USC Chapter 15

in effect

44 U.S.C. § 1501 Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires— “document” means a Presidential proclamation or Executive order and an order, regulation, rule, certificate, code of fair competition, license, notice, or similar instrument, issued, prescribed, or promulgated by a Federal agency; “Federal agency” or “agency” means the President of the United States, or an executive department, independent board, establishment, bureau, agency, institution, commission, or separate office of the administrative branch of the Government of the United States but not the legislative or judicial branches of the Government; “person” means an individual, partnership, association, or corporation; “publish” means to circulate for sale or distribution to the public, as determined by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register; and “National Archives of the United States” has the same meaning as in section 2901(11) of this title.

44 U.S.C. § 1502 Custody and publishing of Federal documents; appointment of Director

The Archivist of the United States, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, is charged with the custody and, together with the Director of the Government Publishing Office, with the prompt and uniform publishing of the documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title. There shall be at the head of the Office a director, appointed by, and who shall act under the general direction of, the Archivist of the United States in carrying out this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it.

44 U.S.C. § 1503 Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public inspection; transmission for publishing

The original document required or authorized to be published by section 1505 shall be filed with the Office of the Federal Register for publication at times established by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register by regulation. The Archivist of the United States shall cause to be noted on the original of each document the day and hour of filing. Upon filing, the document shall be immediately available for public inspection. The original shall be retained by the National Archives and Records Administration and shall be available for inspection under regulations prescribed by the Archivist, unless such original is disposed of in accordance with disposal schedules submitted by the Administrative Committee and authorized by the Archivist pursuant to regulations issued under chapter 33; however, originals of proclamations of the President and Executive orders shall be permanently retained by the Administration as part of the National Archives of the United States. The Office shall transmit to the Government Publishing Office, as provided by this chapter, each document required or authorized to be published by section 1505. Every Federal agency shall cause to be transmitted for filing the original of all such documents issued, prescribed, or promulgated by the agency.

44 U.S.C. § 1504 “Federal Register”; publishing; contents; distribution; price; physical copies

Documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 shall be published immediately by the Government Publishing Office in a serial publication designated the “Federal Register”. The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall make available the facilities of the Government Publishing Office for the prompt publication of the Federal Register in the manner and at the times required by this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it. The contents of the daily issues shall constitute all documents, required or authorized to be published, filed with the Office of the Federal Register up to the time of the day immediately preceding the day of publication fixed by regulations under this chapter. There shall be published with each document a copy of the notation, required to be made by section 1503, of the day and hour when, upon filing with the Office, the document was made available for public inspection. Distribution shall be made at a time in the morning of the day of distribution fixed by regulations prescribed under this chapter. The prices to be charged for the Federal Register may be fixed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register established by section 1506 without reference to the restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government publications by sections 1705 and 1708. The Government Publishing Office shall print at least two physical copies of each published Federal Register issue. Of those, not less than two copies shall be stored, each in a separate facility, to ensure the preservation of the Federal Register for the purposes of continuity of government.

