II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 717 

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 

APRIL 4, 2011 

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 2011’’. 

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 Printing Office. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘advi9 sory committee’’ means the Public Online Informa10 tion Advisory Committee established under section 

11 6. 

12 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means an 

13 executive agency or an independent regulatory agen14 cy. 

15 (3) CIO.—The term ‘‘CIO’’ means a chief in16 formation officer of an independent regulatory agen17 cy. 

18 (4) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 

19 agency’’ means any of the following: 

20 (A) An executive department, as defined in 

21 section 101 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (B) A military department, as defined in 

2 section 102 of such title. 

3 (C) A Government corporation, as defined 

4 in section 103 of such title. 

5 (D) Any other establishment in the execu6 tive branch of the Government (including the 

7 Executive Office of the President), other than 

8 an independent regulatory agency. 

9 (5) INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCY.—The 

10 term ‘‘independent regulatory agency’’ means an 

11 independent establishment, as defined in section 104 

12 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (6) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’— 

14 (A) has the meaning provided the term 

15 ‘‘records’’ in section 3301 of title 44, United 

16 States Code; and 

17 (B) includes contracts entered into by per18 sons working as agents of the Federal Govern19 ment, including records in the possession of 

20 Government contractors. 

21 (7) PUBLIC RECORD.—The term ‘‘public 

22 record’’ means any record, regardless of form or for23 mat, that an agency discloses, publishes, dissemi24 nates, or makes available to the public. 


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1 (8) E-GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

2 term ‘‘E-Government Administrator’’ means the Ad3 ministrator of the Office of Electronic Government 

4 established under section 3602 of title 44, United 

5 States Code. 

6 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act include the following: 

8 (1) To establish an advisory committee to issue 

9 nonbinding guidelines for all three branches of Gov10 ernment regarding making public information avail11 able on the Internet, with sufficient flexibility to 

12 adapt to changes in technology. 

13 (2) To empower the E-Government Adminis14 trator to establish binding rules concerning making 

15 publicly available Government information held by 

16 executive agencies to be made available on the Inter17 net, and to empower independent regulatory agen18 cies to do the same. 

19 (3) To express the sense of Congress that pub20 licly available information held by the legislative and 

21 judicial branches should be available on the Internet. 

22 (4) To encourage the Government Printing Of23 fice to make all of its publications available on the 

24 Internet in the formats most useful to the public, 


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1 after having considered the formats identified by the 

2 Advisory Committee. 

3 SEC. 5. FINDINGS OF CONGRESS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Federal Government holds a vast re6 pository of public information. Throughout the his7 tory of the United States, the Government has at8 tempted to make that information available to the 

9 public, whether through the United States Postal 

10 Service, the Federal Depository Library Program, 

11 the Presidential Library System, Agency Reading 

12 Rooms, under section 552 of title 5, United States 

13 Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Freedom of In14 formation Act’’), or by other means. Providing this 

15 information to the general public is a public good: 

16 Informed citizens are informed voters. However, 

17 even with these efforts, Government information is 

18 too often hard to find, difficult to understand, ex19 pensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in 

20 only a few locations. 

21 (2) The advent of the Internet presents the op22 portunity for the Government to make information 

23 readily available to many more people in the United 

24 States. The Internet is ubiquitous, turning every 

25 computer into a portal to the largest library in the 


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1 world. The Government has made some efforts to 

2 take advantage of this new medium. As the public 

3 moves online, the Government must do so as well. 

4 (3) In addition to the traditional means of dis5 seminating public information, the Federal Govern6 ment should make all of its public information avail7 able on the Internet. It should do so in ways that 

8 take advantage of modern technology, that antici9 pate the needs of the public, and that provide access 

10 to the greatest number of people. The Government 

11 should strive to make its information available on 

12 the Internet in real-time and in machine processable 

13 formats. 

