What This Bill Does
This bill requires federal agencies to publish guidance documents (agency statements that explain policies or rules but are not binding laws) on the internet where the public can easily find them. Agencies must publish new guidance documents immediately when they issue them, and they must publish all existing guidance documents within 180 days. The bill also requires that guidance documents stay available even after they are cancelled, with a note showing they have been rescinded.
Who It Affects
Federal agencies that issue guidance documents. Members of the public who want to access these agency guidance documents. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the person who oversees federal agency budgets and operations).
Key Provisions
- Agencies must publish guidance documents on the date they issue them, following specific requirements (Sec. 3(a))
- Agencies must publish all existing guidance documents within 180 days after the law takes effect (Sec. 3(b))
- All guidance documents must be published in a single location on an internet website that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget designates (Sec. 3(c)(1))
- Guidance documents must be organized into categories and subcategories as appropriate, and each agency must link to this location from its own website (Sec. 3(c)(3))
- The Director must designate the internet website within 90 days after the law takes effect (Sec. 3(c)(4))
- When an agency cancels a guidance document, it must keep the document available online and mark it as rescinded with the date (Sec. 3(e))
What Changes
Guidance documents will become publicly accessible on a centralized internet location rather than potentially scattered across different agency websites or difficult to find. Agencies will need to establish new processes to publish guidance documents immediately upon issuance instead of keeping them internal or difficult to locate. Cancelled guidance documents will remain visible with a clear indication they are no longer in effect.
Important Definitions
"Guidance document" means an agency statement that explains a policy or interpretation but does not have the force and effect of law (meaning it is not a binding regulation). This includes memorandums, notices, bulletins, directives, news releases, letters, blog posts, speeches by agency officials, and combinations of these items (Sec. 2(3)).
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 791
To increase access to agency guidance documents.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 14, 2023
Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRUZ, Ms. ERNST,
Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. LEE, Ms. LUMMIS,
Mr. PAUL, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. TILLIS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs.
BRITT, and Mr. ROMNEY) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs
A BILL
To increase access to agency guidance documents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guidance Out Of
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Darkness Act’’ or the ‘‘GOOD Act’’.
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
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In this Act:
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(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the
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meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5,
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United States Code.
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(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
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the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
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et.
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(3) GUIDANCE DOCUMENT.—
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(A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘guidance
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document’’—
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(i) means an agency statement of gen-
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eral applicability (other than a rule that
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has the force and effect of law promul-
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gated in accordance with the notice and
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comment procedures under section 553 of
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title 5, United States Code) that—
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(I) does not have the force and
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effect of law; and
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(II) is designated by an agency
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official as setting forth—
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(aa) a policy on a statutory,
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regulatory, or technical issue; or
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(bb) an interpretation of a
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statutory or regulatory issue; and
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(ii) may include—
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(I) a memorandum;
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(II) a notice;
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(III) a bulletin;
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(IV) a directive;
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(V) a news release;
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(VI) a letter;
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(VII) a blog post;
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(VIII) a no-action letter;
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(IX) a speech by an agency offi-
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cial; and
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(X) any combination of the items
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described in subclauses (I) through
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(IX).
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(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The term
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‘‘guidance document’’—
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(i) shall be construed broadly to effec-
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tuate the purpose and intent of this Act;
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and
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(ii) shall not be limited to the items
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described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
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SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ON THE
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INTERNET.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d), on the
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date on which an agency issues a guidance document, the
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agency shall publish the guidance document in accordance
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with the requirements under subsection (c).
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(b) PREVIOUSLY ISSUED GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.—
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Subject to subsection (d), not later than 180 days after
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the date of enactment of this Act, each agency shall pub-
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lish, in accordance with the requirements under subsection
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(c), any guidance document issued by that agency that is
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in effect on that date.
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(c) SINGLE LOCATION.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—All guidance documents pub-
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lished under subsections (a) and (b) by an agency
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shall be published in a single location on an internet
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website designated by the Director under paragraph
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(4).
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(2) AGENCY INTERNET WEBSITES.—Each agen-
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cy shall, for guidance documents published by the
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agency under subsections (a) and (b), publish a
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hyperlink on the internet website of the agency that
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provides access to the guidance documents at the lo-
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cation described in paragraph (1).
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(3) ORGANIZATION.—
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—The guidance docu-
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ments described in paragraph (1) shall be—
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(i) categorized as guidance docu-
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ments; and
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(ii) further divided into subcategories
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as appropriate.
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(B) AGENCY
INTERNET
WEBSITES.—The
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hyperlinks described in paragraph (2) shall be
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prominently displayed on the internet website of
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the agency.
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(4) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 90 days
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after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director
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shall designate an internet website on which guid-
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ance documents shall be published under subsections
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(a) and (b).
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(d) DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM
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DISCLOSURE UNDER FOIA.—If a guidance document
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issued by an agency is a document that is exempt from
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disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States
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Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information
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Act’’), or contains information that is exempt from disclo-
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sure under that section, that document or information, as
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the case may be, shall not be subject to the requirements
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under this Act.
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(e) RESCINDED GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.—On the
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date on which a guidance document issued by an agency
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is rescinded, or, in the case of a guidance document that
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is rescinded pursuant to a court order, not later than the
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date on which the order is entered, the agency shall, at
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the location described in subsection (c)(1)—
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(1) maintain the rescinded guidance document;
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and
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(2) indicate—
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(A) that the guidance document is re-
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scinded;
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(B) if the guidance document was re-
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scinded pursuant to a court order, the case
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number of the case in which the order was en-
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tered; and
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(C) the date on which the guidance docu-
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ment was rescinded.
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Æ
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