I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1770 
To expand the Government’s use and administration of data to facilitate 
transparency, effective governance, and innovation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2017 
Mr. KILMER (for himself and Mr. FARENTHOLD) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To expand the Government’s use and administration of data 
to facilitate transparency, effective governance, and inno-
vation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open, Public, Elec-
tronic, and Necessary Government Data Act’’ or the 
‘‘OPEN Government Data Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Federal Government data is a valuable na-
tional resource. Managing Federal Government data 
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to make it open, available, discoverable, and usable 
to the general public, businesses, journalists, aca-
demics, and advocates promotes efficiency and effec-
tiveness in Government, creates economic opportuni-
ties, promotes scientific discovery, and most impor-
tantly, strengthens our democracy. 
(2) Maximizing the usefulness of Federal Gov-
ernment data that is appropriate for release rests 
upon making it readily available, discoverable, and 
usable—in a word: open. Information presumptively 
should be available to the general public unless the 
Federal Government reasonably foresees that disclo-
sure could harm a specific, articulable interest pro-
tected by law or the Federal Government is other-
wise expressly prohibited from releasing such data 
due to statutory requirements. 
(3) The Federal Government has the responsi-
bility to be transparent and accountable to its citi-
zens. 
(4) Data controlled, collected, or created by the 
Federal Government should be originated, trans-
mitted, and published in modern, open, and elec-
tronic format, to be as readily accessible as possible, 
consistent with data standards under this Act or 
otherwise permitted by law. 
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(5) The effort to inventory Government data 
will have additional benefits, including identifying 
opportunities within agencies to reduce waste, in-
crease efficiencies, and save taxpayer dollars. As 
such, this effort should involve many types of data, 
including data generated by applications, devices, 
networks, and equipment, which can be harnessed to 
improve operations, lower energy consumption, re-
duce costs, and strengthen security. 
(6) Communication, commerce, and data tran-
scend national borders. Global access to Government 
information is often essential to promoting innova-
tion, scientific discovery, entrepreneurship, edu-
cation, and the general welfare. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 3561 of title 44, United States Code, 
as added by section 4. 
SEC. 4. OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Subchapter III—Open Government Data 
‘‘§ 3561. Definitions 
‘‘As used in this subchapter— 
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‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 
section 3502; and 
‘‘(B) includes the Federal Election Com-
mission; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘data’ means recorded informa-
tion, regardless of form or the media on which the 
data is recorded; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘data asset’ means a collection of 
data elements or data sets that may be grouped to-
gether; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget; 
‘‘(5) the term ‘Enterprise Data Inventory’ 
means the data inventory developed and maintained 
pursuant to section 3563; 
‘‘(6) the terms ‘information resources manage-
ment’, ‘information system’, and ‘information tech-
nology’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-
tion 3502; 
‘‘(7) the term ‘machine-readable’ means a for-
mat in which information or data can be easily proc-
essed by a computer without human intervention 
while ensuring no semantic meaning is lost; 
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‘‘(8) the term ‘metadata’ means structural or 
descriptive information about data such as content, 
format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, fre-
quency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or respon-
sible party, contact information, method of collec-
tion, and other descriptions; 
‘‘(9) the term ‘nonpublic data asset’— 
‘‘(A) means a data asset that may not be 
made available to the public for privacy, secu-
rity, confidentiality, regulation, or other reasons 
as determined by law; and 
‘‘(B) includes data provided by contractors 
that is protected by contract, license, patent, 
trademark, copyright, confidentiality, regula-
tion, or other restriction; 
‘‘(10) the term ‘open Government data asset’ 
means a data asset maintained by the Federal Gov-
ernment that is— 
‘‘(A) machine-readable; 
‘‘(B) available in an open format; 
‘‘(C) not encumbered by restrictions that 
would impede use or reuse; and 
‘‘(D) based on an underlying open stand-
ard that is maintained by a standards organiza-
tion; 
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‘‘(11) the term ‘open license’ means a legal 
guarantee applied to a public data asset that the 
data asset is made available— 
‘‘(A) at no cost to the public; and 
‘‘(B) with no restrictions on copying, pub-
lishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or 
adapting; and 
‘‘(12) the term ‘public data asset’ means a data 
asset maintained by the Federal Government that— 
‘‘(A) may be released to the public; 
‘‘(B) has been released to the public in an 
open format and is discoverable through a 
search of Data.gov or any successor to 
Data.gov; or 
‘‘(C) is part of the worldwide public do-
main or, if necessary, published with an open li-
cense. 
