New Open Access Bill Focuses on Agency Information

"Congressional legislation on open access has usually focused on federally funded research. Legislation introduced yesterday by Representative Steve Israel (D-New York) focuses on executive branch agency public information. The Public Online Information Act (currently online only at the Sunlight Foundation’s website) would require executive branch agencies (including independent regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission) to establish rules for making publicly available government information available on the Internet. The bill would also establish an advisory committee to provide non-binding recommendations for all three branches about making public information available on the internet....The intended goal of this bill would be to make data currently available through government reading rooms and other physical repositories also available online...."