,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ifj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #bg1 #bjag   
,mr4 ,peters 7for himself and ,mr4      
,gardner7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,homeland ,security   
and ,governmental ,affairs  ,a ,,bill   
,to amend title #dd1 ,united ,states    
,code1 to protect open1 machine-readable
 databases4  #a4 ,short title  ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,preserving    
,data in ,government ,act of #bjag4  #b4
 ,preserving government data  7a7 ,in   
general ,subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of
 title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is   
amended--  7#a7 in section #cejb-- 7,a7 
in paragraph 7#ac71 by striking and at  
the end2  7,b7 in paragraph 7#ad71 by   
striking the period at the end and      
inserting a semicolon2 and  7,c7 by     
adding at the end the following3  7#ae7 
the term data means recorded            
information1 regardless of form or the  
media on which the data is recorded2    

7#af7 the term data asset means a       
collection of data elements or data sets
 that may be grouped together2  7#ag7   
the term machine-readable means a format
 in which information or data can be    
easily processed by a computer without  
human intervention while ensuring no    
semantic meaning is lost2  7#ah7 the    
term open format means a technical      
format that is not encumbered by        
restrictions that would impede use or   
reuse2  7#ai7 the term open ,government 
data means a public data asset that is--
  7,a7 machine-readable2  7,b7 available
 in an open format2 and  7,c7 part of   
the worldwide public domain or1 if      
necessary1 published with an open       
license2 and  7#bj7 the term public data
 asset means a data asset created or    
maintained by an agency1 or a contractor
 of an agency1 that--  7,a7 is not      
protected under copyright or patent     
laws2 and  7,b7 7i7 may be released to  
the public2 or  7ii7 has been released  
to the public in an open format4  2 and 

7#b7 by adding at the end the following3
  #cebb4 ,requirement to preserve       
,government data  7a7 ,in general       
,except as provided under subsection    
7c71 any open ,government data that is  
made available to the public for a      
period of not less than #ij consecutive 
days shall--  7#a7 remain               
machine-readable1 available in an open  
format1 and part of the worldwide public
 domain or1 if necessary1 published with
 an open license2 and  7#b7 not be      
altered in such a way as to decrease the
 machine-readable nature of the open    
,government data4  7b7 ,alteration of   
digital location1 format1 or content    
7#a7 ,in general ,it shall not be a     
violation of subsection 7a7 to alter--  
7,a7 the digital location or format of  
open ,government data for the purpose of
 routine asset maintenance or long-term 
archiving if the alteration does not    
decrease the open public accessibility  
or the machine-readable nature of the   
open ,government data2 or  7,b7 the     

contents of open ,government data for   
purposes of updating the open           
,government data or correcting an error 
in the open ,government data4  7#b7     
,permanence of data after updates ,for  
purposes of subsection 7a71 any         
alteration of the digital location1     
format1 or contents of open ,government 
data under subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of 
paragraph 7#a7 shall not constitute a   
renewal of the period for which the open
 ,government data has been made         
available to the public4  7#c7 ,record  
of data changes after updates ,any      
substantial alteration of the contents  
of open ,government data under          
subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of paragraph  
7#a7 shall be recorded in a log that is 
made available to the public in an open 
format along with the open ,government  
data4  7c7 ,exceptions  7#a7            
,conservation of agency resources ,an   
agency may remove open ,government data 
from public availability if-- 7,a7 the  
head of the agency determines that the  

open ,government data--  7i7 is too     
costly to maintain2 or  7ii7 does not   
provide sufficient value to the public2 
7,b7 not less than #f months before the 
date on which the agency removes the    
open ,government data from public       
availability1 the agency publishes a    
notice of the removal in the ,federal   
,register1 including--  7i7 a clear     
identification of the open ,government  
data2  7ii7 if applicable1 the digital  
object identifier of the open           
,government data2  7iii7 a detailed     
description of the reasons for the      
removal2 and  7iv7 a detailed           
description of efforts to make the open 
,government data permanently publicly   
available2 and  7,c7 the open           
,government data is available for       
download on the worldwide public domain 
for a period of not less than #f months 
before the date on which the agency     
removes the open ,government data from  
public availability4  7#b7 ,other       
provisions of law ,subsection 7a7 shall 

not apply in the case of open           
,government data that is required to be 
removed from public availability or     
altered under another provision of law4 
4  7b7 ,technical and conforming        
amendment ,the table of sections for    
subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of title   
#dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended  
by inserting after the item relating to 
section #ceba the following3  #cebb4    
,requirement to preserve ,government    
data4  4