14 (4) The creation of this vast new information li15 brary will empower citizens of the United States to 

16 gain a better understanding of how their Govern17 ment functions and what it does in their name. It 

18 will also give innovators new tools to build on this 

19 information and provide better goods and services to 

20 the people of the United States. Government services 

21 will be provided more efficiently, saving the tax22 payers money and allowing them to be more involved 

23 in the lives of their communities. 

24 (5) Accomplishing these goals requires signifi25 cant coordination. It also requires the creation of 


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1 new authorities and responsibilities within the Gov2 ernment, and the identification of appropriate tech3 nology standards. 

4 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC ONLINE INFORMATION 

5 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an advi7 sory committee to be known as the ‘‘Public Online Infor8 mation Advisory Committee’’. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Advisory Com10 mittee are— 

11 (1) to coordinate and encourage the efforts of 

12 the Government to make Government information 

13 from all three branches of Government available on 

14 the Internet; and 

15 (2) to issue nonbinding guidelines on how the 

16 Government should make public information avail17 able on the Internet, and update the guidelines as 

18 appropriate. 

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

21 shall be composed of 19 members (including the 

22 Chair), of whom— 

23 (A) 6 members shall be appointed by the 

24 E-Government Administrator; 


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1 (B) 6 members shall be appointed by the 

2 Director of the Administrative Office of the 

3 Courts; 

4 (C) 3 members shall be appointed by the 

5 Chairman, in consultation with the Ranking 

6 Member, of the Committee on Homeland Secu7 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 

8 with not more than 2 members chosen being 

9 from the party in the majority of the Senate at 

10 the time of appointment; and 

11 (D) 3 members shall be appointed by the 

12 Chair, in consultation with the Ranking Mem13 ber, of the Committee on Oversight and Gov14 ernment Reform of the House of Representa15 tives, with not more than 2 members chosen 

16 being from the party in the majority of the 

17 House of Representatives at the time of ap18 pointment. 

19 (2) DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE.—The members 

20 of the Advisory Committee shall represent a diverse 

21 range of perspectives, including members— 

22 (A) from non-profit organizations; and 

23 (B) with expertise in relevant subject 

24 areas. 


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1 (3) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be appointed by 

2 the Administrator of General Services, after confer3 ring with the E-Government Administrator, the Di4 rector of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the 

5 Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security 

6 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the 

7 Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Govern8 ment Reform of the House of Representatives. 

9 (4) VICE CHAIR.—A Vice Chair shall be se10 lected from among the members of the Advisory 

11 Committee by the Chair. 

12 (5) LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE

13 MEMBERS.—Not more than 6 members of the Advi14 sory Committee may be Government employees. 

15 (6) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member of the 

16 Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a renew17 able term of 5 years, except that— 

(A) 1 18 ⁄3 of the members initially appointed 

19 shall be appointed for a 3-year term; 

(B) 1 20 ⁄3 of the members initially appointed 

21 shall be appointed for a 4-year term; and 

(C) 1 22 ⁄3 of the members initially appointed 

23 and the Chair shall be appointed for a 5-year 

24 term. 


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1 (7) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The initial ap2 pointments of members of the Advisory Committee 

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

4 of the enactment of this Act. 

5 (8) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

6 meet not less than 6 times per year. 

7 (d) POWERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—From time to time, the Ad9 visory Committee shall— 

10 (A) examine its legislative charter, struc11 ture, and funding; and 

12 (B) make recommendations to Congress, 

13 the President, and the Courts regarding how 

14 the Advisory Committee could be restructured 

15 to better accomplish its mission of making Gov16 ernment information available to the public on 

17 the Internet. 

18 (2) PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

19 The recommendations required under paragraph (1) 

20 shall be published in print and on the Internet. 

