Title: HONEST Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017 or the HONEST Act
This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support the action is the best available science, specifically identified, and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results. Covered actions are risk, exposure, or hazard assessments, criteria documents, standards, limitations, regulations, regulatory impact analyses, or guidance. Personally identifiable information, trade secrets, or commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential must be redacted prior to public availability.
The EPA may use an existing website maintained by another federal agency to make the scientific and technical information available.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1794 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1794

    To prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, 
  finalizing, or disseminating regulations or assessments based upon 
            science that is not transparent or reproducible.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 12, 2017

 Mr. Rounds (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, 
  finalizing, or disseminating regulations or assessments based upon 
            science that is not transparent or reproducible.

    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 ``Honest and Open New EPA Science 
Treatment Act of 2017'' or the ``HONEST Act''.

SEC. 2. DATA TRANSPARENCY.

    Section 6(b) of the Environmental Research, Development, and 
Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4363 note) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) The Administrator shall not propose, finalize, or 
disseminate a covered action unless all scientific and technical 
information relied on to support such covered action is--
            ``(A) the best available science;
            ``(B) specifically identified; and
            ``(C) publicly available online in a manner that is 
        sufficient for independent analysis and substantial 
        reproduction of research results, except that any personally 
        identifiable information, trade secrets, or commercial or 
        financial information obtained from a person and privileged or 
        confidential, shall be redacted prior to public availability.
    ``(2) The redacted information described in paragraph (1)(C) shall 
be disclosed to a person only after such person signs a written 
confidentiality agreement with the Administrator, subject to guidance 
to be developed by the Administrator.
    ``(3) In making information publicly available pursuant to 
paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator--
            ``(A) may coordinate with another Federal agency to use an 
        existing website maintained by the Federal agency to make the 
        information available; and
            ``(B) shall not be required to duplicate the public 
        availability of the information if that information has been 
        made available by another Federal agency in accordance with 
        paragraph (1)(C).
    ``(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as--
            ``(A) requiring the Administrator to disseminate scientific 
        and technical information;
            ``(B) superseding any nondiscretionary statutory 
        requirement; or
            ``(C) requiring the Administrator to repeal, reissue, or 
        modify a regulation in effect on the date of enactment of the 
        Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017.
    ``(5) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `covered action' means a risk, exposure, or 
        hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, 
        regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance; and
            ``(B) the term `scientific and technical information' 
        includes--
                    ``(i) materials, data, and associated protocols 
                necessary to understand, assess, and extend 
                conclusions;
                    ``(ii) computer codes and models involved in the 
                creation and analysis of such information;
                    ``(iii) recorded factual materials; and
                    ``(iv) detailed descriptions of how to access and 
                use such information.
    ``(6) The Administrator shall carry out this subsection in a manner 
that does not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year, to be derived from 
amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated.''.
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