44 U.S.C. § 1505 Documents to be published in Federal Register

(a) Proclamations and Executive Orders; Documents Having General Applicability and Legal Effect; Documents Required To Be Published by Congress. There shall be published in the Federal Register—(1) Presidential proclamations and Executive orders, except those not having general applicability and legal effect or effective only against Federal agencies or persons in their capacity as officers, agents, or employees thereof; (2) documents or classes of documents that the President may determine from time to time have general applicability and legal effect; and (3) documents or classes of documents that may be required so to be published by Act of Congress. For the purposes of this chapter every document or order which prescribes a penalty has general applicability and legal effect. (b) Documents Authorized To Be Published by Regulations; News Commentary and News Items Excluded. In addition to the foregoing there shall also be published in the Federal Register other documents or classes of documents authorized to be published by regulations prescribed under this chapter with the approval of the President, but news commentary or news items of any character may not be published in the Federal Register. (c) Alternative Publication.—In a continuity of operations event in which the Government Publishing Office does not fulfill the publication requirements of this chapter, the Office of the Federal Register may establish an alternative method to publish the Federal Register until such time that the Government Publishing Office resumes publication. (d) Suspension of Requirements for Filing of Documents; Alternate Systems for Promulgating, Filing, or Publishing Documents; Preservation of Originals. In the event of an attack or threatened attack upon the continental United States and a determination by the President that as a result of an attack or threatened attack—(1) publication of the Federal Register or filing of documents with the Office of the Federal Register is impracticable, or (2) under existing conditions publication in the Federal Register would not serve to give appropriate notice to the public of the contents of documents, the President may, without regard to any other provision of law, suspend all or part of the requirements of law or regulation for filing with the Office or publication in the Federal Register of documents or classes of documents. The suspensions shall remain in effect until revoked by the President, or by concurrent resolution of the Congress. The President shall establish alternate systems for promulgating, filing, or publishing documents or classes of documents affected by such suspensions, including requirements relating to their effectiveness or validity, that may be considered under the then existing circumstances practicable to provide public notice of the issuance and of the contents of the documents. The alternate systems may, without limitation, provide for the use of regional or specialized publications or depositories for documents, or of the press, the radio, telecommunications, the Internet, or similar mediums of general communication. Compliance with alternate systems of filing or publication shall have the same effect as filing with the Office or publication in the Federal Register under this chapter or other law or regulation. With respect to documents promulgated under alternate systems, each agency shall preserve the original document for filing with the Office when the President determines that it is practicable.

44 U.S.C. § 1506 Administrative Committee of the Federal Register; establishment and composition; powers and duties

(a) Composition; Duties.—The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register shall consist of the Archivist of the United States or Acting Archivist, who shall chair the committee, an officer of the Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General, and the Director of the Government Publishing Office or Acting Director of the Government Publishing Office. The Director of the Federal Register shall act as secretary of the committee. The committee shall prescribe, with the approval of the President or their designee, regulations for carrying out this chapter. The regulations shall provide for, among other things, the following:(1) The documents which shall be authorized under section 1505(b) to be published in the Federal Register. (2) The manner and form in which the Federal Register shall be published. (3) The manner and form in which agencies submit documents for publication in the Federal Register and special editions of the Federal Register. (4) Subject to subsection (b), the manner of distribution to Members of Congress, officers and employees of the United States, or Federal agency, for official use, and the number which shall be available for distribution to the public. (5) The prices to be charged for individual copies of, and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and any reprints and bound volumes of it. (6) The manner and form by which the Federal Register may receive information and comments from the public, if practicable and efficient. (7) Special editions of the Federal Register. (b) Restrictions on Distribution of Free Printed Copies to Members of Congress and Officers and Employees of the United States.—(1) Prohibiting subscription to printed copies without request.—Under the regulations prescribed to carry out subsection (a)(4), the Director of the Government Publishing Office may not provide a printed copy of the Federal Register without charge to any Member of Congress or any other office of the United States during a year unless—(A) the Member or office requests a printed copy of a specific issue of the Federal Register; or (B) during that year or during the previous year, the Member or office requested a subscription to printed copies of the Federal Register for that year, as described in paragraph (2). (2) Administration of subscriptions.—The regulations prescribed to carry out subsection (a)(4) shall include—(A) provisions regarding notifications to offices of Members of Congress and other offices of the United States of the restrictions of paragraph (1); (B) provisions describing the process by which Members and other offices may request a specific issue of the Federal Register for purposes of paragraph (1)(A); and (C) provisions describing the process by which Members and other offices may request a subscription to the Federal Register for purposes of paragraph (1)(B), except that such regulations shall limit the period for such a subscription to not longer than 1 year.

