State and Local Digital Service Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.5792 | Sponsor: Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. (D-VA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
State and Local Digital Service Act of 2021
This bill directs the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a Digital Service Agreement Program, under which GSA shall award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or memoranda of understanding with, eligible applicants (state, local, and eligible tribal governments) for the purpose of planning, establishing, or supporting a digital service team or supporting digital services collaboration to improve the delivery of government assistance through digital services.
The GSA must (1) minimize the burden on eligible applicants in the development of proposals for a digital service agreement, including by providing technical assistance to applicants in the preparation of applications; (2) require semiannual progress reports from applicants awarded or entering into a digital service agreement; and (3) make publicly available a dashboard of service delivery metrics, performance measures, and progress.

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 Representatives 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 ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (2) Digital service agreement.--The term ``digital service 
        agreement'' means a grant awarded or a cooperative agreement or 
        memorandum of understanding entered into under section 3.
            (3) Digital service team.--The term ``digital service 
        team'' means a team of employees of an eligible applicant that 
        extends existing software development capacity and directly 
        supports and improves service delivery, focusing on user-
        centered design 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-driven, modular 
                contracts.
            (4) Eligible application.--The term ``eligible applicant'' 
        means a State, eligible Tribal government, or unit of local 
        government, or any instrument thereof.
            (5) Eligible tribal government.--The term ``eligible Tribal 
        government'' means the recognized governing body of any Indian 
        or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
        community, component band, or component reservation, 
        individually 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, development projects, technical 
        tests and evaluations, technical information, training 
        activities, surveys, reports, documents, products, platforms, 
        and other similar services.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 549(a) of title 40, United States Code.
            (8) Underserved or disadvantaged community.--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;
                    (G) individuals with a language barrier, including 
                individuals who--
                            (i) are English learners; or
                            (ii) have low levels of literacy;
                    (H) veterans; or
                    (I) any other community that the Administrator 
                determines is disproportionately vulnerable to, or 
                bears a disproportionate burden of, any combination of 
                economic, social, environmental, 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 consultation with the 
Administrator of the United States Digital Service, shall establish a 
Digital Service Agreement Program, 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 planning, establishing, 
or supporting a digital service team or supporting digital services 
collaboration between digital service teams to improve the delivery of 
government assistance 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 modernizing government technology and 
        service delivery;
            (2) evidence of the ability and commitment of the eligible 
        applicant to ensure sustainment of digital service teams after 
        the end of the digital services agreement, including financial 
        resources and any administrative changes that may be necessary;
            (3) the extent to which the eligible applicant may be able, 
        and is committed, to adopting innovative procurement and 
        service design practices;
            (4) whether the eligible applicant would be otherwise 
        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 likely 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 agreement under subsection 
        (c);
            (7) whether the eligible applicant will prioritize the use 
        of more than 50 percent of the amounts received 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 Administrator and 
        included in a notice of funding availability made available in 
        advance to all eligible applicants.
    (c) Collaborative Agreements.--The Administrator 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 Administrator shall, to the greatest 
extent possible, minimize the burden on eligible applicants in the 
development of proposals for a digital service agreement, including by 
providing 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 eligible applicant to carry out activities described 
in this section.
    (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 warranted to ensure significant return on 
        investment or the adoption of innovative practices to meet the 
        requirements 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 result in a term in excess of the 
        maximum term specified under paragraph (1) or exceed the 
        maximum amount specified under paragraph (2), the Administrator 
        shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and Committee on 
        Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives notice and 
        an explanation of the reasons for the determinations by the 
        Administrator.
    (g) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (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 requirement under paragraph (1) if 
        the Administrator determines that the eligible applicant 
        demonstrates financial need.
    (h) Set Asides.--
            (1) In general.--From amounts made available in a fiscal 
        year to carry out the Digital Service Agreement Program under 
        this section, the Administrator shall reserve not more than 10 
        percent for the implementation and administration of the 
        program, which shall include--
                    (A) providing assistance to eligible applicants to 
                prepare applications for digital service agreements in 
                accordance with subsection (d);
                    (B) upon request of an eligible applicant whose 
                application is successful, providing technical support 
                and assistance to support the execution of a digital 
                services agreement;
                    (C) assisting eligible applicants in preparing and 
                submitting reports required under section 4;
                    (D) conducting outreach to eligible applicants 
                regarding opportunities to apply for digital 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.
    (i) Consultation and Public Engagement.--In carrying out this Act, 
the Administrator shall conduct ongoing collaboration and consultation 
with--
            (1) the Administrator of the United States Digital Service;
            (2) State agencies and governors of States (or equivalent 
        officials);
            (3) national, State, local, and Tribal organizations 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 demonstrated experience 
        in designing, developing, and supporting digital services team 
        and modern technology 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 agreement for salaries and benefits of 
members of a digital service team and other costs related to 
establishing or ensuring 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 delivery 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 Agreement Program, which shall include the 
following:
            (1) A description of digital service agreements executed 
        under the Digital Service Agreement Program, including the 
        following:
                    (A) The cost and scope of each digital service 
                agreement, including the type of agreement awarded or 
                entered into and information regarding compliance with 
                the matching requirements 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 identifying whether the eligible 
                applicant is an eligible 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 Service Agreement 
        Program or eligible applicants.
            (3) Any additional information determined necessary 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 reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis.
    (b) Prohibition on Federal Mandate.--The Administrator may not 
require, as a condition of a digital service agreement, the use of any 
Federal service, program, or resources other than as necessary to plan, 
establish, or support a digital service under this Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Agreements.--There are authorized to be appropriated 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 
available to carry out this Act.
    (c) Availability.--Amounts made available pursuant to subsections 
(a) and (b) shall remain available until expended.
                                 <all>