Title: Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act or the OPEN Government Data Act
This bill requires open government data assets made available by federal agencies (excluding the Government Accountability Office and certain other government entities) to be published as machine-readable data. When not otherwise prohibited by law, and to the extent practicable, public data assets and nonpublic data assets maintained by the federal government must be available: (1) in an open format that does not impede use or reuse and that has standards maintained by a standards organization; and (2) under open licenses with a legal guarantee that the data be available at no cost to the public with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting.
If published government data assets are not available under an open license, the data must be considered part of the worldwide public domain. Agencies may engage with outside organizations and citizens to leverage public data assets for innovation in public and private sectors.
Agencies must: (1) make their enterprise data inventories available to the public on Data.gov, and (2) designate a point of contact to assist the public and respond to complaints about adherence to open data requirements. For privacy, security, confidentiality, or regulatory reasons, agencies may maintain a nonpublic portion of their inventories.
The General Services Administration must maintain a single public interface online as a point of entry dedicated to sharing open government data with the public.
The Office of Management and Budget must develop and maintain an online repository of tools, best practices, and schema standards to facilitate the adoption of open data practices.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 760 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 760

To expand the Government's use and administration of data to facilitate 
   transparency, effective governance, and innovation, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2017

 Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Sasse) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To expand the Government's use and administration of data to facilitate 
   transparency, effective governance, and innovation, 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 ``Open, Public, Electronic, and 
Necessary Government Data Act'' or the ``OPEN Government Data Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal Government data is a valuable national 
        resource. Managing Federal Government data to make it open, 
        available, discoverable, and usable to the general public, 
        businesses, journalists, academics, and advocates promotes 
        efficiency and effectiveness in Government, creates economic 
        opportunities, promotes scientific discovery, and most 
        importantly, strengthens our democracy.
            (2) Maximizing the usefulness of Federal Government data 
        that is appropriate for release rests upon making it readily 
        available, discoverable, and usable--in a word: open. 
        Information presumptively should be available to the general 
        public unless the Federal Government reasonably foresees that 
        disclosure could harm a specific, articulable interest 
        protected by law or the Federal Government is otherwise 
        expressly prohibited from releasing such data due to statutory 
        requirements.
            (3) The Federal Government has the responsibility to be 
        transparent and accountable to its citizens.
            (4) Data controlled, collected, or created by the Federal 
        Government should be originated, transmitted, and published in 
        modern, open, and electronic format, to be as readily 
        accessible as possible, consistent with data standards under 
        this Act or otherwise permitted by law.
            (5) The effort to inventory Government data will have 
        additional benefits, including identifying opportunities within 
        agencies to reduce waste, increase efficiencies, and save 
        taxpayer dollars. As such, this effort should involve many 
        types of data, including data generated by applications, 
        devices, networks, and equipment, which can be harnessed to 
        improve operations, lower energy consumption, reduce costs, and 
        strengthen security.
            (6) Communication, commerce, and data transcend national 
        borders. Global access to Government information is often 
        essential to promoting innovation, scientific discovery, 
        entrepreneurship, education, and the general welfare.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term in 
section 3561 of title 44, United States Code, as added by section 4.

