The Federal Register Modernization Act () was a bill that would require the '' Federal Register'' to be published (e.g., by electronic means), rather than printed, and that documents in the ''Federal Register'' be made available for sale or distribution to the public in published form. The bill was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

. It passed the House on July 14, 2014.

Background

The ''Federal Register'' is the

official journal A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establis ...

of the

federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published daily, except on

federal holidays Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are pa ...

. The final rules promulgated by a federal agency and published in the ''Federal Register'' are ultimately reorganized by topic or subject matter and codified in the '' Code of Federal Regulations'' (CFR), which is updated annually. In essence, the ''Federal Register'' is a way for the government to announce changes to government requirements, policies and guidance to the public. The notice and comment process, as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act, gives the people a chance to participate in agency rulemaking. Publication of documents in the ''Federal Register'' also constitutes

constructive notice Constructive notice is the legal fictionThe phrase "legal fiction" should not be construed to mean that the concept of constructive notice is legally invalid. that signifies that a person or entity should have known, as a reasonable person would hav ...

, and its contents are judicially noticed.

Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

, a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

source.'' The Federal Register Modernization Act would require the '' Federal Register'' to be published (e.g., by electronic means), rather than printed, and that documents in the ''Federal Register'' be made available for sale or distribution to the public in published form. The bill would revise requirements for the filing of documents with the

Office of the Federal Register The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration. The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', ''Public Papers of the Presid ...

for inclusion in the ''Federal Register'' and for the publication of the '' Code of Federal Regulations'' to reflect the publication requirement.

Congressional Budget Office report

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...

, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 12, 2014. This is a

source.'' The

(CBO) estimates that enacting H.R. 4195 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. The legislation would amend federal laws regarding the ''Federal Register'' and the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (CFR), which provide comprehensive information about actions of the United States Government. The legislation would end requirements to print the ''Federal Register'' or the ''CFR'' and for agencies to provide multiple copies of their submissions to the ''Federal Register''. The bill would change references from printing those publications to publishing them, and publishing could include making those publications available online. Under the

Federal Register Act The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fede ...

, the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) within the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

(NARA) produces the ''Federal Register''. That publication compiles and organizes thousands of rules, regulations, executive orders, presidential documents, and notices generated by federal departments and agencies. Currently, the ''Federal Register'' is updated daily and is printed and published Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. The OFR, working with the

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

(GPO), has made the ''Federal Register'' available online since 1994. In addition, the OFR produces the ''CFR'', which contains all agency rules that first appeared in the ''Federal Register''. Under the legislation, OFR would no longer be required to print the ''Federal Register'' or ''CFR'', but would still have to make it available online. Based on information from NARA and GPO, CBO expects that copies of the ''Federal Register'' and ''CFR'' would continue to be produced following enactment of H.R. 4195 to meet the demand for printed documents. We expect agencies’ administrative costs would be reduced because fewer copies of printed material would be submitted to the ''Federal Register'', but we estimate that any such savings over the next five years would be small because most of the costs associated with the submission of those documents involves their preparation, not their duplication. H.R. 4195 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandates on ...

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

Procedural history

The Federal Register Modernization Act was introduced into the

on March 11, 2013, by Darrell Issa, Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R, CA-49). It was referred to the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. On March 12, 2014, the Committee order the bill to be reported in a voice vote. On July 3, 2014, it was reported alongsid
House Report 113-515
On July 14, 2014, the House voted i
Roll Call Vote 405
to pass the bill 386–0.

Debate and discussion

The

American Association of Law Libraries The American Association of Law Libraries "is a nonprofit educational organization with over 5,000 members nationwide. AALL's mission is to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the professio ...

(AALL) strongly opposed the bill, arguing that the bill "undermines" citizens' "right to be informed" by making it more difficult for "citizens to find their government's regulations." According to AALL, a survey they conducted "revealed that members of the public, librarians, researchers, students, attorneys, and small business owners continue to rely on the print" version of the ''Federal Register''. AALL also argued that the lack of print versions of the ''Federal Register'' and ''CFR'' would mean the 15 percent of Americans who don't use the internet would lose their access to that material.

References

External links

*
GovTrack.us H.R. 4195

OpenCongress.org H.R. 4195

Congressional Budget Office's report on H.R. 4195

House Report 113-515 on H.R. 4195
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Register Modernization Act (H.R. 4195 113th Congress) United States proposed federal government administration legislation Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 116th United States Congress