Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Secret Science Reform Act of 2015”.
Secret Science Reform Act of 2015
A BILL
To prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating regulations or assessments based upon science that is not transparent or reproducible.
Sec. 2 Data transparency
Section 6(b) of the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4363 note) is amended to read as follows:
“(b)
“(1) The Administrator shall not propose, finalize, or disseminate a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such covered action is—
“(A) the best available science;
“(B) specifically identified; and
“(C) publicly available online in a manner that is sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results.
“(2) Nothing in the subsection shall be construed as—
“(A) requiring the Administrator to disseminate scientific and technical information; or
“(B) superseding any nondiscretionary statutory requirement.
“(3) In this subsection—
“(A) the term covered action means a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance; and
“(B) the term scientific and technical information includes—
“(i) materials, data, and associated protocols necessary to understand, assess, and extend conclusions;
“(ii) computer codes and models involved in the creation and analysis of such information;
“(iii) recorded factual materials; and
“(iv) detailed descriptions of how to access and use such information.
“(4) The Administrator shall carry out this subsection in a manner that does not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year, to be derived from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated.”
Sec. 3 Preventing censorship of publicly funded science
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act limits the ability of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, any Federal official or employee, or any Federal agency to use in official documents or presentations terms common in peer-reviewed scientific literature describing scientific processes, including terms relevant to—
the impacts of climate change;
air and water pollution;
exposure to toxic substances; and
other risks to human health, the environment, and the economy.