21 (3) SPECIFIC POWERS.—In order to carry out 

22 the purposes described in subsection (b), the Advi23 sory Committee is authorized to— 

24 (A) hold hearings; 

25 (B) issue recommendations to Congress; 


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1 (C) issue recommendations to agencies; 

2 (D) issue reports, guidelines, and memo3 randa; 

4 (E) articulate guidelines on how the Gov5 ernment should make public records available 

6 on the Internet, update the guidelines as appro7 priate, and inquire into Government compliance 

8 with the guidelines; 

9 (F) hold or host conferences and symposia; 

10 (G) enter into cooperative agreements with 

11 outside experts to obtain relevant advice or ex12 pertise, and oversee staff; 

13 (H) establish subcommittees; and 

14 (I) establish rules of procedure. 

15 (4) RELATIONSHIP TO FACA.—The Advisory 

16 Committee shall not be subject to the control of any 

17 advisory committee management officer designated 

18 under section 8(b)(1) of the Federal Advisory Com19 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

20 (e) OPERATIONS.— 

21 (1) OPEN GOVERNMENT PROCEDURES.—In ad22 dition to the rules in the Federal Advisory Com23 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), in the interest of im24 proving transparency, the Advisory Committee shall 

25 adhere to the following rules that supplement and 


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1 modify that Act (in accordance with section 4(a) of 

2 that Act): 

3 (A) Subcommittees shall have the same du4 ties and obligations as the full committee as de5 lineated under sections 10 through 13 of the 

6 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

7 App.). Subcommittees shall similarly be bound 

8 by the terms of this section. 

9 (B) All information made available on the 

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

11 methods that are compatible with widely used, 

12 publically available programs and equipment. 

13 (C) Information required to be made avail14 able on the Internet shall be done so in a timely 

15 fashion. 

16 (D) Notice of all meetings shall be avail17 able on the website of the Advisory Committee, 

18 with agendas available on the Internet not later 

19 than 3 days prior to any meeting. 

20 (E) All records available for public copying 

21 under section 10 of the Federal Advisory Com22 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall also be made 

23 available on the website of the Advisory Com24 mittee. 


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1 (F) The Advisory Committee shall make 

2 available on the Internet and to any person, at 

3 no cost, transcripts of Advisory Committee pro4 ceedings. 

5 (G) Videos recordings of proceedings shall 

6 be made available on the Internet. 

7 (H) Documents submitted to the Advisory 

8 Committee shall be made publicly available un9 less the Advisory Committee determines that 

10 those materials would disclose matters de11 scribed in section 552(b) of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (I) The Advisory Committee shall make 

14 publicly available the names and brief biog15 raphies of its members. 

16 (J) All members of the Advisory Com17 mittee shall file financial disclosure forms, 

18 which shall be made available on the Advisory 

19 Committee website after redactions to remove 

20 personally identifiable information, such as So21 cial Security numbers. 

22 (K) All members of the Advisory Com23 mittee shall have to state and publicly disclose 

24 conflicts of interest. These statements shall be 

25 updated whenever new conflicts arise or on an 


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1 annual basis, whichever is more frequent, and 

2 shall be published on the Internet. 

3 (2) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The General Services 

4 Administration shall be responsible for providing all 

5 support services to the Advisory Committee, includ6 ing quarters and staff, and for requesting funds 

7 from Congress on behalf of the Advisory Committee. 

8 (3) COMMUNICATION WITH CONGRESS.—Noth9 ing in this section shall be construed to prevent the 

10 Advisory Committee from communicating with Con11 gress directly regarding funding or other matters. 

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

13 continuing body and is not subject to termination as 

14 provided in section 14 of the Federal Advisory Com15 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

16 (5) APPLICATION OF FACA.—Except as other17 wise provided in this section, the Federal Advisory 

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

19 Advisory Committee. 

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

21 a report on its activities every 2 years, or as appropriate, 

22 whichever is more frequent. 

23 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

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1 ministration such sums as may be necessary for the oper2 ations of the Advisory Committee. 

3 SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE BRANCH INTERNET PUBLICATION MAN4 DATE. 

5 (a) ONLINE PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (1) FREE AVAILABILITY.— 

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

8 subparagraph (B), the Government shall make 

9 public records available on the Internet at no 

10 charge (including a charge for recovery of 

11 costs) to the public. 

