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A bill to establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide guidelines on making public information available on the Internet, to require publicly available Government information held by the executive branch to be made available on the Internet, to express the sense of Congress that publicly available information held by the legislative and judicial branches should be available on the Internet, and for other purposes.

USA115th CongressS-621| Senate 
| Updated: 3/14/2017
Jon Tester

Jon Tester

Democratic Senator

Montana

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

  • Introduced
  • In Committee
  • On Floor
  • Passed Chamber
  • Enacted
Public Online Information Act of 2017 This bill establishes a Public Online Information Advisory Committee to: (1) coordinate the government's efforts to make information from all three branches of government available on the Internet, and (2) issue nonbinding guidelines on how the government should make public information available. The government must make public records available on the Internet at no charge, except as imposed by federal law before this bill's enactment. The bill requires: (1) public records to be permanently available on the Internet; (2) current information technology to be applied to the formats and means through which records are made available; and (3) each agency to publish on the Internet a searchable, machine-processable list of all records it makes publicly available. The bill delineates the roles of the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Electronic Government, and the chief information officers of independent regulatory agencies. It allows exceptions to the Internet publication requirement, including a process for an agency's request for an exception to be granted if: (1) there is a clear and convincing reason for the record to not be made available on the Internet, and (2) the harm caused by disclosure significantly outweighs the public's interest in having the record available on the Internet. Inspectors general must periodically review agency compliance. Private individuals or organizations may file a complaint in federal court if an agency denies a request to place public records on the Internet. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) judicial and legislative agencies adopt or adapt the advisory committee's recommendations, and (2) the Government Publishing Office make all of its publications permanently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of formats.
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Timeline
Mar 14, 2017
Introduced in Senate
Mar 14, 2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  • March 14, 2017
    Introduced in Senate


  • March 14, 2017
    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Government Operations and Politics

Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAdvisory bodiesCivil actions and liabilityFreedom of informationGovernment information and archivesInternet and video servicesInternet, web applications, social mediaLegal fees and court costsOffice of Management and Budget (OMB)

A bill to establish an advisory committee to issue nonbinding governmentwide guidelines on making public information available on the Internet, to require publicly available Government information held by the executive branch to be made available on the Internet, to express the sense of Congress that publicly available information held by the legislative and judicial branches should be available on the Internet, and for other purposes.

USA115th CongressS-621| Senate 
| Updated: 3/14/2017
Public Online Information Act of 2017 This bill establishes a Public Online Information Advisory Committee to: (1) coordinate the government's efforts to make information from all three branches of government available on the Internet, and (2) issue nonbinding guidelines on how the government should make public information available. The government must make public records available on the Internet at no charge, except as imposed by federal law before this bill's enactment. The bill requires: (1) public records to be permanently available on the Internet; (2) current information technology to be applied to the formats and means through which records are made available; and (3) each agency to publish on the Internet a searchable, machine-processable list of all records it makes publicly available. The bill delineates the roles of the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Electronic Government, and the chief information officers of independent regulatory agencies. It allows exceptions to the Internet publication requirement, including a process for an agency's request for an exception to be granted if: (1) there is a clear and convincing reason for the record to not be made available on the Internet, and (2) the harm caused by disclosure significantly outweighs the public's interest in having the record available on the Internet. Inspectors general must periodically review agency compliance. Private individuals or organizations may file a complaint in federal court if an agency denies a request to place public records on the Internet. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) judicial and legislative agencies adopt or adapt the advisory committee's recommendations, and (2) the Government Publishing Office make all of its publications permanently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of formats.
View Full Text

Suggested Questions

Get AI-generated questions to help you understand this bill better

Timeline
Mar 14, 2017
Introduced in Senate
Mar 14, 2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  • March 14, 2017
    Introduced in Senate


  • March 14, 2017
    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Jon Tester

Jon Tester

Democratic Senator

Montana

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

Government Operations and Politics

  • Introduced
  • In Committee
  • On Floor
  • Passed Chamber
  • Enacted
Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAdvisory bodiesCivil actions and liabilityFreedom of informationGovernment information and archivesInternet and video servicesInternet, web applications, social mediaLegal fees and court costsOffice of Management and Budget (OMB)