S 2107, Commerce Committee Substitute.
Title: "Government Paperwork Elimination Act."
Adopted: July 29, 1998.
Source:  Senate Commerce Committee.  This document was produced by scanning a fax copy, and converting it to HTML.

[STAFF WORKING DRAFT]

July 28,1998

Purpose: To enhance electronic commerce by promoting the acceptance of electronic authentication for electronic communication, and for other purposes.

IN THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION---105th Cong., 2D Sess.

S. 2107, 105TH Congress, 2D Session

JULY 29, 1998

INTENDED to be proposed by Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. MCCAIN)

Viz: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act".

SEC. 2. STUDIES ON USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES TO ENHANCE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

The Secretary shall conduct an ongoing study of the enhancement of electronic commerce and the impact on individual privacy due to the use of electronic signatures pursuant to this Act, and shall report findings to the Commerce Committee of the House and to the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee of the Senate not [begin page 2] later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF FORMS.

(a)  NEW FORMS, QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS.---The head of an agency or operating unit shall provide for the availability to the affected public in electronic form for downloading or printing through the Internet or other suitable medium of any agency form, questionnaire, or survey created after the date of enactment of this Act that is to be submitted to the agency by more than 1,000 nongovernment persons or entities per year, except where the head of the agency or operating unit determines by a finding that providing for such availability would be impracticable or otherwise unreasonable.

(b)  ALL FORMS, QUESTIONNAIRES, AND SURVEYS.---As soon as practicable, but not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal agency shall make all of its forms, questionnaires, and surveys that are expected to be submitted to such agency by more than 1,000 non-government persons or entities per year available to the affected public for downloading or printing through the Internet or other suitable electronic medium.  This requirement shall not apply where the head of an agency or operating unit determines that providing such availability for particular form, questionnaire or survey [begin page 3] documents would be impracticable or otherwise unreasonable.

(c) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION.---The requirements of this section shall not apply to surveys that are both distributed and collected one-time only or that are provided directly to respondents by the agency.

(d) AVAILABILITY.---Forms subject to this section shall be available for electronic submission (with an electronic signature when necessary) under the provisions of section 8, and shall be available for electronic storage by employers as described in section 7.

SEC. 4. PAYMENTS.

In conjunction with the process required by section 8---

(1) where they deem such action appropriate and practicable, and subject to standards or guidance of the Department of the Treasury concerning Federal payments or collections, agencies shall seek to develop or otherwise provide means whereby persons submitting documents electronically are accorded the option of making any payments associated therewith by electronic means.

(2) payments associated with forms, applications, or similar documents submitted electronically, other than amounts relating to additional costs associated [begin page 4] with the electronic submission such as charges imposed by merchants in connection with credit card transactions, shall be no greater than the payments associated with the corresponding printed version of such documents.

SEC. 5. USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.

(a) AGENCY EMPLOYEES TO RECEIVE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES.---The head of each agency shall issue guidelines for determining how and which employees in each respective agency shall be permitted to use electronic signatures within the scope of their employment.

(b) AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRONIC NOTICE.---An agency may provide a person entitled to receive written notice of a particular matter with the opportunity to receive electronic notice instead.

(c) PROCEDURE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES.---The Director, in consultation with the Secretary, shall coordinate agency actions to comply with the provisions of this Act and shall develop guidelines concerning agency use and acceptance of electronic signatures, and such use and acceptance shall be supported by the issuance of such guidelines as may be necessary or appropriate by the Secretary.

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(1) The procedures shall be compatible with standards and technology for electronic signatures as may be generally used in commerce and industry and by State governments, based upon consultation with appropriate private sector and State government standard setting bodies.

(2) Such procedures shall not inappropriately favor one industry or technology.

(3) Under the procedures referred to in subsection (a), an electronic signature shall be as reliable as is appropriate for the purpose, and efforts shall be made to keep the information submitted intact.

(4) Successful submission of an electronic form shall be electronically acknowledged.

(5) In accordance with all other sections of the Act, to the extent feasible and appropriate, and described in a written finding, an agency, when it receives electronically 50,000 submittals of a particular form, shall take all steps necessary to ensure that multiple formats of electronic signatures are made available for submitting such forms.

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SEC. 6. ENFORCEABILITY AND LEGAL EFFECT OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS.

Electronic records submitted or maintained in accordance with agency procedures and guidelines established pursuant to the Act, or electronic signatures or other forms of electronic authentication used in accordance with such procedures and guidelines, shall not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability because they are in electronic form.

SEC. 7. EMPLOYER ELECTRONIC STORAGE OF FORMS.

If an employer is required by any Federal law or regulation to collect or store, or to file with a Federal agency forms containing information pertaining to employees, such employer may, after 18 months after enactment of this Act, store such forms electronically unless the relevant agency determines by regulation that storage of a particular form in an electronic format is inconsistent with the efficient secure or proper administration of an agency program. Such forms shall also be accepted in electronic form by agencies as provided by section 8.

SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION BY AGENCIES.

(a) IMPLEMENTATION.---Consistent with the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 2000aa) and after consultation with the Attorney General, and subject to applicable laws and regulations pertaining to the Department of the Treasury concerning Federal payments and collections [begin page 7] and the National Archives and Records Administration concerning the proper maintenance and preservation of agency records, Federal agencies shall, not later than 18 months after the enactment of this Act, establish and implement policies and procedures under which they will use and authorize the use of electronic technologies in the transmittal of forms, applications, and similar documents or records, and where appropriate, for the creation and transmission of such documents or records and their storage for their required retention period.

(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF A TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.---Within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, Federal agencies shall establish timelines for the implementation of the requirements of subsection (a).

(c) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT.---The Comptroller General shall report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce 21 months after the date of enactment of this Act on the proposed implementation policies and timelines described in subsections (a) and (b).

(d) IMPLEMENTATION DE. DEADLINE.---Except where an agency makes a written finding that electronic filing of a form is either technically infeasible, economically unreasonable [begin page 8] or may compromise national security, all Federal forms must be made available for electronic submission within 60 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

Because there is no meaningful difference between contracts executed in the electronic world and contracts executed in the analog world, it is the sense of the Congress that such contracts should be treated similarly under Federal law. It is further the sense of the congress that such contracts should be treated similarly under State law.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:

(1) SECRETARY.---The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce.

(2) AGENCY.---The term "agency" means executive agency, as that term is defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

(3) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE.---The term "electronic signature" means a method of signing an electronic message that---

(A) identifies a particular person as the source of such electronic message; and

(B) indicates such person's approval of the information contained in such electronic message.

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(4) DIRECTOR.---The term "Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(5) FORM, QUESTIONNAIRE, OR SURVEY.---The terms "form", " questionnaire", and "survey" include documents produced by an agency to facilitate interaction between an agency and non-government persons.

[STAFF WORKING DRAFT]

July 28,1998

Purpose: To make technical and minor corrections, and for other purposes.

IN THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION---105TH CONG. 2D Sess.

S. 2107 105TH Congress, 2D Session

JULY 29, 1998

INTENDED to be proposed by Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. MCCAIN

Viz: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

On page 3, between lines 11 and 12, insert the following:

(e) PAPER FORMS TO BE AVAILABLE.---Each agency and operating unit shall continue to make forms, questionnaires, and surveys available in paper form.

On page 8, line 11, strike "SEC. 10." and insert "SEC. 11.",

On page 8, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:

SEC 10. APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAWS.

(a) IRS RESTRUCTURING AND REFORM ACT.---Nothing in this this Act shall apply to the Department of the [begin page 2] Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service, to the extent that

(1) it involves the administration of the internal revenue laws; and

(2) it conflicts with any provision of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(b) GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS FUNCTION.---Nothing in section 5(c) of this Act applies to forms used by the United States government to make or receive payments.

(c) FEDERAL JOB APPLICATIONS.---Nothing in section 5 applies to forms, such as applications for employment, statements of qualifications for employment, personal financial disclosure forms, submitted by any individual to an agency or operating unit in a anticipation of, or as a condition of, employment by the United States government or appointment to office.