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

13 not apply in the case of a charge imposed by 

14 Federal law before the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (2) PERMANENCE.—Public records shall be per17 manently available on the Internet. 

18 (3) CURRENT TECHNOLOGY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Current information 

20 technology capabilities shall be applied to the 

21 means by which records are made available on 

22 the Internet, and the formats in which they are 

23 available. 

24 (B) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—Public 

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1 grams and equipment that are readily available 

2 to the general public. 

3 (4) SEARCHABLE LIST.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall pub5 lish on the Internet a comprehensive, search6 able, machine processable list of all records it 

7 makes publicly available. 

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to the 

9 records described in subparagraph (A), the list 

10 shall include, at a minimum— 

11 (i) where the records can be found; 

12 (ii) whether the records are available 

13 to the public at no cost or for a fee (and 

14 the amount of the fee, if applicable); and 

15 (iii) brief descriptions of the records. 

16 (b) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in the grant of au18 thority in this subsection shall be construed to limit 

19 the obligation of the Government to make records 

20 publicly available as required by law. 

21 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.— 

22 (A) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR

23 OF OMB.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

25 Office of Management and Budget shall 


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1 delegate to the E-Government Adminis2 trator the authority to administer all func3 tions under this section, except that any 

4 such delegation shall not relieve the Direc5 tor of responsibility for the administration 

6 of such functions. 

7 (ii) STAFFING.—The Director of the 

8 Office of Management and Budget shall 

9 ensure that the E-Government Adminis10 trator has adequate staff and resources to 

11 properly fulfill all the functions of the Ad12 ministrator under this Act. 

13 (B) RULEMAKING.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The E-Government 

15 Administrator, after consulting with the 

16 Office of Information and Regulatory Pol17 icy, shall promulgate such regulations as 

18 are necessary to ensure that all public 

19 records held by executive agencies are 

20 available on the Internet in the formats 

21 and by the means the E-Government Ad22 ministrator designates. 

23 (ii) CONSIDERATION OF GUIDE24 LINES.—In promulgating the regulations 

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1 ment Administrator shall consider the 

2 guidelines issued by the Advisory Com3 mittee. 

4 (C) RULEMAKING REQUIREMENTS.—In the 

5 regulations promulgated under subparagraph 

6 (B), the E-Government Administrator shall in7 clude— 

8 (i) rules on how executive agencies 

9 shall publish records on the Internet, in10 cluding the format and timeframe; and 

11 (ii) procedures through which execu12 tive agencies may object to placing public 

13 records on the Internet, in accordance with 

14 the exceptions under paragraph (4), and a 

15 method by which the objections can be re16 viewed. 

17 (D) ADDITIONAL AVAILABILITY OF

18 RECORDS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—The regulations 

20 promulgated under subparagraph (B) shall 

21 not preclude executive agencies from mak22 ing additional records available on the 

23 Internet beyond those required by the reg24 ulations, or in additional formats beyond 

25 those required by the regulations, or on a 


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1 more rapid timeframe than required by the 

2 regulations. 

3 (ii) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSI4 BILITY.—Each head of an executive agency 

5 shall designate a person within the agency 

6 responsible for Internet publication of pub7 lic records. 

8 (3) INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES.— 

9 (A) RULEMAKING.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—A CIO or an offi11 cial designated by the head of an inde12 pendent regulatory agency shall promul13 gate such regulations as are necessary to 

14 ensure that public records are available on 

15 the Internet in the formats and by the 

16 means the CIO designates. 

17 (ii) CONSIDERATION OF GUIDE18 LINES.—In promulgating the regulations 

19 required under clause (i), the CIO or other 

20 official shall consider the guidelines issued 

21 by the Advisory Committee, as well as reg22 ulations promulgated by the E-Government 

23 Administrator under paragraph (1). 

24 (B) ADDITIONAL AVAILABILITY OF

25 RECORDS.—The regulations promulgated under 


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1 subparagraph (A) shall not preclude the heads 

2 of offices within an independent regulatory 

3 agency from making additional records available 

4 on the Internet beyond those required by the 

5 regulations, or in additional formats beyond 

6 those required by the regulations, or on a more 

7 rapid timeframe than required by the regula8 tions. 

