated under 

19 subparagraph (A) shall not preclude the heads 

20 of offices within an independent regulatory 

21 agency from making additional records available 

22 on the Internet beyond those required by the 

23 regulations, or in additional formats beyond 

24 those required by the regulations, or on a more 


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1 rapid timeframe than required by the regula2 tions. 

3 (C) The head of the independent regu4 latory agency shall ensure that the CIO or the 

5 official designated by the head of the inde6 pendent regulatory agency has adequate staff 

7 and resources to properly fulfill all of the func8 tions of the CIO under this Act. 

9 (4) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pro11 mulgated under this subsection may contain ex12 ceptions, in accordance with this paragraph, to 

13 the requirement that all public records be made 

14 available on the Internet. 

15 (B) SCOPE OF EXCEPTIONS.—The excep16 tions may be no broader than the exceptions 

17 recognized under section 552 of title 5, United 

18 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom 

19 of Information Act’’). 

20 (C) ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS BY RE21 QUEST.—In addition to the exceptions provided 

22 under subparagraph (B), the regulations shall 

23 provide for the E-Government Administrator or, 

24 in the case of an independent regulatory agen25 cy, the CIO or official designated by the head 


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1 of the agency, to grant narrow case-by-case ex2 ceptions to the Internet publication requirement 

3 if an agency requests an exception and the 

4 agency demonstrates that— 

5 (i) there is a clear and convincing rea6 son for the record to not be made available 

7 on the Internet; and 

8 (ii) on balance, the harm caused by 

9 disclosure significantly outweighs the 

10 public’s interest in having the record avail11 able on the Internet. 

12 (D) AVAILABILITY OF SEGREGABLE POR13 TIONS.—If the E-Government Administrator, 

14 CIO, or official designated by the head of an 

15 independent regulatory agency approves a re16 quest for an exception with respect to a public 

17 record under subparagraph (C), any reasonably 

18 segregable portion of the public record shall be 

19 made available on the Internet in a timely fash20 ion after deletion of the portions that are sub21 ject to the exception. The amount of informa22 tion deleted shall be indicated on the portion of 

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1 ception. If technically feasible, the amount of 

2 the information deleted shall be indicated at the 

3 place in the record where such deletion is made. 

4 (E) DISCLOSURE OF WITHHELD

5 RECORDS.—The E-Government Administrator, 

6 CIO, or official designated by the head of an 

7 independent regulatory agency shall maintain a 

8 list of records not made available on the Inter9 net by reason of an exception under subpara10 graph (C) and publish such list on the Internet, 

11 excluding any records the identification of 

12 which would significantly harm the interest pro13 tected by the exception. 

14 (5) PUBLICATION.—Regulations promulgated 

15 under this subsection shall be published in the Fed16 eral Register and on the relevant agency website. 

17 (6) APPLICABILITY.—Regulations promulgated 

18 under this subsection shall apply only to public 

19 records generated, updated, or released after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (7) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Regulations promul22 gated under this subsection shall take effect not ear23 lier than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 


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1 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—At least once every 4 

2 years, the E-Government Administrator and each inde3 pendent regulatory agency CIO shall review the exceptions 

4 provided under subsection (b)(4) to making public records 

5 available on the Internet and, if warranted, make rec6 ommendations to the President and to Congress regarding 

7 whether Federal law should be changed. The report shall 

8 be made publicly available, including being published on 

9 the Internet. 

10 (d) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS.—The Inspector 

11 General of each agency shall conduct periodic reviews re12 garding agency compliance with Internet publication re13 quirements, not less often than once every 4 years. The 

14 reviews shall be published on the Internet. 

15 (e) ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC ACCESS BY PRIVATE

16 INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS.— 

17 (1) REQUESTS.—Private individuals or organi18 zations may request that an Executive agency place 

19 public records on the Internet, including the com20 prehensive searchable list of publicly available 

21 records referred to in subsection (a)(4), in accord22 ance with Federal regulations. An agency has 30 

23 days to respond to the request in writing or to place 

24 the record on the Internet. If an agency denies the 


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1 request in whole or in part, the private individual or 

2 organization may file a complaint in Federal court. 

3 (2) JURISDICTION.—(A) On complaint, the dis4 trict court of the United States in the district in 

5 which the complainant resides, or has his principal 

6 place of business, or in which the agency records are 

7 situated, or in the District of Columbia, has jurisdic8 tion to enjoin the agency from refusing to publish 

9 agency records on the Internet, or refusing to pub10 lish it in an appropriate format, and to order the 

11 Internet online publication of any agency records im12 properly withheld. In such a case the court shall de13 termine the matter de novo, and may examine the 

14 contents of such agency records in camera to deter15 mine whether such records or any part thereof shall 

16 be withheld under any of the exceptions provided 

17 under subsection (b)(4), and the burden is on the 

18 agency to sustain its action. 

19 (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

20 the defendant shall serve an answer or otherwise 

21 plead to any complaint made under this subsection 

22 within 30 days after service upon the defendant of 

23 the pleading in which such complaint is made, unless 

24 the court otherwise directs for good cause shown. 


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1 (3) ATTORNEY FEES.—The court may assess 

2 against the United States reasonable attorney fees 

3 and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any 

4 case under this subsection in which the complainant 

5 has substantially prevailed. 

6 (4) SPECIAL COUNSEL.—Whenever the court 

7 orders the production of any agency records improp8 erly withheld from the complainant and assesses 

9 against the United States reasonable attorney fees, 

10 litigation costs, and interest, and the court addition11 ally issues a written finding that the circumstances 

12 surrounding the withholding raise questions whether 

13 agency personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously 

14 with respect to the withholding, a Special Counsel 

15 shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine 

16 whether disciplinary action is warranted against the 

17 officer or employee who was primarily responsible 

18 for the withholding. A Special Counsel, after inves19 tigation and consideration of the evidence submitted, 

20 shall submit his findings and recommendations to 

21 the administrative authority of the agency concerned 

22 and shall send copies of the findings and rec23 ommendations to the officer or employee or his rep24 resentative. The administrative authority shall take 


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1 the corrective action that the Special Counsel rec2 ommends. 

3 (5) CONTEMPT.—In the event of noncompliance 

4 with the order of the court, the district court may 

5 punish for contempt the responsible employee, and 

6 in the case of a uniformed service, the responsible 

7 member. 

8 SEC. 8. LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL INFORMATION. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that judicial and legislative 

10 agencies (within the meaning of section 3701 of title 31, 

11 United States Code) should adopt or adapt the rec12 ommendations of the Advisory Committee for their own 

13 use. In addition, judicial and legislative agencies are en14 couraged to consider the guidelines issued by the Public 

15 Online Information Advisory Committee and the regula16 tions promulgated by the E-Government Administrator. 

17 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that the Government Pub19 lishing Office should make all of its publications perma20 nently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of for21 mats that best meet the needs of the public. In doing so, 

22 the Government Publishing Office is strongly encouraged 

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1 formation Advisory Committee and the E-Government Ad2 ministrator. 

Æ 


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