‘‘§ 3562. Requirements for Government data 
‘‘(a) MACHINE-READABLE DATA REQUIRED.—Open 
Government data assets made available by an agency shall 
be published as machine-readable data. 
‘‘(b) OPEN BY DEFAULT.—When not otherwise pro-
hibited by law, and to the extent practicable, public data 
assets and nonpublic data assets maintained by the Fed-
eral Government shall— 
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‘‘(1) be available in an open format; and 
‘‘(2) be available under open licenses. 
‘‘(c) OPEN LICENSE OR WORLDWIDE PUBLIC DO-
MAIN DEDICATION REQUIRED.—When not otherwise pro-
hibited by law, and to the extent practicable, open Govern-
ment data assets published by or for an agency shall be 
made available under an open license or, if not made avail-
able under an open license and appropriately released, 
shall be considered to be published as part of the world-
wide public domain. 
‘‘(d) INNOVATION.—Each agency may engage with 
nongovernmental organizations, citizens, nonprofit organi-
zations, colleges and universities, private and public com-
panies, and other agencies to explore opportunities to le-
verage the public data assets of the agency in a manner 
that may provide new opportunities for innovation in the 
public and private sectors in accordance with law and reg-
ulation. 
‘‘§ 3563. Enterprise data inventory 
‘‘(a) AGENCY DATA INVENTORY REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to develop a clear 
and comprehensive understanding of the data assets 
in the possession of an agency, the head of each 
agency, in consultation with the Director, shall de-
velop and maintain an enterprise data inventory (in 
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this section referred to as the ‘Enterprise Data In-
ventory’) that accounts for any data asset created, 
collected, under the control or direction of, or main-
tained by the agency after the effective date of this 
section, with the goal of including all data assets, to 
the extent practicable. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The Enterprise Data Inven-
tory shall include each of the following: 
‘‘(A) Data assets used in agency informa-
tion systems (including program administration, 
statistics, and financial activity) generated by 
applications, devices, networks, facilities, and 
equipment, categorized by source type. 
‘‘(B) Data assets shared or maintained 
across agency programs and bureaus. 
‘‘(C) Data assets that are shared among 
agencies or created by more than 1 agency. 
‘‘(D) A clear indication of all data assets 
that can be made publicly available under sec-
tion 552 of title 5 (commonly known as the 
‘Freedom of Information Act’). 
‘‘(E) A description of whether the agency 
has determined that an individual data asset 
may be made publicly available and whether the 
data asset is available to the public. 
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‘‘(F) Nonpublic data assets. 
‘‘(G) Open Government data assets. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Chief Information 
Officer of each agency shall use the standards provided 
by the Director issued pursuant to subsection (c) to make 
public data assets included in the Enterprise Data Inven-
tory publicly available in an open format and under an 
open license. 
‘‘(c) STANDARDS
FOR ENTERPRISE DATA INVEN-
TORY.—The Director shall issue standards for the Enter-
prise Data Inventory, including— 
‘‘(1) a requirement that the Enterprise Data 
Inventory include a compilation of metadata about 
agency data assets; and 
‘‘(2) criteria that the head of each agency shall 
use in determining whether to make a particular 
data asset publicly available in a manner that takes 
into account— 
‘‘(A) the expectation of confidentiality as-
sociated with an individual data asset; 
‘‘(B) security considerations, including the 
risk that information in an individual data asset 
in isolation does not pose a security risk but 
when combined with other available information 
may pose such a risk; 
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‘‘(C) the cost and benefits to the public of 
converting the data into a manner that could be 
understood and used by the public; 
‘‘(D) the expectation that all data assets 
that would otherwise be made available under 
section 552 of title 5 (commonly known as the 
‘Freedom of Information Act’) be disclosed; and 
‘‘(E) any other considerations that the Di-
rector determines to be relevant. 
‘‘(d) NONPUBLIC DATA ASSETS.—Nonpublic data as-
sets included in the Enterprise Data Inventory may be 
maintained in a nonpublic section of the inventory. 
‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF ENTERPRISE DATA INVEN-
TORY.—The Chief Information Officer of each agency— 
‘‘(1) shall make the Enterprise Data Inventory 
available to the public on Data.gov; 
‘‘(2) shall ensure that access to the Enterprise 
Data Inventory and the data contained therein is 
consistent with applicable law and regulation; and 
‘‘(3) may implement paragraph (1) in a manner 
that maintains a nonpublic portion of the Enterprise 
Data Inventory. 
‘‘(f) REGULAR UPDATES REQUIRED.—The Chief In-
formation Officer of each agency shall— 
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‘‘(1) to the extent practicable, complete the En-
terprise Data Inventory for the agency not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(2) add additional data assets to the Enter-
prise Data Inventory for the agency not later than 
90 days after the date on which the data asset is 
created or identified. 
‘‘(g) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—When prac-
ticable, the Chief Information Officer of each agency shall 
use existing procedures and systems to compile and pub-
lish the Enterprise Data Inventory for the agency. 
‘‘§ 3564. Federal agency responsibilities 
‘‘(a) INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.— 
With respect to general information resources manage-
ment, each agency shall— 
‘‘(1) improve the integrity, quality, and utility 
of information to all users within and outside the 
agency by— 
‘‘(A) using open format for any new open 
Government data asset created or obtained on 
the date that is 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this section; and 
‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, encouraging 
the adoption of open format for all open Gov-
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ernment data assets created or obtained before 
the date of enactment of this section; and 
‘‘(2) in consultation with the Director, develop 
an open data plan that, at a minimum and to the 
extent practicable— 
‘‘(A) requires the agency to develop proc-
esses and procedures that— 
‘‘(i) require each new data collection 
mechanism to use an open format; and 
‘‘(ii) allow the agency to collaborate 
with non-Government entities, researchers, 
businesses, and private citizens for the 
purpose of understanding how data users 
value and use open Government data as-
sets; 
‘‘(B) identifies and implements methods 
for collecting and analyzing digital information 
on data asset usage by users within and outside 
of the agency, including designating a point of 
contact within the agency to assist the public 
and to respond to quality issues, usability, rec-
ommendations for improvements, and com-
plaints about adherence to open data require-
ments; 
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‘‘(C) develops and implements a process to 
evaluate and improve the timeliness, complete-
ness, accuracy, usefulness, and availability of 
open Government data assets; 
‘‘(D) requires the agency to update the 
plan at an interval determined by the Director; 
‘‘(E) includes requirements for meeting the 
goals of the agency open data plan including 
technology, training for employees, and imple-
menting procurement standards, in accordance 
with existing law, that allow for the acquisition 
of innovative solutions from the public and pri-
vate sectors; and 
‘‘(F) prohibits the dissemination and acci-
dental disclosure of nonpublic data assets. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—With respect 
to information dissemination, each agency— 
‘‘(1) shall provide access to open Government 
data assets online; 
‘‘(2) shall take the necessary precautions to en-
sure that the agency maintains the production and 
publication of data assets which are directly related 
to activities that protect the safety of human life or 
property, as identified by the open data plan of the 
agency required under subsection (a)(2); and 
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‘‘(3) may engage the public in using open Gov-
ernment data assets and encourage collaboration 
by— 
‘‘(A) publishing information on open Gov-
ernment data assets usage in regular, timely in-
tervals, but not less than annually; 
‘‘(B) receiving public input regarding pri-
orities for the analysis and disclosure of data 
assets to be published; 
‘‘(C) assisting civil society groups and 
members of the public working to expand the 
use of open Government data assets; and 
‘‘(D) 
hosting 
challenges, 
competitions, 
events, or other initiatives designed to create 
additional value from open Government data as-
sets. 
