Sponsors (4)
The bill improves public access to and clarity about standards incorporated into law — helping people and governments find and understand rules — while preserving SDO revenue models, a trade-off that may keep standards development funded but also impose costs, limit reuse, and risk reduced availability or greater legal and administrative burdens.
The public (including small businesses and regulated entities) will have clearer, free online access to standards incorporated by reference in federal law — with searchable tables of contents/indexes — making it easier to find and understand regulatory obligations.
Reduces legal uncertainty for federal, state, and local governments and regulated entities by clarifying the legal status and accessibility rules for materials incorporated by reference, which should aid consistent administration and compliance.
Recognizes and preserves standards development organizations' (SDOs') ability to sell or license standards, supporting their revenue models and incentives to develop and update standards.
State and local governments, small businesses, and members of the public may face licensing costs, administrative burdens, or ongoing fees to access full downloadable copies of standards used in regulation.
SDOs may respond to revenue pressure or the new accessibility rules by stopping release of some standards, delaying updates, or shifting costs elsewhere, reducing the availability or timeliness of technical content governments and businesses rely on.
Preserving SDO copyright protections could limit the public's ability to reuse or redistribute the text of incorporated standards (e.g., download and republish), reducing the practical openness of the law despite online viewing.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Christopher A. Coons · Last progress March 19, 2026
Requires standards from private standards-development organizations (SDOs) that are incorporated by reference into federal, state, or local law or regulation to be made publicly accessible online at no cost and in a searchable format (with a table of contents and index or equivalent) within a reasonable time after notice of incorporation, or else the copyrighted work will not retain copyright protection. Defines key terms, records congressional findings about the value of voluntary consensus standards, and places the burden of proof on parties alleging noncompliance.