Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB300 Compare Versions

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Old	New		Differences
1		-	II
2		-	Calendar No. 7
3	1		118THCONGRESS
4	2		1
5	3		STSESSION H. R. 300
6		-	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
7		-	JANUARY25, 2023
8		-	Received; read the first time
9		-	J
10		-	ANUARY26, 2023
11		-	Read the second time and placed on the calendar
12	4		AN ACT
13	5		To amend chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, to require
14	6		the publication of settlement agreements, and for other
15	7		purposes.
16	8		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17		-	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
19		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Settlement Agreement 4
20		-	Information Database Act of 2023’’. 5
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24		-	SEC. 2. INFORMATION REGARDING SETTLEMENT AGREE-1
25		-	MENTS ENTERED INTO BY FEDERAL AGEN-2
26		-	CIES. 3
	9	+	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
	10	+	•HR 300 EH
	11	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
	12	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Settlement Agreement 2
	13	+	Information Database Act of 2023’’. 3
	14	+	SEC. 2. INFORMATION REGARDING SETTLEMENT AGREE-4
	15	+	MENTS ENTERED INTO BY FEDERAL AGEN-5
	16	+	CIES. 6
27	17		(a) R
28		-	EQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLEMENT AGREE-4
29		-	MENTS.—Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is 5
30		-	amended by adding at the end the following new section: 6
31		-	‘‘§ 307. Information regarding settlement agreements 7
	18	+	EQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLEMENT AGREE-7
	19	+	MENTS.—Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is 8
	20	+	amended by adding at the end the following new section: 9
	21	+	‘‘§ 307. Information regarding settlement agreements 10
32	22		‘‘(a) D
33		-	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 8
	23	+	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 11
34	24		‘‘(1) L
35		-	OCAL GOVERNMENT .—The term ‘local 9
36		-	government’ has the meaning given that term in sec-10
37		-	tion 6501 of title 31. 11
	25	+	OCAL GOVERNMENT .—The term ‘local 12
	26	+	government’ has the meaning given that term in sec-13
	27	+	tion 6501 of title 31. 14
38	28		‘‘(2) O
39		-	RDER TYPE.—The term ‘order type’ 12
40		-	means the type of action or instrument used to set-13
41		-	tle a civil or criminal judicial action. 14
	29	+	RDER TYPE.—The term ‘order type’ 15
	30	+	means the type of action or instrument used to set-16
	31	+	tle a civil or criminal judicial action. 17
42	32		‘‘(3) S
43		-	ETTLEMENT AGREEMENT .—The term 15
44		-	‘settlement agreement’ means a settlement agree-16
45		-	ment (including a consent decree) that— 17
46		-	‘‘(A) is entered into by an Executive agen-18
47		-	cy; and 19
48		-	‘‘(B) relates to an alleged violation of Fed-20
49		-	eral civil or criminal law. 21
	33	+	ETTLEMENT AGREEMENT .—The term 18
	34	+	‘settlement agreement’ means a settlement agree-19
	35	+	ment (including a consent decree) that— 20
	36	+	‘‘(A) is entered into by an Executive agen-21
	37	+	cy; and 22
	38	+	‘‘(B) relates to an alleged violation of Fed-23
	39	+	eral civil or criminal law. 24
50	40		‘‘(4) S
51		-	TATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 22
52		-	the several States, the District of Columbia, each 23
53		-	territory or possession of the United States, and 24
54		-	each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 25
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58		-	‘‘(b) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT INFORMATION 1
	41	+	TATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 25
	42	+	the several States, the District of Columbia, each 26 3
	43	+	•HR 300 EH
	44	+	territory or possession of the United States, and 1
	45	+	each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 2
	46	+	‘‘(b) S
	47	+	ETTLEMENT AGREEMENT INFORMATION 3
59	48		D
60		-	ATABASE.— 2
	49	+	ATABASE.— 4
61	50		‘‘(1) E
62		-	XECUTIVE AGENCY REQUIREMENT .— 3
	51	+	XECUTIVE AGENCY REQUIREMENT .— 5
63	52		‘‘(A) I
64		-	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-4
65		-	graph (B), the head of each Executive agency 5
66		-	shall, in accordance with guidance issued pursu-6
67		-	ant to paragraph (2), submit the following in-7
68		-	formation to the database established under 8
69		-	paragraph (3): 9
70		-	‘‘(i) A list of each settlement agree-10
71		-	ment, in a categorized and searchable for-11
72		-	mat, entered into by the Executive agency, 12
73		-	as a party to a lawsuit, which shall in-13
74		-	clude, for each settlement agreement— 14
75		-	‘‘(I) the order type of the settle-15
76		-	ment agreement; 16
77		-	‘‘(II) the date on which the par-17
78		-	ties entered into the settlement agree-18
79		-	ment; 19
80		-	‘‘(III) a list of specific violations 20
81		-	that specify the basis for the action 21
82		-	taken, with a description of the claims 22
83		-	each party settled under the settle-23
84		-	ment agreement; 24
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88		-	‘‘(IV) the amount of attorneys’ 1
89		-	fees and other litigation costs award-2
90		-	ed, if any, including a description of 3
91		-	the statutory basis for such an award; 4
92		-	‘‘(V) the amount each party set-5
93		-	tling a claim under the settlement 6
94		-	agreement is obligated to pay under 7
95		-	the settlement agreement; 8
96		-	‘‘(VI) the total amount the set-9
97		-	tling parties are obligated to pay 10
98		-	under the settlement agreement; 11
99		-	‘‘(VII) the amount, if any, the 12
100		-	settling party is obligated to pay that 13
101		-	is expressly specified under the settle-14
102		-	ment agreement as a civil or criminal 15
103		-	penalty or fine; 16
104		-	‘‘(VIII) any payment made under 17
105		-	the settlement agreement, including a 18
106		-	description of any payment made to 19
107		-	the Federal Government; 20
108		-	‘‘(IX) the projected duration of 21
109		-	the settlement agreement, if available; 22
110		-	‘‘(X) a list of State or local gov-23
111		-	ernments that may be directly af-24
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115		-	fected by the terms of the settlement 1
116		-	agreement; 2
117		-	‘‘(XI) a brief description of any 3
118		-	economic data and methodology used 4
119		-	to justify the terms of the settlement 5
120		-	agreement; 6
121		-	‘‘(XII) any modifications to the 7
122		-	settlement agreement, when applica-8
123		-	ble; 9
124		-	‘‘(XIII) notice and comments, 10
125		-	when applicable; and 11
126		-	‘‘(XIV) whether the settlement 12
127		-	agreement is still under judicial en-13
128		-	forcement and any period of time by 14
129		-	which the parties agreed to have cer-15
130		-	tain conditions met. 16
131		-	‘‘(ii) A copy of each— 17
132		-	‘‘(I) settlement agreement en-18
133		-	tered into by the Executive agency; 19
134		-	and 20
135		-	‘‘(II) statement issued under 21
136		-	paragraph (4). 22
137		-	‘‘(B) N
138		-	ONDISCLOSURE.—The requirement 23
139		-	to submit information or a copy of a settlement 24
140		-	agreement under subparagraph (A) shall not 25
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144		-	apply to the extent the information or copy (or 1
145		-	portion thereof)— 2
146		-	‘‘(i) is subject to a confidentiality pro-3
147		-	vision that prohibits disclosure of the infor-4
148		-	mation or copy (or portion thereof); and 5
149		-	‘‘(ii) would not be disclosed under sec-6
150		-	tion 552, if the Executive agency provides 7
151		-	a citation to the applicable exemption. 8
	53	+	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-6
	54	+	graph (B), the head of each Executive agency 7
	55	+	shall, in accordance with guidance issued pursu-8
	56	+	ant to paragraph (2), submit the following in-9
	57	+	formation to the database established under 10
	58	+	paragraph (3): 11
	59	+	‘‘(i) A list of each settlement agree-12
	60	+	ment, in a categorized and searchable for-13
	61	+	mat, entered into by the Executive agency, 14
	62	+	as a party to a lawsuit, which shall in-15
	63	+	clude, for each settlement agreement— 16
	64	+	‘‘(I) the order type of the settle-17
	65	+	ment agreement; 18
	66	+	‘‘(II) the date on which the par-19
	67	+	ties entered into the settlement agree-20
	68	+	ment; 21
	69	+	‘‘(III) a list of specific violations 22
