I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5792 
To require the Administrator of General Services to establish the Digital 
Service Agreement Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 
Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To require the Administrator of General Services to establish 
the Digital Service Agreement Program, 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 ‘‘State and Local Digital 
Service Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv-
ices. 
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(2) DIGITAL SERVICE AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘‘digital service agreement’’ means a grant awarded 
or a cooperative agreement or memorandum of un-
derstanding entered into under section 3. 
(3) DIGITAL SERVICE TEAM.—The term ‘‘dig-
ital service team’’ means a team of employees of an 
eligible applicant that extends existing software de-
velopment capacity and directly supports and im-
proves service delivery, focusing on user-centered de-
sign and development practices through the use of 
modern product development techniques, such as— 
(A) user research and design; 
(B) incremental and iterative outcome 
driven delivery practices; and 
(C) procurement and funding practices for 
software development that rely on outcome-driv-
en, modular contracts. 
(4) ELIGIBLE APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble applicant’’ means a State, eligible Tribal govern-
ment, or unit of local government, or any instrument 
thereof. 
(5) ELIGIBLE
TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT.—The 
term ‘‘eligible Tribal government’’ means the recog-
nized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native 
Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
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component band, or component reservation, individ-
ually identified (including parenthetically) in the list 
published most recently as of the date of enactment 
of this Act pursuant to section 104 of the Federally 
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 
U.S.C. 5131). 
(6) SPECIALIZED OR TECHNICAL SERVICES.— 
The term ‘‘specialized or technical services’’ means 
statistical and other studies and compilations, devel-
opment projects, technical tests and evaluations, 
technical information, training activities, surveys, re-
ports, documents, products, platforms, and other 
similar services. 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 549(a) of title 40, 
United States Code. 
(8) UNDERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COM-
MUNITY.—The term ‘‘underserved or disadvantaged 
community’’ means— 
(A) a low-income community; 
(B) a community of color; 
(C) a Tribal community; 
(D) a rural community; 
(E) aging individuals; 
(F) individuals with disabilities; 
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(G) individuals with a language barrier, in-
cluding individuals who— 
(i) are English learners; or 
(ii) have low levels of literacy; 
(H) veterans; or 
(I) any other community that the Adminis-
trator determines is disproportionately vulner-
able to, or bears a disproportionate burden of, 
any combination of economic, social, environ-
mental, or climate stressors. 
(9) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘unit of local government’’ means a city, county, 
township, town, borough, parish, village, or other 
general purpose political subdivision of a State. 
SEC. 3. DIGITAL SERVICE AGREEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the United States Digital 
Service, shall establish a Digital Service Agreement Pro-
gram, under which the Administrator shall award grants 
to, or enter into cooperative agreements or memoranda of 
understanding with, eligible applicants in accordance with 
the requirements of this section for the purpose of plan-
ning, establishing, or supporting a digital service team or 
supporting digital services collaboration between digital 
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service teams to improve the delivery of government assist-
ance through digital services. 
(b) DIGITAL SERVICE AGREEMENT CRITERIA.—In 
considering whether to execute a digital service agreement 
under this section, the Administrator, in consultation with 
the Administrator of the United States Digital Service, 
shall consider— 
(1) evidence of significant executive support 
from the eligible applicant for the establishment of 
digital service teams and a commitment to modern-
izing government technology and service delivery; 
(2) evidence of the ability and commitment of 
the eligible applicant to ensure sustainment of dig-
ital service teams after the end of the digital services 
agreement, including financial resources and any ad-
ministrative changes that may be necessary; 
(3) the extent to which the eligible applicant 
may be able, and is committed, to adopting innova-
tive procurement and service design practices; 
(4) whether the eligible applicant would be oth-
erwise unable to establish or support digital service 
teams without a digital service agreement; 
(5) the extent to which the establishment of 
digital service teams by the eligible applicant is like-
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ly to lead to improvements in service delivery related 
to Federal programs; 
(6) to the extent applicable, whether an eligible 
applicant intends to support a collaborative agree-
ment under subsection (c); 
(7) whether the eligible applicant will prioritize 
the use of more than 50 percent of the amounts re-
ceived under a digital service agreement for salary 
and benefits of the members of the digital service 
team; and 
(8) any other criteria determined by the Admin-
istrator and included in a notice of funding avail-
ability made available in advance to all eligible appli-
cants. 
(c) COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Adminis-
trator may execute a digital service agreement with 1 or 
more eligible applicants, in accordance with the criteria 
established in subsection (b), for the purpose of supporting 
collaborative service delivery projects across jurisdictional 
boundaries. 
(d) PLANNING SUPPORT.—In addition to the digital 
service agreement criteria under subsection (b), the Ad-
ministrator shall, to the greatest extent possible, minimize 
the burden on eligible applicants in the development of 
proposals for a digital service agreement, including by pro-
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viding direct technical assistance to eligible applicants in 
the preparation applications for digital service agreements. 
(e) SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—Any awards 
made as part of a digital service agreement with an eligible 
applicant shall supplement, not supplant, other Federal, 
State, local, or Tribal funds that are available to the eligi-
ble applicant to carry out activities described in this sec-
tion. 
(f) LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) TERM.—A digital service agreement shall 
have a term of not longer than 5 years, unless the 
Administrator determines that a longer term is war-
ranted to ensure significant return on investment or 
the adoption of innovative practices to meet the re-
quirements of the eligible applicant. 
(2) AMOUNT.—A digital service agreement may 
not exceed $10,000,000, unless the Administrator 
determines that a greater amount is likely to provide 
a significant return on investment or the adoption of 
innovative practices to meet the requirements of the 
eligible applicant. 
(3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 
than 30 days before the Administrator executes or 
modifies a digital services agreement that would re-
sult in a term in excess of the maximum term speci-
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fied under paragraph (1) or exceed the maximum 
amount specified under paragraph (2), the Adminis-
trator shall submit to the Committee on Appropria-
tions and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations and Committee on Over-
sight and Reform of the House of Representatives 
notice and an explanation of the reasons for the de-
terminations by the Administrator. 
(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the Federal share of an activity carried 
out using amounts received under a digital service 
agreement for establishing or supporting a digital 
service team shall be not more than 90 percent. 
(2) WAIVER.—Upon application by an eligible 
applicant, the Administrator may waive the require-
ment under paragraph (1) if the Administrator de-
termines that the eligible applicant demonstrates fi-
nancial need. 
(h) SET ASIDES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail-
able in a fiscal year to carry out the Digital Service 
Agreement Program under this section, the Adminis-
trator shall reserve not more than 10 percent for the 
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implementation and administration of the program, 
which shall include— 
(A) providing assistance to eligible appli-
cants to prepare applications for digital service 
agreements in accordance with subsection (d); 
(B) upon request of an eligible applicant 
whose application is successful, providing tech-
nical support and assistance to support the exe-
cution of a digital services agreement; 
(C) assisting eligible applicants in pre-
paring and submitting reports required under 
section 4; 
(D) conducting outreach to eligible appli-
cants regarding opportunities to apply for dig-
ital service agreements; and 
(E) such other actions determined by the 
Administrator to carry out the program. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
TRIBAL
GOVERNMENTS.—From 
amounts made available in a fiscal year to carry out 
the Digital Service Agreement Program under this 
section, the Administrator may use not less than 10 
percent for digital service agreements with eligible 
Tribal governments. 
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(i) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.—In 
carrying out this Act, the Administrator shall conduct on-
going collaboration and consultation with— 
(1) the Administrator of the United States Dig-
ital Service; 
(2) State agencies and governors of States (or 
equivalent officials); 
(3) national, State, local, and Tribal organiza-
tions that have digital service teams or that have 
particular experience with providing digital services 
for underserved or disadvantaged communities; 
(4) researchers, academics, and philanthropic 
organizations; 
(5) industry stakeholders that have dem-
onstrated experience in designing, developing, and 
supporting digital services team and modern tech-
nology service delivery projects on behalf of public 
sector clients; and 
(6) other agencies, organizations, entities, and 
community stakeholders as determined appropriate 
by the Administrator. 
(j) SPENDING LIMITATIONS.—An eligible applicant 
may use amounts received under a digital service agree-
ment for salaries and benefits of members of a digital serv-
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ice team and other costs related to establishing or ensur-
ing the capacity and continuity of a digital service team. 
SEC. 4. REPORTING AND EVALUATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall require 
semiannual progress reports from eligible applicants 
awarded or entering into a digital service agreement, and 
shall make a publicly available dashboard of service deliv-
ery metrics, performance measures, and progress under 
the terms and conditions of any digital service agreements. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF RESULTS TO CONGRESS AND 
PUBLIC.—The Administrator shall make available on a 
public website the results from the Digital Service Agree-
ment Program, which shall include the following: 
(1) A description of digital service agreements 
executed under the Digital Service Agreement Pro-
gram, including the following: 
(A) The cost and scope of each digital 
service agreement, including the type of agree-
ment awarded or entered into and information 
regarding compliance with the matching re-
quirements under section 3(g). 
(B) The name of each recipient that, as of 
the date of the report, has a digital services 
agreement that is in effect, including identi-
fying whether the eligible applicant is an eligi-
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ble Tribal government, a territory of the United 
States, or an underserved or disadvantaged 
community. 
(C) An analysis of common characteristics 
regarding the full allocation of digital services 
agreements in effect. 
(D) An accounting of the expenditure of 
funds received by an eligible applicant under a 
digital services agreement and the cost to the 
Federal Government to administer the Digital 
Services Agreement Program under this Act. 
(2) Information regarding successes of, failures 
of, lessons learned by, opportunities for improvement 
for, or recommendations related to the Digital Serv-
ice Agreement Program or eligible applicants. 
(3) Any additional information determined nec-
essary by the Administrator. 
SEC. 5. STATE USE OF FEDERAL RESOURCES. 
(a) GENERAL.—In addition to the authority provided 
by section 3, the Administrator may provide an eligible 
applicant specialized or technical services on a reimburs-
able or non-reimbursable basis. 
(b) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL MANDATE.—The Ad-
ministrator may not require, as a condition of a digital 
service agreement, the use of any Federal service, pro-
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gram, or resources other than as necessary to plan, estab-
lish, or support a digital service under this Act. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) AGREEMENTS.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to the Administrator to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028. 
(b) AMOUNTS FOR AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Inspector General 
of the General Services Administration $1,000,000 for the 
first fiscal year during which digital service agreements 
are awarded or entered into, and each of the 7 fiscal years 
thereafter, for audits and oversight of funds made avail-
able to carry out this Act. 
(c) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available pursu-
ant to subsections (a) and (b) shall remain available until 
expended. 
Æ 
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