MAPS Act of 2021
PL 117-219 (S.1941), enacted 12/05/2022

[117th Congress Public Law 219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 136 STAT. 2271]]

Public Law 117-219
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
    To direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to 
 standardize the use of core-based statistical area designations across 
 Federal programs, to allow between 120 and 180 days for public comment 
   on any proposed change to such designations, and to report on the 
   scientific basis and estimated impact to Federal programs for any 
          proposed change to such designations, and for other 
             purposes. <<NOTE: Dec. 5, 2022 -  [S. 1941]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Metropolitan 
Areas Protection and Standardization Act of 2021.>> 
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 31 USC 6101 note.>>  SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Metropolitan Areas Protection and 
Standardization Act of 2021'' or the ``MAPS Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 31 USC 6102 note.>>  FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal programs use core-based statistical area 
        delineations to determine the delivery of Federal services, 
        benefits, and funding to people in the United States, such as in 
        criteria for eligibility or distribution.
            (2) Core-based statistical area delineations provide a 
        nationally consistent set of standards for collecting, 
        tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics for geographic 
        areas, and they are not intended for any public or private 
        sector non-statistical uses such as program administration or 
        service delivery.
            (3) Updates to core-based statistical area delineations may 
        cause widespread disruption to the delivery of Federal services, 
        benefits, and funding to people in the United States based on 
        the reliance of Federal programs on these delineations.
            (4) There does not exist any comprehensive list of Federal 
        programs that rely on core-based statistical area delineations. 
        Such a list is valuable for the study of how Federal services, 
        benefits, and funding are distributed to people in the United 
        States.
            (5) Increased transparency on the impacts of any update to 
        core-based statistical area delineations may be overly 
        burdensome due to the anticipated variety of Federal programs 
        that rely on these delineations. Any requirement for complete 
        disclosure of these impacts prior to implementation of new 
        delineations may unintentionally cause the existing delineations 
        to ossify.
            (6) In order to prevent any disruption to service delivery 
        of Federal programs based on updates to core-based statistical 
        area delineations, and ensure the independence of Federal

[[Page 136 STAT. 2272]]

        statistical policymaking, Congress must sever the link between 
        future updates to core-based statistical area delineations and 
        any automatic impact on Federal programs that rely on these 
        delineations.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 31 USC 6102 note.>>  PURPOSE.

    This purpose of this Act is to ensure--
            (1) transparency in how core-based statistical area 
        delineations are used in domestic assistance programs; and
            (2) independence of the Office of Management and Budget in 
        establishing and updating core-based statistical area 
        delineations.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 31 USC 6102 note.>>  DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Comptroller general.--The term ``Comptroller General'' 
        means the Comptroller General of the United States.
            (3) Core-based statistical area.--The term ``core-based 
        statistical area'' has the meaning given the term by the Office 
        of Management and Budget in the Notice of Decision entitled 
        ``2020 Standards for Delineating Core-Based Statistical Areas'', 
        published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 
        37770), or any successor to that Notice.
            (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (5) Domestic assistance program.--The term ``domestic 
        assistance program'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        6101 of title 31, United States Code.
            (6) Open government data asset.--The term ``open Government 
        data asset'' has the meaning given the term in section 3502 of 
        title 44, United States Code.
SEC. 5. NON-PROPAGATION OF CORE-BASED STATISTICAL AREA 
                    DELINEATIONS.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 6309. <<NOTE: 31 USC 6309.>>  Non-propagation of core-based 
                  statistical area delineations

    ``(a) <<NOTE: Effective date.>>  In General.--Beginning on the date 
of enactment of the MAPS Act of 2021, and notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any change to the standards of core-based statistical 
area delineations pursuant to section 3504(e) of title 44--
            ``(1) shall not propagate automatically for any non-
        statistical use by any domestic assistance program, including 
        any such use as required through--
                    ``(A) statutory reference to any core-based 
                statistical area delineation; or
                    ``(B) administrative or regulatory reference to any 
                core-based statistical area delineation; and
            ``(2) shall propagate for any non-statistical use by any 
        domestic assistance program only--
                    ``(A) <<NOTE: Determination.>>  if a relevant agency 
                determines that such a propagation--
                          ``(i) supports the purposes of the program; 
                      and
                          ``(ii) is in the public interest; and

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                    ``(B) through affirmative adoption through notice-
                and-comment rulemaking pursuant to section 553 of title 
                5.

    ``(b) <<NOTE: Applicability.>>  Definitions.--The definitions in 
section 4 of the MAPS Act of 2021 shall apply to this section.''.