SEC. 4. OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

                 ``Subchapter III--Open Government Data

``Sec. 3561. Definitions
    ``As used in this subchapter--
            ``(1) the term `agency'--
                    ``(A) has the meaning given the term in section 
                3502; and
                    ``(B) includes the Federal Election Commission;
            ``(2) the term `data' means recorded information, 
        regardless of form or the media on which the data is recorded;
            ``(3) the term `data asset' means a collection of data 
        elements or data sets that may be grouped together;
            ``(4) the term `Director' means the Director of the Office 
        of Management and Budget;
            ``(5) the term `Enterprise Data Inventory' means the data 
        inventory developed and maintained pursuant to section 3563;
            ``(6) the terms `information resources management', 
        `information system', and `information technology' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 3502;
            ``(7) the term `machine-readable' means a format in which 
        information or data can be easily processed by a computer 
        without human intervention while ensuring no semantic meaning 
        is lost;
            ``(8) the term `metadata' means structural or descriptive 
        information about data such as content, format, source, rights, 
        accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, 
        publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of 
        collection, and other descriptions;
            ``(9) the term `nonpublic data asset'--
                    ``(A) means a data asset that may not be made 
                available to the public for privacy, security, 
                confidentiality, regulation, or other reasons as 
                determined by law; and
                    ``(B) includes data provided by contractors that is 
                protected by contract, license, patent, trademark, 
                copyright, confidentiality, regulation, or other 
                restriction;
            ``(10) the term `open Government data asset' means a data 
        asset maintained by the Federal Government that is--
                    ``(A) machine-readable;
                    ``(B) available in an open format;
                    ``(C) not encumbered by restrictions that would 
                impede use or reuse; and
                    ``(D) based on an underlying open standard that is 
                maintained by a standards organization;
            ``(11) the term `open license' means a legal guarantee 
        applied to a public data asset that the data asset is made 
        available--
                    ``(A) at no cost to the public; and
                    ``(B) with no restrictions on copying, publishing, 
                distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting; and
            ``(12) the term `public data asset' means a data asset 
        maintained by the Federal Government that--
                    ``(A) may be released to the public;
                    ``(B) has been released to the public in an open 
                format and is discoverable through a search of Data.gov 
                or any successor to Data.gov; or
                    ``(C) is part of the worldwide public domain or, if 
                necessary, published with an open license.
``Sec. 3562. Requirements for Government data
    ``(a) Machine-Readable Data Required.--Open Government data assets 
made available by an agency shall be published as machine-readable 
data.
    ``(b) Open by Default.--When not otherwise prohibited by law, and 
to the extent practicable, public data assets and nonpublic data assets 
maintained by the Federal Government shall--
            ``(1) be available in an open format; and
            ``(2) be available under open licenses.
    ``(c) Open License or Worldwide Public Domain Dedication 
Required.--When not otherwise prohibited by law, and to the extent 
practicable, open Government data assets published by or for an agency 
shall be made available under an open license or, if not made available 
under an open license and appropriately released, shall be considered 
to be published as part of the worldwide public domain.
    ``(d) Innovation.--Each agency may engage with nongovernmental 
organizations, citizens, nonprofit organizations, colleges and 
universities, private and public companies, and other agencies to 
explore opportunities to leverage the public data assets of the agency 
in a manner that may provide new opportunities for innovation in the 
public and private sectors in accordance with law and regulation.
``Sec. 3563. Enterprise data inventory
    ``(a) Agency Data Inventory Required.--
            ``(1) In general.--In order to develop a clear and 
        comprehensive understanding of the data assets in the 
        possession of an agency, the head of each agency, in 
        consultation with the Director, shall develop and maintain an 
        enterprise data inventory (in this section referred to as the 
        `Enterprise Data Inventory') that accounts for any data asset 
        created, collected, under the control or direction of, or 
        maintained by the agency after the effective date of this 
        section, with the goal of including all data assets, to the 
        extent practicable.
            ``(2) Contents.--The Enterprise Data Inventory shall 
        include each of the following:
                    ``(A) Data assets used in agency information 
                systems (including program administration, statistics, 
                and financial activity) generated by applications, 
                devices, networks, facilities, and equipment, 
                categorized by source type.
                    ``(B) Data assets shared or maintained across 
                agency programs and bureaus.
                    ``(C) Data assets that are shared among agencies or 
                created by more than 1 agency.
                    ``(D) A clear indication of all data assets that 
                can be made publicly available under section 552 of 
                title 5 (commonly known as the `Freedom of Information 
                Act').
                    ``(E) A description of whether the agency has 
                determined that an individual data asset may be made 
                publicly available and whether the data asset is 
                available to the public.
                    ``(F) Nonpublic data assets.
                    ``(G) Open Government data assets.
    ``(b) Public Availability.--The Chief Information Officer of each 
agency shall use the standards provided by the Director issued pursuant 
to subsection (c) to make public data assets included in the Enterprise 
Data Inventory publicly available in an open format and under an open 
license.
    ``(c) Standards for Enterprise Data Inventory.--The Director shall 
issue standards for the Enterprise Data Inventory, including--
            ``(1) a requirement that the Enterprise Data Inventory 
        include a compilation of metadata about agency data assets; and
            ``(2) criteria that the head of each agency shall use in 
        determining whether to make a particular data asset publicly 
        available in a manner that takes into account--
                    ``(A) the expectation of confidentiality associated 
                with an individual data asset;
                    ``(B) security considerations, including the risk 
                that information in an individual data asset in 
                isolation does not pose a security risk but when 
                combined with other available information may pose such 
                a risk;
                    ``(C) the cost and benefits to the public of 
                converting the data into a manner that could be 
                understood and used by the public;
                    ``(D) the expectation that all data assets that 
                would otherwise be made available under section 552 of 
                title 5 (commonly known as the `Freedom of Information 
                Act') be disclosed; and
                    ``(E) any other considerations that the Director 
                determines to be relevant.
    ``(d) Nonpublic Data Assets.--Nonpublic data assets included in the 
Enterprise Data Inventory may be maintained in a nonpublic section of 
the inventory.
    ``(e) Availability of Enterprise Data Inventory.--The Chief 
Information Officer of each agency--
