IB 
Union Calendar No. 497 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 890 
[Report No. 118–597] 
To increase access to agency guidance documents. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 
Mr. COMER (for himself, Mr. PERRY, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, 
Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. FOXX, Ms. MACE, Ms. BOEBERT, 
Mr. FRY, and Mr. PALMER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
JULY 18, 2024 
Additional sponsors: Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mr. BURLISON, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. 
KHANNA, and Mr. FALLON 
JULY 18, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 9, 2023] 
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A BILL 
To increase access to agency guidance documents. 
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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 ‘‘Guidance Out Of Dark-
ness Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘GOOD Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 551 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 
(3) GUIDANCE DOCUMENT.— 
(A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘guidance doc-
ument’’— 
(i) means an agency statement of gen-
eral applicability (other than a rule that 
has the force and effect of law promulgated 
in accordance with the notice and comment 
procedures under section 553 of title 5, 
United States Code) that— 
(I) does not have the force and ef-
fect of law; and 
(II) is designated by an agency 
official as setting forth— 
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(aa) a policy on a statutory, 
regulatory, or technical issue; or 
(bb) an interpretation of a 
statutory or regulatory issue; and 
(ii) may include— 
(I) a memorandum; 
(II) a notice; 
(III) a bulletin; 
(IV) a directive; 
(V) a news release; 
(VI) a letter; 
(VII) a blog post; 
(VIII) a no-action letter; 
(IX) a speech by an agency offi-
cial; and 
(X) any combination of the items 
described in subclauses (I) through 
(IX). 
(B) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—The term 
‘‘guidance document’’— 
(i) shall be construed broadly to effec-
tuate the purpose and intent of this Act; 
and 
(ii) shall not be limited to the items 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii). 
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SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ON THE 
INTERNET. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d), on the 
date on which an agency issues a guidance document, the 
agency shall publish the guidance document in accordance 
with the requirements under subsection (c). 
(b) PREVIOUSLY ISSUED GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.— 
Subject to subsection (d), not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each agency shall publish, 
in accordance with the requirements under subsection (c), 
any guidance document issued by that agency that is in 
effect on that date. 
(c) SINGLE LOCATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—All guidance documents pub-
lished under subsections (a) and (b) by an agency 
shall be published in a single location on an internet 
website designated by the Director under paragraph 
(4). 
(2) AGENCY INTERNET WEBSITES.—Each agency 
shall, for guidance documents published by the agency 
under subsections (a) and (b), publish a hyperlink on 
the internet website of the agency that provides access 
to the guidance documents at the location described in 
paragraph (1). 
(3) ORGANIZATION.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The guidance documents 
described in paragraph (1) shall be— 
(i) categorized as guidance documents; 
and 
(ii) further divided into subcategories 
as appropriate. 
(B) AGENCY
INTERNET
WEBSITES.—The 
hyperlinks described in paragraph (2) shall be 
prominently displayed on the internet website of 
the agency. 
(4) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
designate an internet website on which guidance doc-
uments shall be published under subsections (a) and 
(b). 
(d) DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM 
DISCLOSURE UNDER FOIA.—If a guidance document 
issued by an agency is a document that is exempt from dis-
closure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), 
or contains information that is exempt from disclosure 
under that section, that document or information, as the 
case may be, shall not be subject to the requirements under 
this Act. 
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(e) RESCINDED GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.—On the date 
on which a guidance document issued by an agency is re-
scinded, or, in the case of a guidance document that is re-
scinded pursuant to a court order, not later than the date 
on which the order is entered, the agency shall, at the loca-
tion described in subsection (c)(1)— 
(1) maintain the rescinded guidance document; 
and 
(2) indicate— 
(A) that the guidance document is re-
scinded; 
(B) if the guidance document was rescinded 
pursuant to a court order, the case number of the 
case in which the order was entered; and 
(C) the date on which the guidance docu-
ment was rescinded. 
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Union Calendar No. 497 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 890 
[Report No. 118–597] 
A BILL 
To increase access to agency guidance documents. 
JULY 18, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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