Title: Electronic Signature Standards Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Electronic Signature Standards Act
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to establish uniform guidance for the use of electronic signatures with respect to any request for disclosure of a taxpayer's return or return information.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1876 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1876

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to direct the Secretary of 
 the Treasury to establish uniform standards for the use of electronic 
 signatures with respect to any request for disclosure of a taxpayer's 
            return or return information to a practitioner.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2019

Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to direct the Secretary of 
 the Treasury to establish uniform standards for the use of electronic 
 signatures with respect to any request for disclosure of a taxpayer's 
            return or return information to a practitioner.

    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 ``Electronic Signature Standards 
Act''.

SEC. 2. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR 
              DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS 
              OF, PRACTITIONERS.

    Section 6061(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 
to read as follows:
            ``(3) Published guidance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall publish 
                guidance as appropriate to define and implement any 
                waiver of the signature requirements or any method 
                adopted under paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Electronic signatures for disclosure 
                authorizations to, and other authorizations of, 
                practitioners.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
                of the enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary 
                shall publish guidance to establish uniform standards 
                and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers' 
                signatures appearing in electronic form with respect to 
                any request for disclosure of a taxpayer's return or 
                return information under section 6103(c) to a 
                practitioner or any power of attorney granted by a 
                taxpayer to a practitioner.
                    ``(C) Practitioner.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (B), the term `practitioner' means any individual in 
                good standing who is regulated under section 330 of 
                title 31, United States Code.''.
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