OPEN Government Act of 2005
Latest action · Sep 27, 2006 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 16, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Openess Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2005 or OPEN Government Act of 2005 - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to prohibit a Federal agency from denying the present fee status for a news media representative solely on the absence of institutional associations of the requester and requires consideration of the requester's prior publication history. Requires an agency, if a requester has no prior publication history or current affiliation, to consider the requester's stated intent at the time the request is made to distribute information to a reasonably broad audience.
Provides that, for purposes of recovery of attorney fees and other litigation costs, a complainant has substantially prevailed if : (1) the complainant has obtained a substantial part of its requested relief through a judicial or administrative order or an enforceable written agreement; or (2) the complainant's pursuit of a nonfrivolous claim or defense has been a catalyst for a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the opposing party that provides a substantial part of the requested relief.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) notify the Special Counsel of civil actions taken for arbitrary and capricious rejections of requests for agency records; and (2) annually submit reports on the number of such actions taken.
Provides for the commencement of the 20-day time limit within which agencies shall determine whether to comply with a request for agency records on the day in which the request is first received.
Requires agencies to establish: (1) a system to assign tracking numbers for requests for information; and (2) telephone or Internet service that provides the status of requests.
Prohibits applying FOIA section 552 provisions to matters that are specifically exempted from disclosure by a statute (other than open meetings under the Government in the Sunshine Act) that specifically cites this Act.
Establishes the Office of Government Information Services within the U.S. Administrative Conference to review section 552 policies and procedures by administrative agencies.
Requires the: (1) Comptroller General to annually report on implementation of provisions for the protection of voluntarily shared critical infrastructure information; and (2) Office of Personnel Management to report on personnel policies related to FOIA.
Cosponsors 31
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 17, 2005 to May 3, 2006.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Mar 17, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Brad Sherman | Apr 5, 2005 | |
| R-TX | Michael T. McCaul | Apr 5, 2005 | |
| D-VA | Rick Boucher | Apr 5, 2005 | |
| R-TX | Ron Paul | Apr 5, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Apr 6, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Apr 12, 2005 | |
| D-CO | Mark Udall | Apr 12, 2005 | |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | Apr 13, 2005 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | May 10, 2005 | |
| D-NY | Major R. Owens | May 10, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | May 23, 2005 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | May 23, 2005 | |
| R-IN | Mark E. Souder | Jun 24, 2005 | |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Jun 27, 2005 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Jul 11, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Jul 18, 2005 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Jul 18, 2005 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Jul 18, 2005 | |
| D-MI | Carolyn C. Kilpatrick | Jul 20, 2005 | |
| D-PA | John P. Murtha | Jul 28, 2005 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Sep 7, 2005 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Sep 7, 2005 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Sep 7, 2005 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Sep 13, 2005 | |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Sep 28, 2005 | |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Oct 6, 2005 | |
| D-WV | Nick J. Rahall II | Feb 1, 2006 | |
| D-CA | Diane E. Watson | Mar 28, 2006 | |
| D-SD | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin | Apr 5, 2006 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | May 3, 2006 |
Withdrew 1 James P. Moran D-VA Apr 5, 2005
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Feb 16, 2005 |
| Government Operations Subcommittee | Referred Mar 7, 2005Markup Sep 27, 2006Reported Sep 27, 2006 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 27, 2006Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Sep 27, 2006Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
- Mar 7, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance, and Accountability.
- Feb 16, 2005Introduced in House
- Feb 16, 2005Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 109-257 | IMPLEMENTING FOIA199 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Jul 26, 2006 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 394 | OPEN Government Act of 2005 | Identical bill | Sep 21, 2006 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To promote openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2005
- OPEN Government Act of 2005
- Popular Titles
- FOIA (Freedom of Information) bill
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative Conference of the U.S.
- Administrative procedure
- Administrative remedies
- Business records
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Data banks
- Disciplining of employees
- Economics and Public Finance
- Electronic government information
- Employee training
- Evidence (Law)
- Executive reorganization
- Federal employees
- Federal officials
- Freedom of information
- Government contractors
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Government statistics
- Governmental investigations
- Identification devices
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure (Economics)
- Internet
- Judicial review
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Legal fees
- Legislation
- Mass media
- Mediation
- Performance measurement
- Personnel management
- Position classification
- Promotions
- Public records
- Salaries
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Telephone
- Terrorism
- User charges
- Web sites
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 16, 2005Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.