[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7528 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 712
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7528
[Report No. 118-306]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2024
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend section 206 of the E-Government Act of 2002 to improve the
integrity and management of mass comments and computer-generated
comments in the regulatory review process, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Comment Integrity and
Management Act of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. PURPOSE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The purpose of this Act is to help Federal agencies
manage mass and computer-generated comments in the Federal regulatory
process. This should in no way be understood to discourage mass
comments, which are a vital part of the regulatory process.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. IMPROVING INTEGRITY AND MANAGEMENT OF MASS COMMENTS
AND COMPUTER-GENERATED COMMENTS IN THE REGULATORY REVIEW
PROCESS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.-- Section 206 of the E-Government Act of
2002 (Public Law 107-347; 44 U.S.C. 3501 note) is amended by--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) redesignating subsection (e) as subsection
(f); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) inserting after subsection (d) the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(e) Information Integrity.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Verification of electronic submissions.--
With respect to each comment accepted by electronic means under
subsection (c), in accordance with the guidance established by
Director in paragraph (3), the head of an agency shall verify,
to the greatest extent possible, at the time the comment is
submitted, whether the comment has been submitted by a human
being.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Identification and management of mass
comments.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Identification of mass comments.--
With respect to each comment accepted by electronic
means under subsection (c) by the head of an agency,
the head of the agency shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) to the extent practicable,
reasonably determine whether such comment is a
mass comment; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) in the case that the agency
has made a reasonable determination that the
comment is a mass comment, indicate on any
publicly available copy of the comment, or
comment variations, (through a label or
indicator, and in a machine and human readable
format) that the comment is part of a mass
comment submission; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Handling of mass comments.--
Notwithstanding subsection (d)(2)(A), instead of making
available through the electronic docket of the agency
each comment identified as a mass comment under
paragraph (2), the head of an agency may--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) make available through such
docket only a single representative sample of
each such mass comment; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) in the case where mass
comments take the form of variations on certain
standardized but not identical language the
agency make available through such docket a
single copy of one of the variations of the
mass comment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Number of submissions.--In case in
which the head of an agency makes available through
such docket a single representative sample or a single
copy of one of the variations of a mass comment under
subparagraph (B), the head of the agency shall indicate
(through a label or indicator, and in a machine and
human readable format), on the sample or copy made
available, the number of submissions that were
determined to be identical, or substantively identical
to the sample or copy made available on such
docket.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) OMB guidance.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Guidance.--Not later than 240 days
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the
Director, in consultation with the Administrator of
General Services, shall issue guidance to the heads of
each agency on the implementation of the requirements
of this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Contents of guidance.--The guidance
issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include
recommendations for agencies on how to best manage
comments accepted by electronic means, including
recommendations on how to do the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) Use technology tools and
procedures that verify, to the greatest extent
possible, whether a comment is being submitted
by a human being.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Identify mass comments,
including how to leverage software tools to
identify whether a comment is a mass
comment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) Indicate (through a label
or indicator, and in a machine- and human-
readable format), that a comment is a mass
comment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) Use new technology to offer
new opportunities for public participation in
the rulemaking process.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Updates.--The Director, in
consultation with the Administrator of General
Services, may update the guidance issued pursuant to
subparagraph (A), as determined necessary by the
Director.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Policies concerning posting and
consideration of computer-generated comments and mass
comments.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the
head of each agency shall establish a policy with
respect to the posting and consideration of computer-
generated comments and mass-comments during the
rulemaking process of the agency that is consistent
with--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) the requirements of
paragraph (2); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the guidance issued under
paragraph (3).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Availability of policy.--Not later
than 60 days after the date on which the head of an
agency establishes a policy pursuant to subparagraph
(A), the head of the agency shall, to the extent
practicable, post the policy on the website through
which an agency makes comments available pursuant to
subsection (d)(2)(A).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Update to policy.--The policy
established pursuant to subparagraph (A)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) shall be updated as
necessary to make such guidance consistent with
any updates to the guidance issued under
paragraph (3); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) may be updated by the head
of the agency, in consultation with the
Director, as the head of the agency determines
