Preserving Public Access to Federal Buildings Act of 2016

Preserving Public Access to Federal Buildings Act of 2016

This bill requires an executive agency to provide notice and an opportunity for public comment before relocating any agency office that has regular contact with the public. Such requirement shall apply to a relocation proposed by the agency or a reassignment of agency office space by the General Services Administration.

Before providing notice, an agency shall determine if it expects the relocation to impact the ability of the office's clientele to access its services. If so, the agency shall develop an initial plan to address the impact.

If the announced relocation receives substantial public interest, the agency shall:

• conduct an in-depth evaluation of the potential impact of the relocation on the ability of the office's clientele to access services;
• develop a plan to address such impact or revise the initial plan; and
• publish the results of the evaluation and a description of the plan on the agency's website.

The Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance for agencies on the meaning of "regular contact with the public" and "substantial public interest."

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4968 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4968

To require executive agencies to notify the public and consider public 
  comment before relocating an office of the agency that has regular 
            contact with the public, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2016

Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require executive agencies to notify the public and consider public 
  comment before relocating an office of the agency that has regular 
            contact with the public, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving Public Access to Federal 
Buildings Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RELOCATION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL OFFICES.

    (a) In General.--An executive agency shall provide notice to the 
public and an opportunity for public comment before relocating an 
office of the agency if the office has regular contact with the public.
    (b) Covered Relocations.--Subsection (a) shall apply to--
            (1) a relocation proposed by an executive agency; or
            (2) a reassignment of office space of an executive agency 
        by the Administrator of General Services.
    (c) Initial Determination and Plan.--
            (1) Initial determination.--Before an executive agency 
        provides notice of the relocation of an office under subsection 
        (a), the agency shall determine if the agency expects the 
        relocation to impact the ability of the office's clientele to 
        access services provided by the office.
            (2) Initial plan.--If the agency determines under paragraph 
        (1) that such relocation is expected to have such impact, the 
        agency shall develop an initial plan to address the impact.
    (d) Notice and Comment.--
            (1) Recipients.--In providing notice of the relocation of 
        an office under subsection (a), an executive agency shall 
        ensure that the notice is received by--
                    (A) entities that regularly serve the clientele of 
                the office, including nonprofit organizations and 
                advocacy groups;
                    (B) local media outlets;
                    (C) Members of Congress that represent the area 
                where the office is located; and
                    (D) the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure and the Committee on Oversight and 
                Government Reform of the House of Representatives and 
                the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) Content.--If an initial plan was developed under 
        subsection (c)(2), the notice shall include a description of 
        the initial plan.
    (e) Substantial Public Interest.--If, after an executive agency 
provides notice of the relocation of an office under subsection (a), 
the relocation receives substantial public interest, the agency shall--
            (1) conduct an in-depth evaluation of the potential impact 
        of the relocation on the ability of the office's clientele to 
        access services provided by the office, particularly with 
        respect to minority groups, persons with disabilities, the 
        elderly, and the economically disadvantaged;
            (2) develop a plan to address such impact or revise an 
        initial plan developed under subsection (c)(2); and
            (3) publish the results of the evaluation and a description 
        of the plan on the public website of the agency.
    (f) Guidance on Terms.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and 
the Federal Real Property Council, shall issue guidance for agencies on 
the meaning of each of the terms ``regular contact with the public'' 
and ``substantial public interest'' for purposes of this section.
    (g) Executive Agency Defined.--In this section, the term 
``executive agency'' means--
            (1) an executive department or independent establishment in 
        the executive branch of the Government; and
            (2) a wholly owned Government corporation.
    (h) Application.--Subsection (a) shall apply to the relocation of 
an office of an executive agency initiated on or after the date that is 
270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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