9 (C) STAFFING.—The head of the inde10 pendent regulatory agency shall ensure that the 

11 CIO or the official designated by the head of 

12 the independent regulatory agency has adequate 

13 staff and resources to properly fulfill all of the 

14 functions of the CIO under this Act. 

15 (4) EXCEPTIONS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pro17 mulgated under this subsection may contain ex18 ceptions, in accordance with this paragraph, to 

19 the requirement that all public records be made 

20 available on the Internet. 

21 (B) SCOPE OF EXCEPTIONS.—The excep22 tions may be no broader than the exceptions 

23 recognized under section 552 of title 5, United 

24 States Code. 


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1 (C) ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS BY RE2 QUEST.—In addition to the exceptions provided 

3 under subparagraph (B), the regulations shall 

4 provide for the E-Government Administrator or, 

5 in the case of an independent regulatory agen6 cy, the CIO or official designated by the head 

7 of the agency, to grant narrow case-by-case ex8 ceptions to the Internet publication requirement 

9 if an agency requests an exception and the 

10 agency demonstrates that— 

11 (i) there is clear and convincing evi12 dence that the record should not be made 

13 available on the Internet; and 

14 (ii) on balance, the harm caused by 

15 disclosure significantly outweighs the inter16 est of the public in having the record avail17 able on the Internet. 

18 (D) AVAILABILITY OF SEGREGABLE POR19 TIONS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the E-Govern21 ment Administrator, CIO, or official des22 ignated by the head of an independent reg23 ulatory agency approves a request for an 

24 exception with respect to a public record 

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1 regable portion of the public record shall 

2 be made available on the Internet in a 

3 timely fashion after redaction of the por4 tions that are subject to the exception. 

5 (ii) PUBLICATION OF AMOUNT OF RE6 DACTED INFORMATION.—The amount of 

7 information redacted shall be indicated on 

8 the portion of the record that is made 

9 available on the Internet, unless including 

10 that indication would significantly harm 

11 the interest protected by the exception, 

12 and, if technically feasible, the amount of 

13 the information redacted shall be indicated 

14 at the place in the record where such 

15 redactions are made. 

16 (E) DISCLOSURE OF WITHHELD

17 RECORDS.—The E-Government Administrator, 

18 CIO, or official designated by the head of an 

19 independent regulatory agency shall— 

20 (i) maintain a list of records not made 

21 available on the Internet by reason of an 

22 exception under this section; and 

23 (ii) publish the list on the Internet, 

24 excluding any records the identification of 


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1 which would significantly harm the interest 

2 protected by the exception. 

3 (5) PUBLICATION.—Regulations promulgated 

4 under this subsection shall be published— 

5 (A) in the Federal Register; and 

6 (B) on the relevant agency website. 

7 (6) APPLICABILITY.—Regulations promulgated 

8 under this subsection shall apply only to public 

9 records generated, updated, or released after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (7) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Regulations promul12 gated under this subsection shall take effect not ear13 lier than 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once every 4 

17 years, the E-Government Administrator and each 

18 CIO shall— 

19 (A) review the exceptions provided under 

20 subsection (b)(4) to making public records 

21 available on the Internet; and 

22 (B) if warranted, make recommendations 

23 to the President and to Congress regarding 

24 whether Federal law should be changed. 


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1 (2) PUBLICATION.—The reports required under 

2 paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available, in3 cluding being published on the Internet. 

4 (d) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once every 4 

6 years, the Inspector General of each agency shall 

7 conduct periodic reviews regarding compliance by 

8 the agency with Internet publication requirements. 

9 (2) PUBLICATION.—The reviews required under 

10 paragraph (1) shall be published on the Internet. 