    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, <<NOTE: 31 USC 6301 prec.>>  
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6308 the 
following:

``6309. Non-propagation of core-based statistical area delineations.''.

SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY OF NON-STATISTICAL USES OF CORE-BASED 
                    STATISTICAL AREA DELINEATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6102(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (H);
            (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the end; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
                    ``(G) uses of core-based statistical area (as 
                defined in section 4 of the MAPS Act of 2021) 
                delineations (as chosen from standardized categories of 
                uses determined by the Director), for purposes including 
                prime recipient and subrecipient eligibility for, and 
                distribution of, any Federal service, benefit, or 
                funding; and''.

    (b) <<NOTE: 31 USC 6102 note.>>  Content Requirements.--In 
collecting and reviewing the information required under section 
6102(a)(2)(G) of title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection 
(a) of this section, the Director shall include as standardized 
categories--
            (1) whether the most current core-based statistical area 
        delineation has been affirmatively adopted pursuant to section 
        6309 of title 31, United States Coded, as added by this Act;
            (2) which historical core-based statistical area delineation 
        was maintained, in cases where an updated delineation has not 
        been affirmatively adopted pursuant to section 6309 of title 31, 
        United States Coded, as added by this Act;
            (3) <<NOTE: Determinations.>>  what purpose the core-based 
        statistical area delineation serves, including--
                    (A) to determine eligibility for any Federal 
                service, benefit, or funding;
                    (B) to determine distribution of any Federal 
                service, benefit, or funding; and
                    (C) any other standardized category of purpose 
                determined by the Director;
            (4) whether the use of core-based statistical area 
        delineation directly concerns any--
                    (A) prime recipient of any Federal service, benefit, 
                or funding; and
                    (B) subrecipient of any Federal service, benefit, or 
                funding; and
            (5) the date when the information collected in this 
        subsection was last updated.

    (c) <<NOTE: Public information. 31 USC 6102 note.>>  Accessibility 
Requirements.--The Director shall ensure that the information collected 
and reviewed under section 6102(a)(2)(G) of title 31, United States 
Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, shall be--
            (1) publicly accessible as an open Government data asset;

[[Page 136 STAT. 2274]]

            (2) presented in a user-friendly visual format with search 
        and download capabilities;
            (3) easily discoverable by the public on relevant government 
        websites; and
            (4) <<NOTE: Updates. Deadlines.>>  updated not less 
        frequently than once every year.

    (d) <<NOTE: 31 USC 6102 note.>>  Implementation Timeline.--The 
requirements of this section shall be fully implemented not later than 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. INDEPENDENCE, INTEGRITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF CORE-BASED 
                    STATISTICAL AREA DELINEATIONS.

    Section 3504(e) of title 44, United States Code, is amended by--
            (1) in paragraph (8)(B)(ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (9)(B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) ensure that any change to the standards of core-based 
        statistical area (as defined in section 4 of the MAPS Act of 
        2021) delineations pursuant to this subsection shall--
                    ``(A) <<NOTE: Public information. Reports.>>  be 
                accompanied by a public report that explains--
                          ``(i) the scientific basis, criteria, and 
                      methodology for such change to existing standards, 
                      including clear quantitative thresholds for 
                      determining any future statistical re-
                      delineations; and
                          ``(ii) the opinions of domestic and 
                      international experts in statistics and 
                      demographics, including government experts at the 
                      Bureau of the Census and other relevant agencies, 
                      who were consulted regarding such change to 
                      existing standards;
                    ``(B) not be influenced by any non-statistical 
                considerations such as impact on program administration 
                or service delivery; and
                    ``(C) not propagate automatically for any non-
                statistical use by any domestic assistance program (as 
                defined in section 4 of the MAPS Act of 2021).''.
SEC. 8. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.

    Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight 
and Reform of the House of Representatives a report that--
            (1) <<NOTE: Assessments.>>  assesses the completeness, 
        timeliness, quality, accuracy, accessibility, and usefulness of 
        the information reported pursuant to section 6 and the amendment 
        made by section 6; and
            (2) identifies any Federal programs, including any domestic 
        assistance programs or other programs, that--
                    (A) use core-based statistical area delineations for 
                any non-statistical purpose; and
                    (B) as of the date of the report, are not reported 
                pursuant to section 6 and the amendment made by section 
                6; and

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            (3) <<NOTE: Recommenda- tions.>>  if appropriate, includes 
        any recommendations for Federal agencies or Congress based on 
        the findings described in paragraphs (1) and (2).

    Approved December 5, 2022.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1941:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENATE REPORTS: No. 117-98 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            May 26, considered and passed Senate.
            Nov. 14, considered and passed House.

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