II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 960 

To amend title 44, United States Code, to protect open, machine-readable 

databases. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 44, United States Code, to protect open, 

machine-readable databases. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving Data in 

5 Government Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRESERVING GOVERNMENT DATA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 

8 44, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in section 3502— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(15) the term ‘data’ means recorded informa7 tion, regardless of form or the media on which the 

8 data is recorded; 

9 ‘‘(16) the term ‘data asset’ means a collection 

10 of data elements or data sets that may be grouped 

11 together; 

12 ‘‘(17) the term ‘machine-readable’ means a for13 mat in which information or data can be easily proc14 essed by a computer without human intervention 

15 while ensuring no semantic meaning is lost; 

16 ‘‘(18) the term ‘open format’ means a technical 

17 format that is not encumbered by restrictions that 

18 would impede use or reuse; 

19 ‘‘(19) the term ‘open Government data’ means 

20 a public data asset that is— 

21 ‘‘(A) machine-readable; 

22 ‘‘(B) available in an open format; and 

23 ‘‘(C) part of the worldwide public domain 

24 or, if necessary, published with an open license; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(20) the term ‘public data asset’ means a data 

2 asset created or maintained by an agency, or a con3 tractor of an agency, that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is not protected under copyright or 

5 patent laws; and 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) may be released to the public; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) has been released to the public in an 

8 open format.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 3522. Requirement to preserve Government data 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub12 section (c), any open Government data that is made avail13 able to the public for a period of not less than 90 consecu14 tive days shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) remain machine-readable, available in an 

16 open format, and part of the worldwide public do17 main or, if necessary, published with an open li18 cense; and 

19 ‘‘(2) not be altered in such a way as to decrease 

20 the machine-readable nature of the open Govern21 ment data. 

22 ‘‘(b) ALTERATION OF DIGITAL LOCATION, FORMAT, 

23 OR CONTENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be a violation 

25 of subsection (a) to alter— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the digital location or format of open 

2 Government data for the purpose of routine 

3 asset maintenance or long-term archiving if the 

4 alteration does not decrease the open public ac5 cessibility or the machine-readable nature of the 

6 open Government data; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the contents of open Government 

8 data for purposes of updating the open Govern9 ment data or correcting an error in the open 

10 Government data. 

11 ‘‘(2) PERMANENCE OF DATA AFTER UP12 DATES.—For purposes of subsection (a), any alter13 ation of the digital location, format, or contents of 

14 open Government data under subparagraph (A) or 

15 (B) of paragraph (1) shall not constitute a renewal 

16 of the period for which the open Government data 

17 has been made available to the public. 

18 ‘‘(3) RECORD OF DATA CHANGES AFTER UP19 DATES.—Any substantial alteration of the contents 

20 of open Government data under subparagraph (A) 

21 or (B) of paragraph (1) shall be recorded in a log 

22 that is made available to the public in an open for23 mat along with the open Government data. 

24 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION OF AGENCY RESOURCES.— 

2 An agency may remove open Government data from 

3 public availability if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the head of the agency determines 

5 that the open Government data— 

6 ‘‘(i) is too costly to maintain; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) does not provide sufficient value 

8 to the public; 

9 ‘‘(B) not less than 6 months before the 

10 date on which the agency removes the open 

11 Government data from public availability, the 

12 agency publishes a notice of the removal in the 

13 Federal Register, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) a clear identification of the open 

15 Government data; 

16 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, the digital object 

17 identifier of the open Government data; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a detailed description of the rea19 sons for the removal; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) a detailed description of efforts 

21 to make the open Government data perma22 nently publicly available; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the open Government data is avail24 able for download on the worldwide public do25 main for a period of not less than 6 months beVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Apr 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S960.IS S960

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1 fore the date on which the agency removes the 

2 open Government data from public availability. 

3 ‘‘(2) OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Subsection 

4 (a) shall not apply in the case of open Government 

5 data that is required to be removed from public 

6 availability or altered under another provision of 

7 law.’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

9 The table of sections for subchapter I of chapter 35 of 

10 title 44, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

11 the item relating to section 3521 the following: 

‘‘3522. Requirement to preserve Government data.’’. 

Æ 


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