Senate Bill 2216

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "AGENCY OPEN DATA ACT OF 2020"; TO REQUIRE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES TO PLAN THE MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE OF DATA, DATASETS AND INFORMATION TO COMPLY WITH PRINCIPLES OF OPEN DATA; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO REQUIRE THAT ALL AGENCIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH ESTABLISH PLANS FOR MAINTAINING OPEN DATA BY JUNE 30, 2021, AND REPORT THESE PLANS TO THE PEER COMMITTEE; TO REQUIRE THAT ALL EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH PRINCIPLES OF OPEN DATA BY JULY 1, 2022; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Agency Open Data Act of 2020."

SECTION 2. The following terms shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Data" refers to all structured information, unless otherwise noted.

(b) "Dataset" refers to a collection of data presented in tabular or nontabular form.

(c) "Fair information practice principles" refers to the eight (8) widely accepted principles for identifying and mitigating privacy impacts in information systems, programs and processes, delineated in the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.

(d) "Agency information" means information created, collected, processed, disseminated or disposed of, by or for state government.

(e) "Information" means any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data or opinions in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative or audiovisual forms.

(f) "Personally identifiable information", or "PII," refers to information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.

(g) "Agency" or "agencies" means any department, commission, authority or board in the executive branch of government, including the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and the individual institutions of higher learning.

SECTION 3. (1) In compliance with the requirements of Section 4 of this act, state agencies shall manage and maintain information, data and datasets that comport with the principles of open data.

(2) Open data refers to publicly available data structured in a way that enables the data to be fully discoverable and usable by end users. In general, open data shall be consistent with the following principles:

(a) Public agencies must adopt a presumption in favor of openness to the extent permitted by law and subject to privacy, confidentiality, security or other valid restrictions to protect against the unauthorized release of personally identifiable information, or any other information that may not be public information within the meaning of Section 25-61-1 et seq. Agencies shall be guided by Fair Information Practice Principles in complying with this requirement.

(b) Accessible -- Open data are made available in convenient, modifiable and open formats that can be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched. Formats should be machine-readable (i.e., data are reasonably structured to allow automated processing). Open data structures do not discriminate against any person or group of persons and should be made available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes, often by providing the data in multiple formats for consumption. To the extent permitted by law, these formats should be nonproprietary, publicly available, and no restrictions should be placed upon their use.

(c) Described -- Open data are described fully so that consumers of the data have sufficient information to understand their strengths, weaknesses, analytical limitations, security requirements, as well as how to process them. This involves the use of robust, granular metadata (i.e., fields or elements that describe data), thorough documentation of data elements, data dictionaries, and, if applicable, additional descriptions of the purpose of the collection, the population of interest, the characteristics of the sample, and the method of data collection.

(d) Reusable -- Open data are made available under an open license that places no restrictions on their use.

(e) Complete -- Open data are published in primary forms (i.e., as collected at the source), with the finest possible level of granularity that is practicable and permitted by law and other requirements. Derived or aggregate open data should also be published but must reference the primary data.

(f) Timely -- Open data are made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data. Frequency of release should account for key audiences and downstream needs.

(g) Managed Post-Release -- A point of contact must be designated to assist with data use and to respond to complaints about adherence to these open data requirements.

SECTION 4. (1) Before June 30, 2021, each agency shall adopt a plan for bringing its maintenance and management of information, data and datasets into compliance with the principles of open data as provided in Section 3 of this act.

(2) In devising open data plans, agencies shall consider how they will:

(a) Collect or create information in a way that supports downstream information processing and dissemination activities,

(b) Build information systems to support interoperability and information accessibility,

(d) Strengthen measures to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are fully protected and that data are properly secure,

(e) Incorporate new interoperability and openness requirements into core agency processes, and

(f) Comply with Section 25-61-10. Agencies may consult Memorandum M 13-13 Executive Office of the President, May 9, 2013, for guidance on compliance with paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection.

(3) (a) Plans required by this section shall be prepared and provided to the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) before June 30, 2021. The PEER Committee shall review a sample of the plans and report to the Legislature before December 1, 2021, on the progress agencies have made in developing plans for managing and maintaining information, data and datasets to comport with the requirements of open data.

(b) Agencies that believe they are in compliance with the requirements of this section in whole or in part may also provide a letter to PEER setting out their basis for concluding that they are in complete or partial compliance with the principles of open data.

(4) From and after July 1, 2022, all agencies shall maintain information, data and datasets so as to comply with the requirements of open data as provided in this act.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.