‘‘§ 3565. Additional Chief Information Officer respon-
sibilities 
‘‘The Chief Information Officer of each agency, or 
other appropriate official designated by the head of an 
agency, is responsible for— 
‘‘(1) data asset management, format standard-
ization, sharing of data assets, and publication of 
data assets for the agency; 
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‘‘(2) the compilation and publication of the En-
terprise Data Inventory for the agency required 
under section 3563; 
‘‘(3) ensuring that agency data conforms with 
open data best practices; 
‘‘(4) engaging agency employees, the public, 
and contractors in using open Government data as-
sets and encourage collaborative approaches to im-
proving data use; 
‘‘(5) supporting the agency Performance Im-
provement Officer in generating data to support the 
function of the Performance Improvement Officer 
described in section 1124(a)(2) of title 31; 
‘‘(6) reviewing the information technology infra-
structure of the agency and the impact of the infra-
structure on making data assets accessible to reduce 
barriers that inhibit data asset accessibility; 
‘‘(7) ensuring that, to the extent practicable, 
the agency is maximizing its own use of data, includ-
ing data assets used in agency information systems 
(including program administration, statistics, and fi-
nancial activity) generated by applications, devices, 
networks, facilities, and equipment, categorized by 
source type and such use is not otherwise prohibited, 
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to reduce costs, improve operations, and strengthen 
security and privacy protections; and 
‘‘(8) identifying points of contact for roles and 
responsibilities related to open data use and imple-
mentation as required by the Director. 
‘‘§ 3566. Technology portal 
‘‘(a) DATA.GOV REQUIRED.—The Administrator of 
General Services shall maintain a single public interface 
online as a point of entry dedicated to sharing open Gov-
ernment data assets with the public. 
‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH AGENCIES.—The Director 
shall determine, after consultation with the head of each 
agency and the Administrator of General Services, the 
method to access any open Government data assets pub-
lished through the interface described in subsection (a).’’. 
(b) SPECIAL PROVISIONS.— 
(1) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Notwithstanding sec-
tion 8, section 3562 of title 44, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the 
date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act and shall apply with respect to any contract 
entered into by an agency on or after such effective 
date. 
(2) USE
OF
OPEN
DATA
ASSETS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
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the head of each agency shall ensure that any activi-
ties by the agency or any new contract entered into 
by the agency meet the requirements of section 3562 
of title 44, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a). 
(3) DEADLINE
FOR
TECHNOLOGY
PORTAL.— 
Not later than 180 days after the effective date of 
this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall 
meet the requirements of section 3566 of title 44, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 35 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA 
‘‘3561. Definitions. 
‘‘3562. Requirements for Government data. 
‘‘3563. Enterprise data inventory. 
‘‘3564. Federal agency responsibilities. 
‘‘3565. Additional Chief Information Officer responsibilities. 
‘‘3566. Technology portal.’’. 
SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF AGENCY ANALYTICAL CAPABILI-
TIES. 
(a) AGENCY REVIEW OF EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS 
CAPABILITIES; REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Operating Officer 
of each agency shall submit to the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
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House of Representatives, and the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget a report on the review de-
scribed in subsection (b). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS OF AGENCY REVIEW.—The re-
port required under subsection (a) shall assess the cov-
erage, quality, methods, effectiveness, and independence of 
the evaluation, research, and analysis efforts of an agency, 
including each of the following: 
(1) A list of the activities and operations of the 
agency that are being evaluated and analyzed and 
the activities and operations that have been evalu-
ated and analyzed during the previous 5 years. 
(2) The extent to which the evaluations, re-
search, and analysis efforts and related activities of 
the agency support the needs of various divisions 
within the agency. 
(3) The extent to which the evaluation research 
and analysis efforts and related activities of the 
agency address an appropriate balance between 
needs related to organizational learning, ongoing 
program management, performance management, 
strategic management, interagency and private sec-
tor coordination, internal and external oversight, and 
accountability. 
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(4) The extent to which the agency uses meth-
ods and combinations of methods that are appro-
priate to agency divisions and the corresponding re-
search questions being addressed, including an ap-
propriate combination of formative and summative 
evaluation research and analysis approaches. 
(5) The extent to which evaluation and research 
capacity is present within the agency to include per-
sonnel, agency process for planning and imple-
menting evaluation activities, disseminating best 
practices and findings, and incorporating employee 
views and feedback. 
(6) The extent to which the agency has the ca-
pacity to assist front-line staff and program offices 
to develop the capacity to use evaluation research 
and analysis approaches and data in the day-to-day 
operations. 
(c) GAO REVIEW OF AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later 
than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
Congress a report that summarizes agency findings and 
highlights trends from the reports submitted pursuant to 
subsection (a) and, if appropriate, recommends actions to 
further improve agency capacity to use evaluation tech-
niques and data to support evaluation efforts. 
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