# 114-hr-5839: Public Online Information Act of 2016

114-hr-5839, Public Online Information Act of 2016, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by STEVE ISRAEL (D-NY); status Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5839
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-5839
- Congress: 114
- Title: Public Online Information Act of 2016
- Status: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Introduced: 2016-07-14
- Sponsor: STEVE ISRAEL (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Public Online Information Act of 2016 This bill establishes a Public Online Information Advisory Committee to: (1) coordinate the government's efforts to make information from all three branches of government available on the Internet, and (2) issue nonbinding guidelines on how the government should make public information available. The government must make public records available on the Internet at no charge, except as imposed by federal law before this bill's enactment. The bill requires: (1) public records to be permanently available on the Internet; (2) current information technology to be applied to the formats and means through which records are made available; and (3) each agency to publish on the Internet a searchable, machine-processable list of all records it makes publicly available. The bill delineates the roles of the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Electronic Government, and the chief information officers of independent regulatory agencies. It allows exceptions to the Internet publication requirement, including a process for an agency's request for an exception to be granted if: (1) there is a clear and convincing reason for the record to not be made available on the Internet, and (2) the harm caused by disclosure significantly outweighs the public's interest in having the record available on the Internet. Inspectors general must periodically review agency compliance. Private individuals or organizations may file a complaint in federal court if an agency denies a request to place public records on the Internet. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) judicial and legislative agencies adopt or adapt the advisory committee's recommendations, and (2) the Government Publishing Office make all of its publications permanently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of formats.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Graham, Gwen [D-FL-2] (D-FL), 2016-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-5504: To require that certain information relating to terrorism investigations be included in the NICS database, and for other purposes.
- 114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016
- 114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika virus.
- 114-hr-4625: Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016
- 114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- 114-hr-3929: Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [114-hr-5839 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5839)

## Related
- [114-hr-5504: To require that certain information relating to terrorism investigations be inc…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5504)
- [114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5292)
- [114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika viru…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5044)
- [114-hr-4625: Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4625)
- [114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4592)
- [114-hr-3929: Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3929)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5839 (as of 2025-11-18).