E-Rulemaking Act of 2010

Bill: 111-s-3961
Sponsor: Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [ID-CT]
Introduced: 2010-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Government information and archives
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Summary:
action_date: 2010-11-17
text: 
E-Rulemaking Act of 2010 - Amends the E-Government Act of 2002 to require agencies to fulfill requirements regarding making information about the agency and agency rulemaking, including electronic dockets, available on a publicly accessible government website and providing for rulemaking submissions electronically (current law requires agencies to meet such requirements to the extent practicable). 
 
Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish an Interagency E-Rulemaking Committee, which shall: (1) develop recommendations on e-rulemaking policies and requirements; (2) assist in the identification, development, and coordination of e-rulemaking projects and other innovative initiatives to improve the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS); (3) promote the development and use of common performance measures for agency e-rulemaking resources management; (4) develop recommendations for the online disclosure of rulemaking information to federal agencies and the public; and (5) make recommendations to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) regarding practices that enhance online accessibility and manageability of rulemaking information, promote public participation, and harness technology to improve rule formation and implementation.
 
Establishes in the executive branch a Public E-Rulemaking Advisory Committee, which shall: (1) regularly advise the Administrators of OIRA, the Office of Electronic Government, and the General Services Administration (GSA) on the e-rulemaking needs and desires of the various e-rulemaking user communities outside the federal government; (2) conduct studies and submit recommendations to the Director and Congress; (3) share effective practices for access to, dissemination of, and retention of regulatory material; and (4) identify barriers to achieving e-rulemaking goals and propose solutions. 
 
Requires the Director to establish a Program Management Office, which shall: (1) conduct and oversee the day-to-day operations of the E-Rulemaking Program; and (2) collaborate with the Interagency Committee and the Advisory Committee to achieve significant improvements in the systems architecture for FDMS.
 
Requires the Director to: (1) issue policy regarding standards, data protocols, and related items to be used by agencies when publishing their electronic regulatory dockets; (2) establish a process for agencies to conduct authorized transfer of data to and from FDMS; (3) provide for periodic, multi-method usability assessments by users of the systems architecture; (4) identify clear performance objectives and timelines for agency action to ensure that all rulemaking and docket materials are available electronically; (5) provide to the Advisory Committee any records or data on the management, functionality, and performance of the systems architecture as necessary for forming recommendations; (6) identify innovative projects that are developed under the standards, protocol, and guidelines under this Act; and (7) submit an annual e-rulemaking status report.
 
 Requires each independent regulatory commission that has not migrated to FDMS to: (1) establish interoperability with FDMS; and (2) ensure that its rulemaking materials can be located by FDMS users.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2010-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate