Public Law 118–267: To amend title 44, United States Code, to modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

public-law-118-267Public Law 118-267Statute

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PUBLIC LAW 118–267—JAN. 4, 2025
138 STAT. 2983
Public Law
118–267
118th Congress
An Act
To amend title 44, United States Code, to modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

Jan. 4, 2025

[H.R. 9592]

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

Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024.
SECTION 1.

41 USC 101 note.

SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the “
Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024
”.
SEC. 2.

FEDERAL REGISTER MODERNIZATION.

(a)

References to Printing.—

Chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
—
(1)
in section 1502—
(A)
in the heading, by
striking
“printing” and
inserting
“publishing”; and
(B)
by
striking
“printing and distribution” and
inserting
“publishing”;
(2)
in section 1507—
(A)
by
striking
“the duplicate originals or certified copies of the document have” and
inserting
“the document has”; and
(B)
in paragraph (2), by
striking
“printed” and
inserting
“published”; and
(3)
in section 1509, by
striking
“printing, reprinting, wrapping, binding, and distributing” each place it appears and
inserting
“publishing”.
(b)

Publish Defined.—

Section 1501 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
—
(1)
by
striking
“; and” at the end of the definition for “person” and
inserting
a semicolon; and
(2)
by
inserting
after the definition for “person” the following:

  “ ‘publish’ means to circulate for sale or distribution to the public, as determined by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register; and”

.
(c)

Filing Documents With Office Amendment.—

Section 1503 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
to read as follows:
“§ 1503.

Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public inspection; transmission for publishing

  “The

Regulations.

original document required or authorized to be published by section 1505 shall be filed with the Office of the Federal Register for publication at times established by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register by regulation. The Archivist of the 138 STAT. 2984 United States shall cause to be noted on the original of each document the day and hour of filing. Upon filing, the document shall be immediately available for public inspection. The original shall be retained by the National Archives and Records Administration and shall be available for inspection under regulations prescribed by the Archivist, unless such original is disposed of in accordance with disposal schedules submitted by the Administrative Committee and authorized by the Archivist pursuant to regulations issued under chapter 33; however, originals of proclamations of the President and Executive orders shall be permanently retained by the Administration as part of the National Archives of the United States. The Office shall transmit to the Government Publishing Office, as provided by this chapter, each document required or authorized to be published by section 1505. Every Federal agency shall cause to be transmitted for filing the original of all such documents issued, prescribed, or promulgated by the agency.”
.
(d)

Federal Register Amendment.—

Section 1504 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
to read as follows:
“§ 1504.

‘Federal Register’; publishing; contents; distribution; price; physical copies

  “Documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 shall be published immediately by the Government Publishing Office in a serial publication designated the ‘Federal Register’. The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall make available the facilities of the Government Publishing Office for the prompt publication of the Federal Register in the manner and at the times required by this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it. The contents of the daily issues shall constitute all documents, required or authorized to be published, filed with the Office of the Federal Register up to the time of the day immediately preceding the day of publication fixed by regulations under this chapter. There shall be published with each document a copy of the notation, required to be made by section 1503, of the day and hour when, upon filing with the Office, the document was made available for public inspection. Distribution shall be made at a time in the morning of the day of distribution fixed by regulations prescribed under this chapter. The prices to be charged for the Federal Register may be fixed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register established by section 1506 without reference to the restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government publications by sections 1705 and 1708. The Government Publishing Office shall print at least two physical copies of each published Federal Register issue. Of those, not less than two copies shall be stored, each in a separate facility, to ensure the preservation of the Federal Register for the purposes of continuity of government.”
.
(e)

Documents To Be Published in Federal Register.—

Section 1505 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in the heading, by
striking
“Comments” and
inserting
“News Commentary”; and
(B)
by
striking
“comments” and
inserting
“news commentary”;
(2)
by
redesignating
subsection (c) as subsection (d);
(3)
by
inserting
after subsection (b) the following new subsection:138 STAT. 2985
“(c)

