Bill would require agencies to post public documents online

Rep Steve Israel (D-NY)unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would redefine executive branch public information as content that is available on the Internet and searchable, requiring agencies to post all future public records online within three years.

He proposed the 2010 Public Online Information Act, which would task the federal chief information officer in the Office of Management and Budget, a position currently held by Vivek Kundra, with establishing publication rules for all agencies except independent regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission. CIOs at independent regulatory agencies would have discretion in setting rules. The measure would take public information "out of the metal file cabinets and into the sunlight of the Internet," Rep Israel said when announcing POIA outside the Capitol. The event was scheduled to coincide with Sunshine Week, an annual nationwide campaign to promote open government and freedom of information that runs March 14-20 this year. It was spearheaded by journalists in 2002 and now attracts civic groups, libraries and lawmakers. Under POIA, each agency would have to create a searchable catalog of materials it makes publicly available, including where the records can be found, whether the records are available to the public at no cost or for a fee, and brief descriptions of the records.