H.R. 4809 — Reported in House

IB Union Calendar No. 760 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4809 [Report No. 115–972] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 16, 2018 Mr. Walker introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform September 25, 2018Additional sponsors: Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Rokita September 25, 2018 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 16, 2018 A BILL To increase access to agency guidance documents. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Guidance Out Of Darkness Act or the GOOD Act. 2. Publication of guidance documents on the internet (a) In general On the date on which an agency issues a guidance document, the head of the agency shall publish the guidance document in accordance with subsection (c). (b) Previously issued guidance documents With respect to any guidance document issued by an agency before the effective date of this Act that is in effect on the effective date of this Act, the head of each agency shall meet the requirements of subsection (c). (c) Single location The head of each agency shall: (1) Publish any guidance document issued by the agency in a single location on the publicly accessible Federal Government website (commonly known as regulations.gov) described under section 206(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 44 U.S.C. 3501 note). (2) With respect to a guidance document issued by an agency, include a hyperlink on the online portal of the agency that provides access to the guidance document published pursuant to paragraph (1). (3) Ensure that any guidance document published pursuant to paragraph (1) is— (A) clearly identified as a guidance document; (B) sorted into subcategories, as appropriate; (C) published in a machine-readable and open format; and (D) searchable. (4) Ensure that any hyperlink described in paragraph (2) be prominently displayed on the online portal of the agency. (d) Rescinded guidance documents Not later than the date on which a guidance document issued by an agency is rescinded, the head of the agency shall on the Federal Government website described in subsection (c)(1)— (1) maintain a copy of the rescinded guidance document; and (2) indicate— (A) that the guidance document is rescinded; and (B) the date on which the guidance document was rescinded. 3. Rule of construction In this Act, the term guidance document shall be construed broadly. 4. Definitions In this Act: (1) Agency The term agency has the meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. (2) Guidance document The term guidance document— (A) means an agency statement of general applicability (other than a rule that has the force and effect of law promulgated in accordance with the notice and public procedure under section 553 of title 5, United States Code) that— (i) does not have the force and effect of law; and (ii) sets forth— (I) an agency decision or a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue; or (II) an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue; and (B) may include any of the following: (i) A memorandum. (ii) A notice. (iii) A bulletin. (iv) A directive. (v) A news release. (vi) A letter. (vii) A blog post. (viii) A no-action letter. (ix) A speech by an agency official. (x) An advisory. (xi) A manual. (xii) A circular. (xiii) Any combination of the items described in clauses (i) through (xii). (3) Rule The term rule has the meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 5. Effective date This Act shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. September 25, 2018Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed