H.R. 7528 — what changed

added The purpose of this Act is to help Federal agencies manage mass and computer-generated comments in the Federal regulatory process. This should in no way be understood to discourage mass comments, which are a vital part of the regulatory process.

removed “(e) Information integrity

removed “(1) Verification of electronic submissions—With respect to each comment accepted by electronic means under subsection (c), under guidance established by OMB in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the head of an agency shall verify, to the greatest extent possible, at the time the comment is submitted, whether the comment has been submitted by a human being.

removed “(2) Identification and management of mass comments

removed “(A) Identification of mass comments—With respect to each comment accepted by electronic means under subsection (c) by the head of an agency, the head of the agency shall—

removed “(i) to the extent practicable, identify whether such comment is a mass comment; and

removed “(ii) in the case that the agency has made a reasonable determination that the comment is a mass comment, indicate on any publicly available copy of the comment, or comment variations, (through a label or indicator) in a machine and human readable format that the comment is part of a mass comment submission.

removed “(B) Handling of mass comments—Notwithstanding subsection (d)(2)(A), for comments determined to be mass comments pursuant to paragraph (2), the head of an agency, instead of making available through the electronic docket of the agency each mass comment accepted by electronic means under subsection (c), may—

removed “(i) make available through such docket only a single representative sample of each such mass comment; and

removed “(ii) in the case where mass comments take the form of variations on certain standardized but not identical language the agency may make available through such docket a single copy of one of the variations of the mass comment.

removed “(C) Number of submissions—In case in which the head of an agency makes available through such docket a single representative sample or a single copy of one of the variations of a mass comment, as authorized under subparagraph (B), the agency shall make available (through a label or indicator) in a machine and human readable format, the number of submissions that were determined to be identical or substantially identical to the single submission made available on such docket.

removed “(3) Policies concerning posting and consideration of computer-generated comments and mass comments

removed “(A) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the head of each agency, consistent with the guidance issued pursuant to paragraph (4) and with the requirements of paragraph (2), shall establish a policy with respect to the posting and consideration of computer-generated comments and mass-comments during the rulemaking process of the agency.

removed “(B) Availability of policy—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the head of an agency establishes a policy pursuant to subparagraph (A), the head of the agency shall, to the extent practicable, post the policy on the website through which an agency makes comments available pursuant to subsection (d)(2)(A).

removed “(C) Update to policy—The policy established pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be updated by the head of the agency, in consultation with the Director, as the head of the agency determines appropriate.

removed “(4) OMB guidance

removed “(A) Guidance—Not later than 240 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall issue guidance to the heads of each agency on the implementation of the requirements of this subsection.

removed “(B) Contents of Guidance—The guidance issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include recommendations for agencies on how to best manage comments accepted by electronic means, including recommendations on how to do the following:

removed “(i) Use technology tools and procedures that indicate, to the greatest extent possible, whether a comment is being submitted by a human being.

removed “(ii) Identify mass comments, including how to leverage software tools to identify whether a comment is a mass comment.

removed “(iii) Indicate (through a label or indicator), in a machine- and human-readable format, that a comment is a mass comment.

removed “(iv) Use new technology to offer new opportunities for public participation in the rulemaking process.

removed “(C) Updates—The Director, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, may update the guidance issued pursuant to subparagraph (A), as determined necessary by the Director.

removed “(5) Exception to time limitation for implementation—The requirement described under subsection (f) shall not apply to this subsection.

removed “(6) Definitions—In this subsection:

removed “(A) Comment—The term comment means a submission under section 553(c) of title 5, United States Code.

removed “(B) Computer-generated comment—The term computer-generated comment means a comment the substance of which is primarily generated by computer software, including through the use of artificial intelligence, rather than by a human being.

removed “(C) Mass comment—The term mass comment means a comment submitted as part of an organized submission of a large volume of identical, or substantively identical, comments submitted by different signatories or entities.”