[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8692 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8692

  To require that the Amtrak Board of Directors comply with the open 
 meetings requirements of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2024

  Mr. Nehls introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require that the Amtrak Board of Directors comply with the open 
 meetings requirements of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``The Amtrak Transparency and 
Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act''.

SEC. 2. OPEN MEETINGS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Amtrak Board of Directors shall adhere to the requirements of section 
552b of title 5, United States Code, as applicable.
    (b) Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, 
        United States Code, a majority of the members of the Board may 
        hold a meeting to discuss official business that is not open to 
        public observation if--
                    (A) no formal or informal vote or other official 
                action is taken at the meeting; and
                    (B) each individual present at the meeting is a 
                member or an employee of the Board.
            (2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
        Except as provided under paragraph (3), not later than 2 
        business days after the conclusion of a meeting described in 
        paragraph (1), the Board shall make available to the public, in 
        a place easily accessible to the public--
                    (A) a list of the individuals present at the 
                meeting; and
                    (B) a summary of the matters, including key issues, 
                discussed at the meeting, except for any matter the 
                Board properly determines may be withheld from the 
                public under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States 
                Code.
            (3) Ongoing proceedings.--If a meeting described in 
        paragraph (1) directly relates to an ongoing proceeding before 
        the Board, the Board shall make the disclosure required under 
        paragraph (2) on the date on which the Board issues a final 
        decision with respect to such ongoing proceeding.
    (c) Summary of Withheld Matters.--If the Board properly determines 
a matter may be withheld from the public under section 552b(c) of title 
5, United States Code, the Board shall provide to the public a summary 
of any such matter with as much general information as possible on such 
matter.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL BRIEFING.

    (a) Briefing Required.--During the 30-day period ending on the day 
before the first date of each fiscal year, the Chair of the Board of 
Directors of Amtrak shall provide a briefing to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on 
the activities of the Board in the fiscal year in which the briefing 
occurs.
    (b) Content of Briefing.--The briefing required under subsection 
(a) shall include--
            (1) a description of all matters before the Board that 
        required a vote of the Board; and
            (2) a description of matters pending before the Board in 
        which the Board is required to vote.
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