I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4293 
To establish the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish the United States Commission on an Open 
Society with Security. 
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 ‘‘United States Commis-
sion on an Open Society with Security Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) an open society which affords free access to 
public facilities and spaces and which protects the 
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right to engage in open discussion is an essential 
premise of American governmental institutions and 
democratic values; 
(2) the United States is currently facing a chal-
lenge to the safety and security of the public, public 
employees, and public facilities and spaces that is 
unique in the history of this Nation; 
(3) to meet this challenge without eroding or 
harming any of the basic tenets of the Republic and 
of our democracy, this Nation needs to assemble the 
best thinking available; and 
(4) a commission of experts from a broad base 
of disciplines and backgrounds is necessary to exam-
ine all the factors that should be considered in se-
curing public safety from terrorist attacks while 
maintaining the highest level of free and open access 
to the public. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the ‘‘United States Commission 
on an Open Society with Security’’ (in this Act referred 
to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com-
posed of 21 members appointed in accordance with sub-
section (d)(1) from among individuals representing such 
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fields or groups as the following: architecture, technology, 
civil libertarians, humanists, members of the Armed 
Forces, Federal Government employees, city planners, 
business leaders, lawyers, artists, public building security, 
engineers, philosophers, historians, sociologists, and psy-
chologists. The President shall designate one of those 
members to be the Chairperson of the Commission. 
(c) TERMS; QUORUM; MEETINGS; VACANCIES.— 
Members shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. 
Nine members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings. After its 
initial meeting, the Commission shall meet at the call of 
the Chairperson of the Commission or a majority of its 
members. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect 
its powers and shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment. 
(d) APPOINTMENTS; INITIAL MEETING.— 
(1) 
APPOINTMENTS.—Appointments 
to 
the 
Commission shall be made as follows: 
(A) Nine members appointed by the Presi-
dent. 
(B) Three members appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
(C) Three members appointed by the mi-
nority leader of the House of Representatives. 
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(D) Three members appointed by the ma-
jority leader of the Senate. 
(E) Three members appointed by the mi-
nority leader of the Senate. 
(2) INITIAL MEETING.—If, after 90 days fol-
lowing the date of enactment of this Act, 9 or more 
members of the Commission have been appointed, 
the members who have been appointed may meet, 
and the Chairperson shall have the authority to 
begin the operations of the Commission, including 
the hiring of staff. 
SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall study and 
make findings and recommendations relating to the ques-
tion of how the Government of the United States may pro-
vide, in a balanced manner, for both security in and public 
access to Federal buildings and other Federal property 
and sites. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE EXAMINED.—In carrying out 
this Act, the Commission shall specifically examine mat-
ters that relate to the security of, and open access to, pub-
lic facilities and spaces, including— 
(1) Federal, other governmental, and private se-
curity practices and proposals, building design, pub-
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lic space management, counterterrorism needs, and 
refurbishment of existing Federal facilities; 
(2) the effect of access to public facilities and 
spaces on— 
(A) maintenance of security and safety; 
(B) free speech, the right to petition the 
Government, and other constitutional rights 
and civil liberties; 
(C) economies of affected jurisdictions or 
parts thereof; 
(D) physical changes and architectural aes-
thetics of affected areas; 
(E) traffic and congestion; and 
(F) job performance of employees within 
the affected facilities; 
(3) current and potential uses of technology to 
augment or replace traditional modes of security; 
(4) practices of and comparisons with other en-
tities and nations; and 
(5) current and potential analytical methods of 
assessing the risks posed by the various forms of 
terrorism, balanced against the specific needs and 
values of open access. 
(c) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Commis-
sion shall take appropriate measures to avoid unnecessary 
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duplication of efforts previously or currently being under-
taken by any other person or entity. 
SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, on the au-
thorization of the Commission, any member or agent of 
the Commission may hold such hearings, sit and act at 
such times and places, take such testimony, and receive 
such evidence as the Commission considers appropriate to 
carry out this Act. 
(b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL INFORMATION.—The Com-
mission may secure directly from any department, agency, 
or other entity of the United States information necessary 
to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the 
Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such govern-
mental entity shall furnish, to the extent authorized by 
law, such information to the Commission. 
(c) SECURITY.— 
(1) SECURITY
CLEARANCES.—The members 
and staff of the Commission shall hold, as a condi-
tion of appointment to or employment with the Com-
mission, appropriate security clearances for access to 
the classified briefing, records, and materials to be 
reviewed by the Commission or its staff and shall 
follow the guidance and practices on security under 
applicable Executive orders and agency directives. 
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(2) CONDITIONS TO GRANTING ACCESS.—The 
head of an agency shall require, as a condition of 
granting access to a member of the Commission or 
a member of the staff of the Commission to classi-
fied records or materials of the agency under this 
Act, require the member to— 
(A) execute an agreement regarding the se-
curity of such records or materials that is ap-
proved by the head of the agency; and 
(B) hold an appropriate security clearance 
granted or recognized under the standard pro-
cedures and eligibility criteria of the agency, in-
cluding any special access approval required for 
access to such records or materials. 
(3) RESTRICTION ON USE.—The members of 
the Commission and the members of the staff of the 
Commission may not use any information acquired 
in the course of their official activities on the Com-
mission for nonofficial purposes. 
(4) NEED TO KNOW.—For purposes of any law 
or regulation governing access to classified informa-
tion that pertains to the national security of the 
United States and to facilitate the advisory func-
tions of the Commission under this Act, a member 
of the Commission or a member of the staff of the 
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Commission seeking access to a record or material 
under this Act shall be deemed for purposes of this 
subsection to have a need to know the contents of 
the record or material. 
(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A reference in 
this subsection to the ‘‘staff of the Commission’’ in-
cludes individuals described in sections 6(d) and 
6(e). 
(d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 
States mails in the same manner and under the same con-
ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 
States. 
(e) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 
dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 
(f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Ad-
ministrator of General Services shall provide to the Com-
mission, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative sup-
port services as the Commission may request. 
SEC. 6. PERSONNEL MATTERS. 
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the 
Commission shall not be compensated by reason of their 
service on the Commission. 
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com-
mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ-
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ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 
regular places of business in the performance of services 
for the Commission. 
(c) STAFF.—Subject to such rules as the Commission 
may prescribe, the Chairperson of the Commission, with-
out regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
governing appointments in the competitive service, and 
without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub-
chapter III of chapter 53 of such title (relating to classi-
fication and General Schedule pay rates), may appoint and 
fix the pay of a staff director and such other personnel 
as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry 
out its functions; except that no rate of pay fixed under 
this subsection may exceed the maximum rate of basic pay 
payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 
(d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 
of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of any 
department or agency of the United States may detail, on 
a nonreimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that de-
partment or agency to the Commission to assist it in car-
rying out its functions under this Act. 
(e) EXPERTS
AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap-
proval of the Commission, the Chairperson of the Commis-
sion may procure temporary and intermittent services 
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