            ``(1) shall make the Enterprise Data Inventory available to 
        the public on Data.gov;
            ``(2) shall ensure that access to the Enterprise Data 
        Inventory and the data contained therein is consistent with 
        applicable law and regulation; and
            ``(3) may implement paragraph (1) in a manner that 
        maintains a nonpublic portion of the Enterprise Data Inventory.
    ``(f) Regular Updates Required.--The Chief Information Officer of 
each agency shall--
            ``(1) to the extent practicable, complete the Enterprise 
        Data Inventory for the agency not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this section; and
            ``(2) add additional data assets to the Enterprise Data 
        Inventory for the agency not later than 90 days after the date 
        on which the data asset is created or identified.
    ``(g) Use of Existing Resources.--When practicable, the Chief 
Information Officer of each agency shall use existing procedures and 
systems to compile and publish the Enterprise Data Inventory for the 
agency.
``Sec. 3564. Federal agency responsibilities
    ``(a) Information Resources Management.--With respect to general 
information resources management, each agency shall--
            ``(1) improve the integrity, quality, and utility of 
        information to all users within and outside the agency by--
                    ``(A) using open format for any new open Government 
                data asset created or obtained on the date that is 1 
                year after the date of enactment of this section; and
                    ``(B) to the extent practicable, encouraging the 
                adoption of open format for all open Government data 
                assets created or obtained before the date of enactment 
                of this section; and
            ``(2) in consultation with the Director, develop an open 
        data plan that, at a minimum and to the extent practicable--
                    ``(A) requires the agency to develop processes and 
                procedures that--
                            ``(i) require each new data collection 
                        mechanism to use an open format; and
                            ``(ii) allow the agency to collaborate with 
                        non-Government entities, researchers, 
                        businesses, and private citizens for the 
                        purpose of understanding how data users value 
                        and use open Government data assets;
                    ``(B) identifies and implements methods for 
                collecting and analyzing digital information on data 
                asset usage by users within and outside of the agency, 
                including designating a point of contact within the 
                agency to assist the public and to respond to quality 
                issues, usability, recommendations for improvements, 
                and complaints about adherence to open data 
                requirements;
                    ``(C) develops and implements a process to evaluate 
                and improve the timeliness, completeness, accuracy, 
                usefulness, and availability of open Government data 
                assets;
                    ``(D) requires the agency to update the plan at an 
                interval determined by the Director;
                    ``(E) includes requirements for meeting the goals 
                of the agency open data plan including technology, 
                training for employees, and implementing procurement 
                standards, in accordance with existing law, that allow 
                for the acquisition of innovative solutions from the 
                public and private sectors; and
                    ``(F) prohibits the dissemination and accidental 
                disclosure of nonpublic data assets.
    ``(b) Information Dissemination.--With respect to information 
dissemination, each agency--
            ``(1) shall provide access to open Government data assets 
        online;
            ``(2) shall take the necessary precautions to ensure that 
        the agency maintains the production and publication of data 
        assets which are directly related to activities that protect 
        the safety of human life or property, as identified by the open 
        data plan of the agency required under subsection (a)(2); and
            ``(3) may engage the public in using open Government data 
        assets and encourage collaboration by--
                    ``(A) publishing information on open Government 
                data assets usage in regular, timely intervals, but not 
                less than annually;
                    ``(B) receiving public input regarding priorities 
                for the analysis and disclosure of data assets to be 
                published;
                    ``(C) assisting civil society groups and members of 
                the public working to expand the use of open Government 
                data assets; and
                    ``(D) hosting challenges, competitions, events, or 
                other initiatives designed to create additional value 
                from open Government data assets.
``Sec. 3565. Additional Chief Information Officer responsibilities
    ``The Chief Information Officer of each agency, or other 
appropriate official designated by the head of an agency, is 
responsible for--
            ``(1) data asset management, format standardization, 
        sharing of data assets, and publication of data assets for the 
        agency;
            ``(2) the compilation and publication of the Enterprise 
        Data Inventory for the agency required under section 3563;
            ``(3) ensuring that agency data conforms with open data 
        best practices;
            ``(4) engaging agency employees, the public, and 
        contractors in using open Government data assets and encourage 
        collaborative approaches to improving data use;
            ``(5) supporting the agency Performance Improvement Officer 
        in generating data to support the function of the Performance 
        Improvement Officer described in section 1124(a)(2) of title 
        31;
            ``(6) reviewing the information technology infrastructure 
        of the agency and the impact of the infrastructure on making 
        data assets accessible to reduce barriers that inhibit data 
        asset accessibility;
            ``(7) ensuring that, to the extent practicable, the agency 
        is maximizing its own use of data, including data assets used 
        in agency information systems (including program 
        administration, statistics, and financial activity) generated 
        by applications, devices, networks, facilities, and equipment, 
        categorized by source type, and such use is not otherwise 
        prohibited, to reduce costs, improve operations, and strengthen 
        security and privacy protections; and
            ``(8) identifying points of contact for roles and 
        responsibilities related to open data use and implementation as 
        required by the Director.
``Sec. 3566. Technology portal
    ``(a) Data.gov Required.--The Administrator of General Services 
shall maintain a single public interface online as a point of entry 
dedicated to sharing open Government data assets with the public.
    ``(b) Coordination With Agencies.--The Director shall determine, 
after consultation with the head of each agency and the Administrator 
of General Services, the method to access any open Government data 
assets published through the interface described in subsection (a).''.
    (b) Special Provisions.--
            (1) Effective date.--Notwithstanding section 8, section 
        3562 of title 44, United States Code, as added by subsection 
        (a), shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to 
        any contract entered into by an agency on or after such 
        effective date.
            (2) Use of open data assets.--Not later than 1 year after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 
        shall ensure that any activities by the agency or any new 
        contract entered into by the agency meet the requirements of 
        section 3562 of title 44, United States Code, as added by 
        subsection (a).
            (3) Deadline for technology portal.--Not later than 180 
        days after the effective date of this Act, the Administrator of 
        General Services shall meet the requirements of section 3566 of 
        title 44, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

