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gils: Re: legal basis of GILS meaurements

gils: Re: legal basis of GILS meaurements

Re: legal basis of GILS meaurements

J. Timothy Sprehe, SIMA, Inc. (jtsprehe@intr.net)
Sat, 16 Nov 1996 14:22:47 -0500 

Message-Id: <199611161928.OAA14223@sheldon.intr.net>
From: "J. Timothy Sprehe, SIMA, Inc." <jtsprehe@intr.net>
To: <gils@cni.org>
Subject: Re: legal basis of GILS meaurements
Date: Sat, 16 Nov 1996 14:22:47 -0500


Mr. DeVries:

     As a former OMB staff employee and author of the original OMB 
Circular No. A-130, I offer you the following explanations.

     Yes, GILS has its statutory basis in the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1980, as amended in 1986 and 1995.  The Paperwork Reduction Act is 
codified as Title 44, Chapter 35 (of which 44 USC 3511 is one section).  
Chapter 35 is titled The Coordination of Federal Information Policy.  
Section 3504 of Chapter 35 sets forth new authorities given to the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget.  The first of those 
authorities (Section 3504(a)) is general information policy.  OMB 
Circular No. A-130 is the document through which the Director of OMB 
implements the general information policy authority set forth in Section 
3504 (a).  

     Here a point of clarification.  An OMB Circular is a policy 
directive in which the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
(an agency within the Executive Office of the President) instructs the 
heads of executive branch agencies as to how they are to implement a 
law or carry out a presidential policy.  It does not have the force of 
law nor the force of regulation; it is enforced by the fact that heads 
of executive branch agencies must submit their budget requests to 
Congress through OMB, and the Director of OMB may use the budget 
review process to enforce Circulars.  An OMB Bulletin is more ephemeral 
than a Circular.  It is tied to a specific year -- Bulletin 95-01 is the 
first bulletin issued in fiscal year 1995.  Bulletins contain more ad hoc 
instructions and are generally in force only for one to three years 
(whereas a Circular is in force until such time as it is revoked or 
revised).  

     Bulletin 95-01 is OMB's instructions to federal executive branch 
agencies as to how they are to implement GILS (as embodied in the 
Paperwork Reduction Act Amendments of 1995 and reflected in revised 
Circular No. A-130).

     GILS pertains only to federal agencies.  However, many state 
governments are voluntarily choosing to create their own GILS.  Among 
those of which I am aware are Florida, Alabama, New York, Delaware, 
Ohio, Washington, and Missouri.  In fact Missouri's GILS -- called 
MOGILS -- is on a web site that contains hypertext links to other 
state GILS.  The state's are using the federal GILS data elements 
virtually without change, although a few states are adding on data 
elements of their own.  

     I hope these comments answer your question.

J. Timothy Sprehe
<jtsprehe@intr.net>


----------
> From: gils@cni.org
> To: Multiple recipients of list <gils@cni.org>
> Subject: GILS digest 215
> Date: Wednesday, November 13, 1996 12:20 AM
> 
> 			    GILS Digest 215
> 
> Topics covered in this issue include:
> 
>   1) legal basis of GILS meaurements
> 	by Marc De Vries <mdevries@spinne.ip.lu>
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 16:06:07 -0800
> From: Marc De Vries <mdevries@spinne.ip.lu>
> To: gils@cni.org
> Subject: legal basis of GILS meaurements
> Message-ID: <328910EF.5F70@spinne.ip.lu>
> 
> 
> Dear List Members,
> 
> 1. Being an external legal advisor to the European Commission (DG 
> XIII/E-2), I have been asked to draw up a report on the origin and the 
> development of GILS in the US. (Before, I worked as a lawyer in a large 
> lawfirm in Holland.)
> 
> 2. After browsing the Web and subscribing to this List, I have been able 
> to obtain a lot of valuable information on GILS. However, some questions 
> remain unanswered. Hopefully, this List will provide solutions. (Please 
> note that I joined this List only recently, for which reason I may have 
> missed  some of the answers, in which case I would be grateful of you 
> could refer thereto.)
> 
> 3. I know that GILS is based on various measures: (1) The National 
> Information Structure, (2) the Paperwork Reduction Act 1980 (as amended 
> in 1995), (3) US Public Law 44 USC 3511 (4) OMB-Bulletin 95-01 and (5) 
> OMB Circular A-130. However, I do not understand what the 
> (hierarchical) relation between these various measures is.
> 
> 4. Secondly, I noticed that GILS only relates to Federal agencies. I 
> would like to know whether any comparable comprehensive 
> measures/programs/plans  exist applying to agencies at a lower (State) 
> level.
>  
> I would be grateful if you could provide me with any answers, and I would

> like to thank you in advance for your co-operation.
> 
> Marc de Vries
> Luxembourg
> tel:	00 352 401 162 455
> fax:  	00 352 401 162 330
> E-mail:	mdevries@ip.lu
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of GILS Digest 215
> **********************

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