11 (e) ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC ACCESS BY PRIVATE

12 INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS.— 

13 (1) REQUESTS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Private individuals or 

15 organizations may request that an agency place 

16 public records on the Internet, including the 

17 comprehensive searchable list of publicly avail18 able records referred to in section 7(a)(4), in 

19 accordance with Federal regulations. 

20 (B) RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 30

21 DAYS.—An agency has 30 days to respond to a 

22 request made under subparagraph (A) in writ23 ing or to place the record on the Internet. 

24 (C) DENIAL OF REQUEST.—If an agency 

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1 vate individual or organization may file a com2 plaint in Federal court. 

3 (2) JURISDICTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—On complaint filed 

5 under paragraph (1)(C), the district court of 

6 the United States in the district in which the 

7 complainant resides, or has his principal place 

8 of business, or in which the agency records are 

9 situated, or in the District of Columbia, has ju10 risdiction to— 

11 (i) enjoin the agency from refusing to 

12 publish agency records on the Internet, or 

13 refusing to publish it in an appropriate 

14 format; and 

15 (ii) order the Internet online publica16 tion of any agency records improperly 

17 withheld. 

18 (B) DE NOVO REVIEW.—In a case brought 

19 under paragraph (1)(C), the court shall deter20 mine the matter de novo, and may examine the 

21 contents of such agency records in camera to 

22 determine whether such records or any part 

23 thereof shall be withheld under any of the ex24 ceptions provided under subsection (b)(4), and 


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1 the burden is on the agency to sustain its ac2 tion. 

3 (C) FILING DEADLINE.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, the defendant shall 

5 serve an answer or otherwise plead to any com6 plaint made under this subsection within 30 

7 days after service upon the defendant of the 

8 pleading in which such complaint is made, un9 less the court otherwise directs for good cause 

10 shown. 

11 (3) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any case brought 

12 under this subsection in which the complainant has 

13 substantially prevailed, the court may assess against 

14 the United States— 

15 (A) reasonable attorney fees; and 

16 (B) other litigation costs reasonably in17 curred. 

18 (4) SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel shall 

20 promptly initiate a proceeding to determine 

21 whether disciplinary action is warranted against 

22 the officer or employee who was primarily re23 sponsible for the withholding if a court— 

24 (i) orders the production of any agen25 cy records improperly withheld from the 


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1 complainant and assesses against the 

2 United States reasonable attorney fees, 

3 litigation costs, and interest under this 

4 subsection; and 

5 (ii) issues a written finding that the 

6 circumstances surrounding the withholding 

7 raise questions whether agency personnel 

8 acted arbitrarily or capriciously with re9 spect to the withholding. 

10 (B) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

11 A Special Counsel, after investigation and con12 sideration of the evidence submitted under sub13 paragraph (A), shall— 

14 (i) submit findings and recommenda15 tions based on the evidence to the adminis16 trative authority of the agency concerned; 

17 and 

18 (ii) send copies of the findings and 

19 recommendations to the officer or em20 ployee or his representative described in 

21 subparagraph (A). 

22 (C) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—The adminis23 trative authority described in subparagraph (B) 

24 shall take the corrective action that the Special 

25 Counsel recommends. 


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

2 with the order of the court issued under this sub3 section, the district court may punish for contempt 

4 the responsible employee, and in the case of a uni5 formed service, the responsible member. 

6 SEC. 8. LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL INFORMATION. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that judicial and legislative 

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

9 United States Code) should adopt or adapt the rec10 ommendations of the Advisory Committee for their own 

11 use. In addition, judicial and legislative agencies are en12 couraged to consider the guidelines issued by the Advisory 

13 Committee and the regulations promulgated by the E-Gov14 ernment Administrator. 

15 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the Government 

17 Printing Office should make all of its publications perma18 nently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of for19 mats that best meet the needs of the public. In doing so, 

20 the Government Printing Office is strongly encouraged to 

21 consider the recommendations of the Advisory Committee 

22 and the E-Government Administrator. 

Æ 


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