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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1328
To establish in the Government Printing Office a means of enhancing
electronic public access to a wide range of Federal electronic information.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 11, 1993
Mr. ROSE (for himself, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. THOMAS of Cali-
fornia, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. GINGRICH) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
A BILL
To establish in the Government Printing Office a means
of enhancing electronic public access to a wide range
of Federal electronic information.
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 ‘‘Government Printing
Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of
1993’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 44, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 41—ACCESS TO FEDERAL
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
‘‘Sec.
‘‘4101. Electronic directory; online access to publications; electronic storage
facility.
‘‘4102. Fees.
‘‘4103. Biennial report.
‘‘4104. Definition.
‘‘§ 4101. Electronic directory; online access to publi-
cations; electronic storage facility
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of Docu-
ments, under the direction of the Public Printer, shall—
‘‘(1) maintain an electronic directory of Federal
electronic information;
‘‘(2) provide a system of online access to the
Congressional Record, the Federal Register, and, as
determined by the Superintendent of Documents,
other appropriate publications distributed by the Su-
perintendent of Documents; and
‘‘(3) operate an electronic storage facility for
Federal electronic information to which online access
is made available under paragraph (2).
‘‘(b) DEPARTMENTAL REQUESTS.—To the extent
practicable, the Superintendent of Documents shall ac-
commodate any request by the head of a department or
agency to include in the system of access referred to in
subsection (a)(2) information that is under the control of
the department or agency involved.
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section,
the Superintendent of Documents shall consult—
‘‘(1) users of the directory and the system of
access provided for under subsection (a); and
‘‘(2) other providers of similar information serv-
ices.
The purpose of such consultation shall be to assess the
quality and value of the directory and the system, in light
of user needs.
‘‘§ 4102. Fees
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of Docu-
ments, under the direction of the Public Printer, may
charge reasonable fees for use of the directory and the
system of access provided for under section 4101, except
that use of the directory and the system shall be made
available to depository libraries without charge. The fees
received shall be treated in the same manner as moneys
received from sale of documents under section 1702 of this
title.
‘‘(b) COST RECOVERY.—The fees charged under this
section shall be set so as to recover the incremental cost
of dissemination of the information involved, with the cost
to be computed without regard to section 1708 of this
title.
‘‘§ 4103. Biennial report
‘‘Not later than December 31 of each odd-numbered
year, the Public Printer shall submit to the Congress, with
respect to the two preceding fiscal years, a report on the
directory, the system of access, and the electronic storage
facility referred to in section 4101(a). The report shall in-
clude a description of the functions involved, including a
statement of cost savings in comparison with traditional
forms of information distribution.
‘‘§ 4104. Definition
‘‘As used in this chapter, the term ‘Federal electronic
information’ means Federal public information stored
electronically.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
for title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new item:
‘‘41. Access to Federal Electronic Information ...................... 4101’’.
SEC. 3. STATUS REPORT.
Not later than June 30, 1994, the Public Printer
shall submit to the Congress a report on the status of the
directory, the system of access, and the electronic storage
facility referred to in section 4101 of title 44, United
States Code, as added by section 2(a).
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES.
(a) OPERATIONAL DEADLINE.—The directory, the
system of access, and the electronic storage facility re-
ferred to in section 4101 of title 44, United States Code,
as added by section 2(a), shall be operational not later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT.—The first report re-
ferred to in section 4103 of title 44, United States Code,
as added by section 2(a), shall be submitted not later than
December 31, 1995.
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