15 U.S.C. § 8512a — Learning excellence and good examples from new developers
submitted 4 years ago by Pub. L. 117-263 to r/title-15-COMMERCE-AND-TRADE · 1,123 words · no verdicts yet
NOAA must make its weather forecasting models and related data public for free, with an open license. It can hold back information that would hurt national security, intellectual property, or NOAA's mission. NOAA must also review outside improvements to its models and report to Congress within two years.
(a) Definitions: The section defines several terms: "Administration" means NOAA; "Administrator" means the head of NOAA; the "Earth Prediction Innovation Center" is the public community weather-modeling system described in section 8512(b); a "model" is any vetted numerical model (and its data assimilation) built partly or fully by NOAA scientists or with federal funds; "open license" has the meaning given in section 3502(21) of title 44; an "operational model" is one whose output NOAA actually uses to do its job; and a "suitable model" is one that meets requirements described in section 8512(b)(5)(E)(ii), as decided by the Administrator.
(b) Purposes: This section exists to (1) let outside stakeholders freely and fully access NOAA's operational model code and other models, so they can innovate, and (2) let NOAA use the resulting vetted innovations to improve its own modeling.
(c) Plan to make models and data available to the public: The Administrator must create and carry out a plan to give the public — free, with no copying or use restrictions, under an open license — (A) NOAA's operational models; (B) other models, including experimental and developmental ones, as the Administrator decides is appropriate; (C) documentation for those models, including what outputs they produce; and (D) all data owned by the Federal Government, and data that the Administrator has the legal right to redistribute, tied to those models and used in NOAA's actual forecasting, including relevant metadata and the data behind operational models NOAA was using as of December 23, 2022 — subject to the security limits in subsection (f). While building the plan, the Administrator may hold back material to avoid harming national security, intellectual-property or redistribution rights, trade secrets or protected commercial/financial information, models or data restricted by contract, or NOAA's mission to protect life and property. The Administrator must prioritize releasing the operational models first, and must make sure any released models keep required privacy and statistical protections, including protecting personal information. The Administrator may leave out models expected to be retired or replaced within 5 years of December 23, 2022. NOAA may use government servers, private vendor contracts, or other suitable platforms to do this, and must plan and build a support program — including telecommunications and technology infrastructure — to make it work.
(d) Requirement to review models and use outside innovations: The Administrator must periodically review improvements made by people outside NOAA to the public operational models, to improve forecast accuracy and speed — consistent with the Earth Prediction Innovation Center's mission. When the Administrator finds a good innovation for a suitable model, NOAA must plan and carry out a way to use it.
(e) Report on implementation: Within 2 years of December 23, 2022, the Administrator must report to Congress on how this section is being carried out — describing the public-access plan's progress; how NOAA engages with, reviews, and adopts outside innovations; and how NOAA is using financial-assistance programs, like the one under section 3719 or the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act, to encourage outside people to share and test their improvements.
(f) Protection of national security interests: For models built partly with the Defense Department, the Administrator — working with the Secretary of Defense as needed — must withhold any model or data if either of them decides that's necessary to protect national security. Nothing here overrides any other law protecting national security.
(g) Authorization of appropriations: Congress may provide $2,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this section.
In this section:
The term “Administration” means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The term “Administrator” means the Under Secretary* of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The term “Earth Prediction Innovation Center” means the community global weather research modeling system described in paragraph (5)(E) of section 8512(b) of this title.
The term “model” means any vetted numerical model and associated data assimilation of the Earth’s system or its components—
developed, in whole or in part, by scientists and engineers employed by the Administration; or
otherwise developed, in whole or in part, using Federal funds.
The term “open license” has the same meaning given such term in section 3502(21) of title 44.
The term “operational model” means any model that has an output used by the Administration for operational functions.
The term “suitable model” means a model that meets the requirements described in paragraph (5)(E)(ii) of section 8512(b) of this title, as determined by the Administrator.
The purposes of this section are—
to support innovation in modeling by allowing interested stakeholders to have easy and complete access to operational model codes and to other models, as the Administrator determines appropriate; and
to use vetted innovations arising from access described in paragraph (1) to improve modeling by the Administration.
The Administrator shall develop and implement a plan to make available to the public, at no cost and with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, citing, adapting, or otherwise using under an open license, the following:
Operational models developed by the Administration.
Models that are not operational models, including experimental and developmental models, as the Administrator determines appropriate.
Applicable information and documentation for models described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), including a description of intended model outputs.
Subject to subsection (f), all data owned by the Federal Government and data that the Administrator has the legal right to redistribute that are associated with models made available to the public pursuant to the plan and used in operational forecasting by the Administration, including—
relevant metadata; and
data used for operational models used by the Administration as of December 23, 2022.
In developing and implementing the plan under paragraph (1), the Administrator may make such accommodations as the Administrator considers appropriate to ensure that the public release of any model, information, documentation, or data pursuant to the plan do 1 not jeopardize—
national security;
intellectual property or redistribution rights, including under titles 17 and 35;
any trade secret or commercial or financial information subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 5;
any models or data that are otherwise restricted by contract or other written agreement; or
the mission of the Administration to protect lives and property.
In developing and implementing the plan under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall prioritize making available to the public the models described in paragraph (1)(A).
In developing and implementing the plan under subsection (a), the Administrator shall ensure that all requirements incorporated into any models described in paragraph (1)(A) ensure compliance with statistical laws and other relevant data protection requirements, including the protection of any personally identifiable information.
In developing and implementing the plan under paragraph (1), the Administrator may exclude models that the Administrator determines will be retired or superseded in fewer than 5 years after December 23, 2022.
In carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Administrator may use government servers, contracts or agreements with a private vendor, or any other platform consistent with the purpose of this title.2
The Administrator shall plan for and establish a program to support infrastructure, including telecommunications and technology infrastructure of the Administration and the platforms described in paragraph (6), relevant to making operational models and data available to the public pursuant to the plan under subsection (a).
The Administrator shall—
consistent with the mission of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center, periodically review innovations and improvements made by persons not employed by the Administration as Federal employees to the operational models made available to the public pursuant to the plan under subsection (c)(1) in order to improve the accuracy and timeliness of forecasts of the Administration; and
if the Administrator identifies an innovation for a suitable model, develop and implement a plan to use the innovation to improve the model.
Not later than 2 years after December 23, 2022, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of this section that includes a description of—
the implementation of the plan required by subsection (c);
the process of the Administration under subsection (d)—
for engaging with interested stakeholders to learn what innovations those stakeholders have found;
for reviewing those innovations; and
for operationalizing innovations to improve suitable models; and
the use of any Federal financial assistance, including under section 3719 of this title2 or the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act (15 U.S.C. 3724), in order to facilitate and incentivize the sharing of externally developed improvements for testing, evaluation, validation, and application to further improve the mission of the Administration, and any other Administration priorities.
In this subsection, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for models developed in whole or in part with the Department of Defense, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, shall withhold any model or data if the Administrator or the Secretary of Defense determines doing so to be necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any other provision of law governing the protection of the national security interests of the United States.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CVI, § 10601, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3995.)
- 2022Enacted · Pub. L. 117-263 · 136 Stat. 3995
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-263 on 2022-12-23.
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