appropriate.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Exception to time limitation for
implementation.--The requirement described under subsection (f)
shall not apply to this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Comment.--The term `comment' means a
submission under section 553(c) of title 5, United
States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Computer-generated comment.--The
term `computer-generated comment' means a comment the
substance of which is primarily generated by computer
software, including through the use of artificial
intelligence, rather than by a human being.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Mass comment.--The term `mass
comment' means a comment submitted as part of an
organized submission of a large volume of identical, or
substantively identical, comments submitted by
different signatories or entities.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Update to Websites, Information Systems of Agencies.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency
subject to the requirements of section 206(e) of the E-
Government Act, as added by subsection (a), shall update any
website of the agency, and any information system of the
agency, as necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements
of such section.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Regulations.gov.--The Administrator of General
Services, acting through the eRulemaking Program Management
Office, shall update Regulations.gov as necessary to ensure
compliance with the requirements of section 206(e) of the E-
Government Act, as added by subsection (a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Erulemaking system.--The Administrator of
General Services shall update the shared eRulemaking system on
behalf of participating agencies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) GAO Report on Computer-generated Comments.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and
Accountability of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate a report on the identification of computer-generated
comments under section 206(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002
(Public Law 107-347; 44 U.S.C. 3501 note), that includes the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) Recommendations on how to identify if
a submission under that section is a computer-generated
comment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Any effect that computer-generated
comments have on the rulemaking process.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) The extent to which the public uses
computer-generated comments to participate in the
rulemaking process at the time the report is
submitted.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) How prevalent computer-generated
comments are at the time the report is
submitted.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) How prevalent the Comptroller General
anticipates computer-generated comments will be 5 years
after the date on which the report is
submitted.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act, or the
amendments made by this Act, may be construed as affecting the
consideration of a mass comment by the head of an agency during the
rulemaking process.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Comment.--The term ``comment'' means a
submission under section 553(c) of title 5, United States
Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Computer-generated comments.--The term
``computer-generated comment'' means a comment the substance of
which is primarily generated by computer software, including
through the use of artificial intelligence, rather than by a
human being.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Mass comment.--The term ``mass comment'' means
a comment submitted as part of an organized submission of a
large volume of identical, or substantively identical, comments
submitted by different signatories or entities.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Comment Integrity and Management Act
of 2024''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE INTEGRITY AND MANAGEMENT OF MASS COMMENTS,
COMPUTER-GENERATED COMMENTS, AND FALSELY ATTRIBUTED
COMMENTS IN THE REGULATORY REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of General Services.
(2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code.
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
Representatives.
(4) Comment.--The term ``comment'' means a submission under
section 553(c) of title 5, United States Code.
(5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
(6) Mass comment.--The term ``mass comment'' means a
comment submitted as part of an organized submission of a large
volume of identical, or substantively identical, comments
submitted by different signatories or entities.
(b) Annual Report.--Not later than 240 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually during the 5-year period
thereafter, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator, shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees and post a
report on the website of the Office of Management and Budget on--
(1) the prevalence of mass comments, computer-generated
comments, and falsely attributed comments in the rulemaking
process;
(2) the effect of mass comments, computer-generated
comments, and falsely attributed comments on the rulemaking
process;
(3) leading practices, including policies and technologies,
that agencies are using to identify and respond to mass
comments, computer-generated comments, and falsely attributed
comments in the rulemaking process; and
(4) agency efforts to respond to mass comments, computer-
generated comments, and falsely attributed comments.
(c) GAO Report on Computer-generated Comments.--Not later than 2
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
of the United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on computer-generated comments that includes--
(1) recommendations on how to identify a computer-generated
comment;
(2) any effects that computer-generated comments have on
the rulemaking process;
(3) the extent to which the public uses computer-generated
comments to participate in the rulemaking process at the time
the report is submitted;
(4) how prevalent computer-generated comments are at the
time the report is submitted; and
(5) how prevalent the Comptroller General of the United
States anticipates computer-generated comments will be 5 years
after the date on which the report is submitted.
SEC. 3. NO NEW FUNDS.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the
purpose of carrying out this Act.
Calendar No. 712
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7528
[Report No. 118-306]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend section 206 of the E-Government Act of 2002 to improve the
integrity and management of mass comments and computer-generated
comments in the regulatory review process, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Reported with an amendment