44 U.S.C. § 1507 Filing document as constructive notice; publication in Federal Register as presumption of validity; judicial notice; citation

A document required by section 1505(a) of this title to be published in the Federal Register is not valid as against a person who has not had actual knowledge of it until the document has been filed with the Office of the Federal Register and a copy made available for public inspection as provided by section 1503 of this title. Unless otherwise specifically provided by statute, filing of a document, required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title, except in cases where notice by publication is insufficient in law, is sufficient to give notice of the contents of the document to a person subject to or affected by it. The publication in the Federal Register of a document creates a rebuttable presumption— (1) that it was duly issued, prescribed, or promulgated; (2) that it was filed with the Office of the Federal Register and made available for public inspection at the day and hour stated in the published notation; (3) that the copy contained in the Federal Register is a true copy of the original; and (4) that all requirements of this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it relative to the document have been complied with. The contents of the Federal Register shall be judicially noticed and without prejudice to any other mode of citation, may be cited by volume and page number.

44 U.S.C. § 1508 Publication in Federal Register as notice of hearing

A notice of hearing or of opportunity to be heard, required or authorized to be given by an Act of Congress, or which may otherwise properly be given, shall be deemed to have been given to all persons residing within the States of the Union and the District of Columbia, except in cases where notice by publication is insufficient in law, when the notice is published in the Federal Register at such a time that the period between the publication and the date fixed in the notice for the hearing or for the termination of the opportunity to be heard is— (1) not less than the time specifically prescribed for the publication of the notice by the appropriate Act of Congress; or (2) not less than fifteen days when time for publication is not specifically prescribed by the Act, without prejudice, however, to the effectiveness of a notice of less than fifteen days where the shorter period is reasonable.

44 U.S.C. § 1509 Costs of publication, etc.

(a) The cost of publishing the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, and, except as provided in subsection (b), other expenses incurred by the Government Publishing Office in carrying out the duties placed upon it by this chapter shall be charged to the revolving fund provided in section 309. Reimbursements for such costs and expenses shall be made by the Federal agencies and credited, together with all receipts, as provided in section 309(b). (b) The cost of publishing all other publications of the Federal Register program, and other expenses incurred by the Government Publishing Office in connection with such publications, shall be borne by the appropriations to the Government Publishing Office and the appropriations are made available, and are authorized to be increased by additional sums necessary for the purposes, the increases to be based upon estimates submitted by the Director of the Government Publishing Office.

44 U.S.C. § 1510 Code of Federal Regulations

(a) Special Edition for Codification of Agency Documents.—The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, with the approval of the President or their designee, may require, from time to time as it considers necessary, the preparation and publication in a special edition of the Federal Register a complete codification of the documents of each agency of the Government having general applicability and legal effect, issued or promulgated by the agency by publication in the Federal Register or by filing with the Administrative Committee, and which are relied upon by the agency as authority for, or are invoked or used by it in the discharge of, its activities or functions, and are in effect as to facts arising on or after dates specified by the Administrative Committee. (b) Code of Federal Regulations.—A codification prepared under subsection (a) of this section shall be published and shall be designated as the “Code of Federal Regulations”. The Administrative Committee shall regulate the manner and forms of publishing this codification. (c) Supplementation, Collation, and Republication.—The Administrative Committee shall regulate the supplementation and the collation and republication of the codification with a view to keeping the Code of Federal Regulations as current as practicable. Each unit of codification shall be supplemented and republished at least once each calendar year. The Office of the Federal Register may create updates of each unit of codification from time to time and make the same available electronically or may provide public access using an electronic edition that allows a user to select a specific date and retrieve the version of the codification in effect as of that date. (d) Preparation and Publication by the Federal Register.—The Office of the Federal Register shall prepare and publish the codifications, supplements, collations, indices, and user aids authorized by this section. (e) Prima Facie Evidence.—The codified documents of the several agencies published in the Code of Federal Regulations under this section, as amended by documents subsequently filed with the Office and published in the daily issues of the Federal Register, shall be prima facie evidence of the text of the documents and of the fact that they are in effect on and after the date of publication. (f) Regulations.—The Administrative Committee, with approval of the President or their designee, shall issue regulations for carrying out this section. (g) Exception.—This section does not require codification of the text of Presidential documents published and periodically compiled in supplements to title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

44 U.S.C. § 1511 International agreements excluded from provisions of chapter

This chapter does not apply to treaties, conventions, protocols, and other international agreements, or proclamations thereof by the President.