records available on the Internet and, if warranted, make 
recommendations to the President and to Congress re-
garding whether Federal law should be changed. The re-
port shall be made publicly available, including being pub-
lished on the Internet. 
(d) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS.—The Inspector 
General of each agency shall conduct periodic reviews re-
garding agency compliance with Internet publication re-
quirements, no less often than once every four years. The 
reviews shall be published on the Internet. 
(e) ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC ACCESS BY PRIVATE 
INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS.— 
(1) REQUESTS.—Private individuals or organi-
zations may request that an Executive agency place 
public records on the Internet, including the com-
prehensive searchable list of publicly available 
records referred to in section 7(a)(4), in accordance 
with Federal regulations. An agency has 30 days to 
respond to the request in writing or to place the 
record on the Internet. If an agency denies the re-
quest in whole or in part, the private individual or 
organization may file a complaint in Federal court. 
(2) JURISDICTION.—(A) On complaint, the dis-
trict court of the United States in the district in 
which the complainant resides, or has his principal 
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place of business, or in which the agency records are 
situated, or in the District of Columbia, has jurisdic-
tion to enjoin the agency from refusing to publish 
agency records on the Internet, or refusing to pub-
lish it in an appropriate format, and to order the 
Internet online publication of any agency records im-
properly withheld. In such a case the court shall de-
termine the matter de novo, and may examine the 
contents of such agency records in camera to deter-
mine whether such records or any part thereof shall 
be withheld under any of the exceptions provided 
under subsection (b)(4), and the burden is on the 
agency to sustain its action. 
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the defendant shall serve an answer or otherwise 
plead to any complaint made under this subsection 
within 30 days after service upon the defendant of 
the pleading in which such complaint is made, unless 
the court otherwise directs for good cause shown. 
(3) ATTORNEY FEES.—The court may assess 
against the United States reasonable attorney fees 
and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any 
case under this subsection in which the complainant 
has substantially prevailed. 
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(4) SPECIAL
COUNSEL.—Whenever the court 
orders the production of any agency records improp-
erly withheld from the complainant and assesses 
against the United States reasonable attorney fees, 
litigation costs, and interest, and the court addition-
ally issues a written finding that the circumstances 
surrounding the withholding raise questions whether 
agency personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously 
with respect to the withholding, a Special Counsel 
shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine 
whether disciplinary action is warranted against the 
officer or employee who was primarily responsible 
for the withholding. A Special Counsel, after inves-
tigation and consideration of the evidence submitted, 
shall submit his findings and recommendations to 
the administrative authority of the agency concerned 
and shall send copies of the findings and rec-
ommendations to the officer or employee or his rep-
resentative. The administrative authority shall take 
the corrective action that the Special Counsel rec-
ommends. 
(5) CONTEMPT.—In the event of noncompliance 
with the order of the court, the district court may 
punish for contempt the responsible employee, and 
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in the case of a uniformed service, the responsible 
member. 
SEC. 8. LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL INFORMATION. 
It is the sense of Congress that judicial and legislative 
agencies (within the meaning of section 3701 of title 31, 
United States Code) should adopt or adapt the rec-
ommendations of the Advisory Committee for their own 
use. In addition, judicial and legislative agencies are en-
couraged to consider the guidelines issued by the Public 
Online Information Advisory Committee and the regula-
tions promulgated by the E-Government Administrator. 
SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Government 
Printing Office should make all of its publications perma-
nently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of for-
mats that best meet the needs of the public. In doing so, 
the Government Printing Office is strongly encouraged to 
consider the recommendations of the Public Online Infor-
mation Advisory Committee and the E-Government Ad-
ministrator. 
Æ 
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