Transparency in Government Act 2008

TITLE IX - Enforcement

Summary:

The GAO shall conduct annual audits of congressional and executive branch transparency and shall report to Congress on whether congressional and executive branch information is complete, primary, timely, accessible, machine processable, non-discriminatory, not proprietary, and license-free.


Additional Information:

See also the Open Government Data Principles.

  1. Sec. 901. GAO Audits. (5 Comments)

    1. The GAO shall conduct annual audits of congressional and executive branch transparency, and shall report annually to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House and Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the Senate on the implementation of the provisions in this act. Specifically, the audits will address whether the congressional and executive branch information that is required to be provided to the public through the Internet is: complete, primary, timely, accessible, machine processable, non-discriminatory, non-proprietary, and license-free.

    2. Definitions. In this Act:

      1. The term complete means all public data is made available. Public data is data that is not subject to valid privacy, security or privilege limitations.

      2. The term primary means data collected at the source, with the highest possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or modified forms.

      3. The term timely means data is made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data.

      4. The term accessible means data is available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes.

      5. The term machine processable means data is reasonably structured to allow automated processing.

      6. The term non-discriminatory means data is available to anyone, with no requirement of registration.

      7. The term non-proprietary means data is available in a format over which no entity has exclusive control.

      8. The term license-free means data is not subject to any copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret regulation. Reasonable privacy, security, and privilege restrictions may be allowed.

    Rationale:

    See also the Open Government Data Principles for the source of these principles.

    Recent comments on Sec. 901

    (View all 5 comments | Add a comment)
    1. VC:

      It seems like this section requires Congress to enforce the rules in this bill on itself. The GAO seems like a good office to do the reporting, but what if the House and Senate committees let things slide? Should we try to make it one of the checks and balances that either the executive or judicial branch has over Congress ...

      April 15, 2008

    2. Dwight Hines, AlternativeMedia:

      We need specific penalities for withholding information that would show criminal acts, be the acts misdemeanors or felonies. We need specific investigative mechanisms that will be invoked upon proper complaints. If the complaints are found to be true, the costs of the investigations and prosecutions must be paid by the individuals or their agency. Dwight Hines AlternativeMedia 150 Nesmith Ave. ...

      April 6, 2008

    3. Chuck Fellows:

      (a.) Add a plain english requirement. Point 9. The format shall be key word searchable. Point 10. Plain English means expressed in ordinary language, eighth grade level, free of jargon and obscure legal language. In support of Mr. Tauberer's comment, two way communication is required if accountability for the audit is to be present. Although this can be burdensome it ...

      April 4, 2008

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