                 ``subchapter iii--open government data

``3561. Definitions.
``3562. Requirements for Government data.
``3563. Enterprise data inventory.
``3564. Federal agency responsibilities.
``3565. Additional Chief Information Officer responsibilities.
``3566. Technology portal.''.

SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF AGENCY ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES.

    (a) Agency Review of Evaluation and Analysis Capabilities; 
Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Chief Operating Officer of each agency shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives, and the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget a report on the review described in subsection (b).
    (b) Requirements of Agency Review.--The report required under 
subsection (a) shall assess the coverage, quality, methods, 
effectiveness, and independence of the evaluation, research, and 
analysis efforts of an agency, including each of the following:
            (1) A list of the activities and operations of the agency 
        that are being evaluated and analyzed and the activities and 
        operations that have been evaluated and analyzed during the 
        previous 5 years.
            (2) The extent to which the evaluations, research, and 
        analysis efforts and related activities of the agency support 
        the needs of various divisions within the agency.
            (3) The extent to which the evaluation research and 
        analysis efforts and related activities of the agency address 
        an appropriate balance between needs related to organizational 
        learning, ongoing program management, performance management, 
        strategic management, interagency and private sector 
        coordination, internal and external oversight, and 
        accountability.
            (4) The extent to which the agency uses methods and 
        combinations of methods that are appropriate to agency 
        divisions and the corresponding research questions being 
        addressed, including an appropriate combination of formative 
        and summative evaluation research and analysis approaches.
            (5) The extent to which evaluation and research capacity is 
        present within the agency to include personnel, agency process 
        for planning and implementing evaluation activities, 
        disseminating best practices and findings, and incorporating 
        employee views and feedback.
            (6) The extent to which the agency has the capacity to 
        assist front-line staff and program offices to develop the 
        capacity to use evaluation research and analysis approaches and 
        data in the day-to-day operations.
    (c) GAO Review of Agency Reports.--Not later than 4 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report that summarizes agency 
findings and highlights trends from the reports submitted pursuant to 
subsection (a) and, if appropriate, recommends actions to further 
improve agency capacity to use evaluation techniques and data to 
support evaluation efforts.

SEC. 6. ONLINE REPOSITORY AND ADDITIONAL REPORTS.

    (a) Repository.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall collaborate with the Office of Government Information 
Services and the Administrator of General Services to develop and 
maintain an online repository of tools, best practices, and schema 
standards to facilitate the adoption of open data practices, which 
shall--
            (1) include definitions, regulation and policy, checklists, 
        and case studies related to open data, this Act, and the 
        amendments made by this Act; and
            (2) facilitate collaboration and the adoption of best 
        practices across the Federal Government relating to the 
        adoption of open data practices.
    (b) GAO Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives a report that identifies--
            (1) the value of information made available to the public 
        as a result of this Act and the amendments made by this Act;
            (2) whether it is valuable to expand the publicly available 
        information to any other data assets; and
            (3) the completeness of the Enterprise Data Inventory at 
        each agency required under section 3563 of title 44, United 
        States Code, as added by section 4.
    (c) Biennial OMB Report.--Not later than 1 year after the effective 
date of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall electronically publish a report 
on agency performance and compliance with this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act.
    (d) Agency CIO Report.--Not later than 1 year after the effective 
date of this Act and every year thereafter, the Chief Information 
Officer of each agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report on 
compliance with the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by 
this Act, including information on the requirements that the agency 
could not meet and what the agency needs to comply with those 
requirements.

SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be 
construed to require the disclosure of information or records that are 
exempt from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information Act'').

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on 
the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>