	70	+	that specify the basis for the action 23
	71	+	taken, with a description of the claims 24 4
	72	+	•HR 300 EH
	73	+	each party settled under the settle-1
	74	+	ment agreement; 2
	75	+	‘‘(IV) the amount of attorneys’ 3
	76	+	fees and other litigation costs award-4
	77	+	ed, if any, including a description of 5
	78	+	the statutory basis for such an award; 6
	79	+	‘‘(V) the amount each party set-7
	80	+	tling a claim under the settlement 8
	81	+	agreement is obligated to pay under 9
	82	+	the settlement agreement; 10
	83	+	‘‘(VI) the total amount the set-11
	84	+	tling parties are obligated to pay 12
	85	+	under the settlement agreement; 13
	86	+	‘‘(VII) the amount, if any, the 14
	87	+	settling party is obligated to pay that 15
	88	+	is expressly specified under the settle-16
	89	+	ment agreement as a civil or criminal 17
	90	+	penalty or fine; 18
	91	+	‘‘(VIII) any payment made under 19
	92	+	the settlement agreement, including a 20
	93	+	description of any payment made to 21
	94	+	the Federal Government; 22
	95	+	‘‘(IX) the projected duration of 23
	96	+	the settlement agreement, if available; 24 5
	97	+	•HR 300 EH
	98	+	‘‘(X) a list of State or local gov-1
	99	+	ernments that may be directly af-2
	100	+	fected by the terms of the settlement 3
	101	+	agreement; 4
	102	+	‘‘(XI) a brief description of any 5
	103	+	economic data and methodology used 6
	104	+	to justify the terms of the settlement 7
	105	+	agreement; 8
	106	+	‘‘(XII) any modifications to the 9
	107	+	settlement agreement, when applica-10
	108	+	ble; 11
	109	+	‘‘(XIII) notice and comments, 12
	110	+	when applicable; and 13
	111	+	‘‘(XIV) whether the settlement 14
	112	+	agreement is still under judicial en-15
	113	+	forcement and any period of time by 16
	114	+	which the parties agreed to have cer-17
	115	+	tain conditions met. 18
	116	+	‘‘(ii) A copy of each— 19
	117	+	‘‘(I) settlement agreement en-20
	118	+	tered into by the Executive agency; 21
	119	+	and 22
	120	+	‘‘(II) statement issued under 23
	121	+	paragraph (4). 24 6
	122	+	•HR 300 EH
	123	+	‘‘(B) NONDISCLOSURE.—The requirement 1
	124	+	to submit information or a copy of a settlement 2
	125	+	agreement under subparagraph (A) shall not 3
	126	+	apply to the extent the information or copy (or 4
	127	+	portion thereof)— 5
	128	+	‘‘(i) is subject to a confidentiality pro-6
	129	+	vision that prohibits disclosure of the infor-7
	130	+	mation or copy (or portion thereof); and 8
	131	+	‘‘(ii) would not be disclosed under sec-9
	132	+	tion 552, if the Executive agency provides 10
	133	+	a citation to the applicable exemption. 11
152	134		‘‘(C) C
153		-	LARIFICATION OF RESPONSIBLE 9
154		-	AGENCY.—In a case in which an Executive 10
155		-	agency is acting at the request or on behalf of 11
156		-	another Executive agency (referred to as the 12
157		-	originating agency), the originating agency is 13
158		-	responsible for submitting information under 14
159		-	subparagraph (A). 15
	135	+	LARIFICATION OF RESPONSIBLE 12
	136	+	AGENCY.—In a case in which an Executive 13
	137	+	agency is acting at the request or on behalf of 14
	138	+	another Executive agency (referred to as the 15
	139	+	originating agency), the originating agency is 16
	140	+	responsible for submitting information under 17
	141	+	subparagraph (A). 18
160	142		‘‘(2) G
161		-	UIDANCE.—The Director of the Office of 16
162		-	Management and Budget shall issue guidance for 17
163		-	Executive agencies to implement paragraph (1). 18
164		-	Such guidance shall include the following: 19
165		-	‘‘(A) Specific dates by which submissions 20
166		-	must be made, not less than twice a year. 21
167		-	‘‘(B) Data standards, including common 22
168		-	data elements and a common, nonproprietary, 23
169		-	searchable, machine-readable, platform inde-24
170		-	pendent format. 25
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174		-	‘‘(C) A requirement that the information 1
175		-	and documents required under paragraph (1) 2
176		-	are publicly available for a period starting on 3
177		-	the date of the settlement through not less than 4
178		-	5 years after the termination of the settlement 5
179		-	agreement. 6
	143	+	UIDANCE.—The Director of the Office of 19
