18 U.S.C. § 442: Government Publishing Office

Summary

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, the Deputy Director, and their assistants must not have any financial interest tied to the printing business while they hold their jobs. Some words used here (like "diversified," "employee benefit plan," "holdings," "mutual fund," and "unit investment trust") get their meanings from federal rules. A "printing-related interest" means any stake in newspapers or magazines, any printing/binding/engraving/lithographing work, or contracts to supply paper or other materials for public printing. An exception lets them own stakes through diversified mutual funds, unit investment trusts, employee benefit plans, the Thrift Savings Plan funds, or state pension plans even if those funds have one or more printing-related holdings, as long as the fund or plan does not concentrate in printing interests. The office’s supervising ethics unit can make rules to carry this out. Anyone who breaks the rule can be fined, jailed for up to 1 year, or both.

Title 18, §442

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Definitions.—

In this section

(1)

(2)the term “printing-related interest” means an interest, direct or indirect, in—

(A)the publication of any newspaper or periodical;

(B)any printing, binding, engraving, or lithographing of any kind; or

(C)any contract for furnishing paper or other material connected with the public printing, binding, lithographing, or engraving.

(b)Offense.—

(1)In general.—

Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Director of the Government Publishing Office, Deputy Director of the Government Publishing Office, nor any of their assistants as determined by the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall not, during his or her continuance in office, have any printing-related interest.

(2)Exception for mutual funds, unit investment trusts, employee benefit plans, and retirement plans.—

It shall not be a violation of paragraph (1) for an individual who is described in such paragraph to have an interest in a diversified mutual fund, diversified unit investment trust, employee benefit plan, investment fund under the Thrift Savings Plan under subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, or pension plan established or maintained by a State government or any political subdivision of a State government for its employees that has 1 or more holdings that are printing-related interests if the fund, trust, or plan does not exhibit a practice of concentrating in printing-related interests.

(3)Authority of supervising ethics office.—

The supervising ethics office for the Government Publishing Office under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall have the authority to issue rules and promulgate regulations governing the implementation of this subsection.

(c)Penalty.—

Whoever violates subsection (b)(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 53 of title 44, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Public Printing and Documents (Jan. 12, 1895, ch. 23, § 34, 28 Stat. 605). Words “on conviction before any court of competent jurisdiction” were omitted as unnecessary, since punishment cannot be imposed until there has been a conviction before a competent tribunal. Words “in the penitentiary” were omitted as surplusage as section 4082 of this title commits all prisoners to the custody of the Attorney General. (See reviser’s note under section 1 of this title.) The minimum punishment provision “for a term of not less than one nor” was omitted in keeping with policy of codifiers of 1909 Criminal Code. Mandatory punishment provision was rephrased in the alternative. The offense described in this section involves no moral turpitude, and therefore the punishment provisions were reduced from 5 years to 1 year, so that the stigma of a felony would not attach to an offender. The fine was increased from $500 to $1,000 as more proportionate to the 1-year term of imprisonment. (See classification of felony and misdemeanor in section 1 of this title and note thereunder.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is Pub. L. 95–521, Oct. 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 1824. Titles I, IV, and V of the Act were classified principally to the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and were substantially repealed and restated in chapter 131 (§ 13101 et seq.) of Title 5 by Pub. L. 117–286, §§ 3(c), 7, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4266, 4361. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. For disposition of sections of the Act into chapter 131 of Title 5, see Disposition Table preceding section 101 of Title 5.

Amendments

2019—Pub. L. 116–78 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Neither the Public Printer, superintendent of printing, superintendent of binding, nor any of their assistants shall, during their continuance in office, have any interest, direct or indirect, in the publication of any newspaper or periodical, or in any printing, binding, engraving, or lithographing of any kind, or in any contract for furnishing paper or other material connected with the public printing, binding, lithographing, or engraving. “Whoever violates this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” in second par.

§442 Government Publishing Office