Alternative Publication.—

In a continuity of operations event in which the Government Publishing Office does not fulfill the publication requirements of this chapter, the Office of the Federal Register may establish an alternative method to publish the Federal Register until such time that the Government Publishing Office resumes publication.”
; and
(4)
in subsection (d), as so redesignated, in the matter following paragraph (2)—
(A)
by
inserting
“telecommunications, the Internet,” after “the press, the radio,”; and
(B)
by
striking
“and two duplicate originals or two certified copies” and
inserting
“document”.
(f)

Administrative Committee of the Federal Register Amendment.—

Subsection (a) of section 1506 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
to read as follows:
“(a)

Composition; Duties.—

The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register shall consist of the Archivist of the United States or Acting Archivist, who shall chair the committee, an officer of the Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General, and the Director of the Government Publishing Office or Acting Director of the Government Publishing Office. The Director of the Federal Register shall act as secretary of the committee. The committee shall prescribe, with the approval of the President or their designee, regulations for carrying out this chapter. The regulations shall provide for, among other things, the following:
“(1)
The documents which shall be authorized under section 1505(b) to be published in the Federal Register.
“(2)
The manner and form in which the Federal Register shall be published.
“(3)
The manner and form in which agencies submit documents for publication in the Federal Register and special editions of the Federal Register.
“(4)
Subject to subsection (b), the manner of distribution to Members of Congress, officers and employees of the United States, or Federal agency, for official use, and the number which shall be available for distribution to the public.
“(5)
The prices to be charged for individual copies of, and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and any reprints and bound volumes of it.
“(6)
The manner and form by which the Federal Register may receive information and comments from the public, if practicable and efficient.
“(7)
Special editions of the Federal Register.”
.
(g)

Code of Federal Regulations Amendment.—

Section 1510 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended
to read as follows:
“§ 1510.

Code of Federal Regulations

“(a)

Special Edition for Codification of Agency Documents.—

The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, with the approval of the President or their designee, may require, from time to time as it considers necessary, the preparation and publication in a special edition of the Federal Register a complete codification of the documents of each agency of the Government having general applicability and legal effect, issued or promulgated by the agency by publication in the Federal Register or by filing with the Administrative Committee, and which are relied upon by the agency as authority for, or are invoked or used by it in 138 STAT. 2986 the discharge of, its activities or functions, and are in effect as to facts arising on or after dates specified by the Administrative Committee.
“(b)

Code of Federal Regulations.—

A codification prepared under subsection (a) of this section shall be published and shall be designated as the ‘Code of Federal Regulations’. The Administrative Committee shall regulate the manner and forms of publishing this codification.
“(c)

Supplementation, Collation, and Republication.—

The Administrative Committee shall regulate the supplementation and the collation and republication of the codification with a view to keeping the Code of Federal Regulations as current as practicable. Each unit

Time period.

of codification shall be supplemented and republished at least once each calendar year.

Updates.

Public information.

The Office of the Federal Register may create updates of each unit of codification from time to time and make the same available electronically or may provide public access using an electronic edition that allows a user to select a specific date and retrieve the version of the codification in effect as of that date.
“(d)

Preparation and Publication by the Federal Register.—

The Office of the Federal Register shall prepare and publish the codifications, supplements, collations, indices, and user aids authorized by this section.
“(e)

Prima Facie Evidence.—

The codified documents of the several agencies published in the Code of Federal Regulations under this section, as amended by documents subsequently filed with the Office and published in the daily issues of the Federal Register, shall be prima facie evidence of the text of the documents and of the fact that they are in effect on and after the date of publication.
“(f)

Regulations.—

The Administrative Committee, with approval of the President or their designee, shall issue regulations for carrying out this section.
“(g)

Exception.—

This section does not require codification of the text of Presidential documents published and periodically compiled in supplements to title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.”
.
(h)

Technical and Conforming Amendments.—

The table of sections for chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code,

44 USC

prec. 1501.

is amended
138 STAT. 2987 by
striking
the items related to sections 1502, 1503, and 1504 and
inserting
the following:
“1502.
Custody and publishing of Federal documents; appointment of Director.
“1503.
Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public inspection; transmission for publishing.
“1504.
‘Federal Register’; publishing; contents; distribution; price; physical copies.”.
Approved January 4, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 9592:

SENATE REPORTS: ┐No. 118–308 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 170 (2024):

Nov. 12, considered and passed House.

Dec. 19, considered and passed Senate.

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