,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gicd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #af1 #bjbf,mr4 ,palmer 7for himself and ,mr4 ,mfume7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to amend chapter #c of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 to require the publication of settlement agreements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,settlement ,agreement ,information ,database ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,information regarding settlement agreements entered into by agencies 7a7 ,requirements for settlement agreements ,subchapter ,i of chapter #c of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cjg4 ,information regarding settlement agreements 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,agency ,the term agency has the meaning given the term in section #cejb of title #dd4 7#b7 ,covered settlement agreement 7,a7 ,in general ,the term covered settlement agreement means a settlement agreement or deferred prosecution agreement that meets #a or more of the following requirements3 7i7 ,requires not less than #aj1jjj1jjj in total explicitly obligated payments of a settling party on the date on which the settlement agreement is executed4 7ii7 ,involves the appointment of a special master or monitor4 7iii7 ,involves a party that is a ,state1 metropolitan city1 local government1 county1 or other unit of government that is not the ,federal ,government4 7iv7 ,is designated as a covered settlement agreement by the ,director as a result of meeting additional criteria determined by the ,director as described in subsection 7b77#b77;,c74 7,b7 ,exclusions ,the term covered settlement agreement does not include a settlement agreement that relates to any of the following3 7i7 ,the ,united ,states ,trustee ,program4 7ii7 ,a ,federal employee personnel action1 including an action before the ,equal ,employment ,opportunity ,commission1 the ,office of ,special ,counsel1 or the ,merit ,systems ,protection ,board1 or any other internal personnel-related matter4 7iii7 ,a non-prosecution agreement or plea bargain4 7iv7 ,the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7v7 ,any matter that may be brought as an action pursuant to chapter #df of title #ah4 7#c7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget4 7#d7 ,local government ,the term local government has the meaning given the term in section #feja of title #ca4 7#e7 ,originating agency ,the term originating agency means an agency on behalf of which or at the request of which another agency executes a settlement agreement4 7#f7 ,settlement agreement ,the term settlement agreement means an agreement 7including a consent decree7 that-- 7,a7 is entered into by an agency2 and 7,b7 resolves an alleged violation of ,federal1 civil1 or criminal law4 7#g7 ,state ,the term ,state means each of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 each territory or possession of the ,united ,states1 and each federally recognized ,indian ,tribe4 7b7 ,covered settlement agreement information database 7#a7 ,agency requirement 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this section1 the head of each agency that has entered into a covered settlement agreement shall establish and maintain a public online database that1 subject to subparagraph 7,b71 contains the following information and documents to the extent practicable3 7i7 ,a list 7in a categorized and searchable format7 that includes each covered settlement agreement entered into by such agency and publishes with respect to each such covered settlement agreement the following3 7,i7 ,whether the covered settlement agreement resolves a civil or criminal claim or both4 7,,ii7 ,the date on which each party settling a claim under the covered settlement agreement executes such covered settlement agreement4 7,,iii7 ,any specific statutory provision alleged to have been violated1 as may be set forth in any corresponding public letter or complaint4 7,,iv7 ,any expressly denominated amount of fees and other expenses of attorneys provided by or to the ,united ,states4 7,v7 ,the amount1 if any1 each party settling a claim under the covered settlement agreement is explicitly obligated to pay as set forth in such covered settlement agreement4 7,,vi7 ,the amount1 if any1 each party settling a claim under the covered settlement agreement is obligated to pay as expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as a civil or criminal penalty or fine4 7,,vii7 ,any payment made under the covered settlement agreement1 including the amount of any payment made to or by the ,federal ,government4 7,,viii7 ,the projected duration of the covered settlement agreement1 if available4 7,,ix7 ,a list of any ,state1 local government1 county1 or any other unit of government that is directly identified by the substantive terms of the covered settlement agreement4 7ii7 ,a copy of each such covered settlement agreement4 7,b7 ,exemptions ,the requirement to publish a copy of or any other information with respect to a covered settlement agreement pursuant to subparagraph 7,a7 does not apply to the extent such copy 7or portion thereof7 or information-- 7i7 is subject to a confidentiality provision or court order that prohibits the disclosure of such copy 7or portion7 or information2 or 7ii7 would be subject to withholding from public disclosure under section #eeb4 7#b7 ,guidance ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,director1 in coordination with the ,attorney ,general1 shall issue1 and periodically update as necessary thereafter1 guidance for the head of each agency to implement paragraph 7#a7 that includes the following3 7,a7 ,specific dates by which such head shall publish information necessary to maintain the database of such agency pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a71 which shall be not less frequently than annually4 7,b7 ,data standards1 including common data elements and a common1 nonproprietary1 searchable1 machine-readable1 and platform-independent format1 for the publication of information pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a74 7,c7 ,additional criteria that such head shall use to determine if a settlement agreement is likely to require significant compliance costs such that such head shall designate such settlement agreement as a covered settlement agreement4 7,d7 ,a requirement that such head shall use a uniform resource locator for the establishment of the database of such agency pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a7 that-- 7i7 is-- 7,i7 in a consistent format across agencies2 and 7,,ii7 descriptive1 memorable1 and pronounceable2 and 7ii7 may be agencyname4gov_/settlements4 7,e7 ,a process that such head may use to request certification from the ,director that a database of such agency that exists on the date of the enactment of this section complies with this subsection4 7,f7 ,a process for requiring the head of not less than #a agency to publish a covered settlement agreement on a database required by paragraph 7#a77;,a7 if-- 7i7 multiple agencies are a party to such covered settlement agreement2 or 7ii7 such head enters into an additional covered settlement agreement at the request of or on behalf of an originating agency4 7#c7 ,non-disclosure transparency 7,a7 ,report on non-disclosure ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this section1 and not less frequently than annually thereafter1 the head of each agency that establishes and maintains a database pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall submit to ,congress and make publicly available on the website of such agency a report on covered settlement agreements that the agency does not publicly disclose in the database for the covered settlements published in the previous year4 7,b7 ,report contents ,the report described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall include-- 7i7 the number of covered settlement agreements that were fully exempted under paragraph 7#a77;,b72 7ii7 for each covered settlement agreement fully exempted under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the specific exemption under that paragraph that applies2 and 7iii7 in the case of a full exemption under paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii71 the specific exemptions under section #eeb that apply4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for subchapter ,i of chapter #c of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 #cjg4 ,information regarding settlement agreements4 4 7c7 ,rule of construction 7#a7 ,in general ,any information published on a database established and maintained pursuant to section #cjg7;b77#a77;,a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by subsection 7a71 shall not affect the terms of a settlement agreement or the interpretation or application of the settlement agreement4 7#b7 ,legal rights ,the inclusion or omission of information or documents in a database established and maintained pursuant to section #cjg7;b77#a77;,a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by subsection 7a71 shall not be construed as creating any legal right or opportunity for judicial review4 7#c7 ,freedom of ,information ,act ,nothing in this ,act1 or the amendments made by this ,act1 shall be construed to require the disclosure of information or records that the head of an agency may withhold from public disclosure under section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,classified information ,nothing in this ,act1 or the amendments made by this ,act1 shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified information4 7d7 ,applicability ,this ,act1 and the amendments made by this ,act1 shall apply with respect to-- 7#a7 any covered settlement agreement 7as defined in section #cjg7;a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by subsection 7a77 entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act2 and 7#b7 to the extent practicable1 any such covered settlement agreement that-- 7,a7 was entered into on or after ,january #a1 #bjae2 and 7,b7 remains in effect on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act4