	144	+	Management and Budget shall issue guidance for 20
	145	+	Executive agencies to implement paragraph (1). 21
	146	+	Such guidance shall include the following: 22
	147	+	‘‘(A) Specific dates by which submissions 23
	148	+	must be made, not less than twice a year. 24 7
	149	+	•HR 300 EH
	150	+	‘‘(B) Data standards, including common 1
	151	+	data elements and a common, nonproprietary, 2
	152	+	searchable, machine-readable, platform inde-3
	153	+	pendent format. 4
	154	+	‘‘(C) A requirement that the information 5
	155	+	and documents required under paragraph (1) 6
	156	+	are publicly available for a period starting on 7
	157	+	the date of the settlement through not less than 8
	158	+	5 years after the termination of the settlement 9
	159	+	agreement. 10
180	160		‘‘(3) E
181		-	STABLISHMENT OF DATABASE .—The Di-7
182		-	rector of the Office of Management and Budget, or 8
183		-	the head of an Executive agency designated by the 9
184		-	Director, shall establish and maintain a public, 10
185		-	searchable, downloadable database for Executive 11
186		-	agencies to directly upload and submit the informa-12
187		-	tion and documents required under paragraph (1) 13
188		-	for immediate publication online. 14
	161	+	STABLISHMENT OF DATABASE .—The Di-11
	162	+	rector of the Office of Management and Budget, or 12
	163	+	the head of an Executive agency designated by the 13
	164	+	Director, shall establish and maintain a public, 14
	165	+	searchable, downloadable database for Executive 15
	166	+	agencies to directly upload and submit the informa-16
	167	+	tion and documents required under paragraph (1) 17
	168	+	for immediate publication online. 18
189	169		‘‘(4) S
190		-	TATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY .—If 15
191		-	the head of an Executive agency determines that a 16
192		-	confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement, 17
193		-	or the sealing of a settlement agreement, is required 18
194		-	to protect the public interest of the United States, 19
195		-	the head of the Executive agency may except the 20
196		-	settlement agreement from the requirement in para-21
197		-	graph (1) and shall issue a written public statement 22
198		-	stating why such action is required to protect the 23
199		-	public interest of the United States, which shall ex-24
200		-	plain— 25
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204		-	‘‘(A) what interests confidentiality pro-1
205		-	tects; and 2
206		-	‘‘(B) why the interests protected by con-3
207		-	fidentiality outweigh the public’s interest in 4
208		-	knowing about the conduct of the Federal Gov-5
209		-	ernment and the expenditure of Federal re-6
210		-	sources.’’. 7
	170	+	TATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY .—If 19
	171	+	the head of an Executive agency determines that a 20
	172	+	confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement, 21
	173	+	or the sealing of a settlement agreement, is required 22
	174	+	to protect the public interest of the United States, 23
	175	+	the head of the Executive agency may except the 24
	176	+	settlement agreement from the requirement in para-25 8
	177	+	•HR 300 EH
	178	+	graph (1) and shall issue a written public statement 1
	179	+	stating why such action is required to protect the 2
	180	+	public interest of the United States, which shall ex-3
	181	+	plain— 4
	182	+	‘‘(A) what interests confidentiality pro-5
	183	+	tects; and 6
	184	+	‘‘(B) why the interests protected by con-7
	185	+	fidentiality outweigh the public’s interest in 8
	186	+	knowing about the conduct of the Federal Gov-9
	187	+	ernment and the expenditure of Federal re-10
	188	+	sources.’’. 11
211	189		(b) T
212		-	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMINGAMENDMENT.— 8
213		-	The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 5, United States 9
214		-	Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 10
215		-	item: 11
	190	+	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMINGAMENDMENT.— 12
	191	+	The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 5, United States 13
	192	+	Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 14
	193	+	item: 15
216	194		‘‘307. Information regarding settlement agreements.’’.
217		-	(c) DEADLINETOESTABLISHDATABASE.—Not later 12
218		-	than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 13
219		-	the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 14
220		-	shall issue guidance required by section 307(b)(2) of title 15
221		-	5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and 16
222		-	establish the settlement agreement information database 17
223		-	required by section 307(b)(3) of title 5, United States 18
224		-	Code, as added by subsection (a). 19
	195	+	(c) DEADLINETOESTABLISHDATABASE.—Not later 16
	196	+	than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 17
	197	+	the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 18
	198	+	shall issue guidance required by section 307(b)(2) of title 19
	199	+	5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and 20
	200	+	establish the settlement agreement information database 21
	201	+	required by section 307(b)(3) of title 5, United States 22
	202	+	Code, as added by subsection (a). 23
225	203		(d) D
226		-	EADLINE FORFIRSTSUBMISSION.—Not later 20
227		-	than 90 days after the Director issues guidance under sec-21
228		-	tion 307(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added 22
229		-	by subsection (a), the head of each Executive agency (as 23
230		-	defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) shall 24
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234		-	begin submitting information to the database established 1
235		-	under such section 307. 2
236		-	SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 3
237		-	ACT. 4
238		-	Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 5
239		-	amended— 6
240		-	(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 7
241		-	through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re-8
242		-	spectively; and 9
243		-	(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-10
244		-	lowing new subparagraph: 11
245		-	‘‘(B) each settlement agreement (as defined in 12
246		-	section 307) entered into by an Executive agency, 13
247		-	with redactions for information that the agency may 14
248		-	withhold under paragraph (8) and subsections (b) 15
249		-	and (c) of this section;’’. 16
250		-	SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 17
251		-	Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 18
252		-	Act, shall be construed to require the disclosure of infor-19
253		-	mation or records that any agency may properly withhold 20
254		-	from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 21
255		-	States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Infor-22
256		-	mation Act’’). 23
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260		-	SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 1
261		-	This Act shall be effective 180 days after the date 2
262		-	of the enactment of this Act and shall apply— 3
263		-	(1) with respect to any settlement agreement 4
264		-	(as such term is defined in section 307 of title 5, 5
265		-	United States Code, as added by section 2), entered 6
266		-	into on or after the date of the enactment of this 7
267		-	Act; and 8
268		-	(2) to the extent practicable, any such settle-9
269		-	ment agreement (as such term is defined in section 10
270		-	307 of title 5, United States Code, as added by sec-11
271		-	tion 2) that remains in effect on or after the date 12
272		-	of the enactment of this Act. 13
	204	+	EADLINE FORFIRSTSUBMISSION.—Not later 24
	205	+	than 90 days after the Director issues guidance under sec-25 9
	206	+	•HR 300 EH
	207	+	tion 307(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added 1
	208	+	by subsection (a), the head of each Executive agency (as 2
	209	+	defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) shall 3
	210	+	begin submitting information to the database established 4
	211	+	under such section 307. 5
	212	+	SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 6
	213	+	ACT. 7
	214	+	Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 8
	215	+	amended— 9
	216	+	(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 10
	217	+	through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re-11
	218	+	spectively; and 12
	219	+	(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-13
	220	+	lowing new subparagraph: 14
	221	+	‘‘(B) each settlement agreement (as defined in 15
	222	+	section 307) entered into by an Executive agency, 16
	223	+	with redactions for information that the agency may 17
	224	+	withhold under paragraph (8) and subsections (b) 18
	225	+	and (c) of this section;’’. 19
	226	+	SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 20
	227	+	Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 21
	228	+	Act, shall be construed to require the disclosure of infor-22
	229	+	mation or records that any agency may properly withhold 23
	230	+	from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 24 10
	231	+	•HR 300 EH
	232	+	States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Infor-1
	233	+	mation Act’’). 2
	234	+	SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 3
	235	+	This Act shall be effective 180 days after the date 4
	236	+	of the enactment of this Act and shall apply— 5
	237	+	(1) with respect to any settlement agreement 6
	238	+	(as such term is defined in section 307 of title 5, 7
	239	+	United States Code, as added by section 2), entered 8
	240	+	into on or after the date of the enactment of this 9
	241	+	Act; and 10
	242	+	(2) to the extent practicable, any such settle-11
	243	+	ment agreement (as such term is defined in section 12
	244	+	307 of title 5, United States Code, as added by sec-13
	245	+	tion 2) that remains in effect on or after the date 14
	246	+	of the enactment of this Act. 15
273	247		Passed the House of Representatives January 24,
274	248		2023.
275		-	Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
276		-	Clerk.
277		-	VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jan 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H300.PCS H300
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280		-	7
281		-	118
	249	+	Attest:
	250	+	Clerk. 118
282	251		TH
283	252		CONGRESS
284	253		1
285	254		ST
286	255		S
287	256		ESSION
288	257
289	258		H. R. 300
290	259		AN ACT
291	260		To amend chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code,
292	261		to require the publication of settlement agree-
293	262		ments, and for other purposes.
294		-	J
295		-	ANUARY
296		-	26, 2023
297		-	Read the second time and placed on the calendar
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299		-	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS