S. 855

99 S855 IS: Royalty Transparency Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-03-05
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 855  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   March 5, 2025   Mr. Paul  (for himself and  Mr. Scott of Florida ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs    A BILL
To require executive branch employees to report certain royalties, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Royalty Transparency Act  .
2.
Financial disclosure reports of executive branch employees
(a)
Individuals required To file
(1)
In general
Section 13103 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
in subsection (f)—
(i)
in paragraph (11), by striking  ; and  and inserting a semicolon;
(ii)
in paragraph (12), by striking the period and inserting  ; and ; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:
(13)
any member of—
(A)
the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity;
(B)
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices;
(C)
the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines;
(D)
the National Vaccine Advisory Committee;
(E)
the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee;
(F)
the Defense Science Board;
(G)
the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute;
(H)
the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee;
(I)
the Medical Review Board Advisory Committee;
(J)
the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; or
(K)
any other advisory committee, as defined in section 1001, including a successor to a committee described in this paragraph, that the Government Accountability Office determines, in accordance with subsection (j)—
(i)
makes recommendations relating to public health to an agency or the President; and
(ii)
has had any recommendation fully or partially implemented during the 10 years preceding the determination.
 ; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
(j)
Determination regarding advisory committees
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and annually thereafter, the Government Accountability Office shall publish a list of each advisory committee that the Government Accountability Office determines—
(1)
makes recommendations relating to public health to an agency or the President; and
(2)
has had any recommendation fully or partially implemented during the 10 years preceding the determination.
 .
(2)
Sunset
Effective on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, section 13103 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is amended—
(A)
in subsection (f)(13), by striking subparagraph (K) and inserting the following:
(K)
a successor to a committee described in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of this paragraph.
 ; and
(B)
by striking subsection (j).
(b)
Notification of waiver
(1)
Title 5
Section 13103(i) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
by moving the matter preceding paragraph (1) two ems to the left;
(B)
by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively;
(C)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as so redesignated, by striking  the supervising ethics office determines  and inserting “the supervising ethics office—
(1)
determines
 ;
(D)
in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and ; and
(E)
by adding at the end the following:
(2)
provides notification of such waiver to the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
 .
(2)
Title 18
Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)
Any exemption—
(1)
granted under paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (b) shall be immediately reported to the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, including a detailed justification for granting the waiver; or
(2)
granted under subpart (C) of part 2640 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, shall be immediately reported to the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, including a detailed justification for granting the waiver.
 .
(c)
Contents of reports
Section 13104(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A), by inserting  , subject to subparagraph (C)  after  employment by the United States Government ; and
(2)
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
(C)
Royalties received by Government employees and committee filers
Notwithstanding section 12(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710a(c) ) and section 209 of title 35, if the reporting individual is an officer or employee in the executive branch (including a special Government employee, as defined in section 202 of title 18), or an individual described in section 13103(f)(13), the original source and amount or value of any royalties received by the reporting individual, the spouse of the reporting individual, or a dependent child of the reporting individual during the reporting period described in subsection (d) or (e) of section 13103, as applicable, that were received as a result of an invention developed by the reporting individual in the course of employment of the reporting individual with the United States Government, including any royalty interest payment made under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 ( Public Law 99–502 ; 100 Stat. 1785), an amendment made by such Act, or any other applicable authority.
 .
(d)
Review of reports
Section 13107(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in the first sentence, by inserting  and shall, in the case of an agency or office and notwithstanding section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710a ) and section 209 of title 35, publish such report on the internet website of the agency or office, as the case may be  after  to any person requesting such inspection or copy ; and
(B)
in the second sentence—
(i)
by inserting  , notwithstanding section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710a ) and section 209 of title 35,  after  such report shall ; and
(ii)
by inserting  and, in the case of an agency or office, published on the internet website of the agency or office, as the case may be,  after  made available for public inspection ;
(2)
by striking paragraph (2) and the matter following paragraph (2);
(3)
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
(4)
by adding at the end the following:
(3)
Procedure for releasing reports to Members of Congress
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a Member of Congress, any agency or supervising ethics office in the executive branch shall furnish to the Member of Congress a copy of any report submitted under subsection (b), which shall be unredacted, except with respect to social security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, rental property addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, financial account numbers, signatures, and the personally identifiable information of dependent children.
 .
(e)
Confidential reports and other additional requirements
Section 13109 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
(b)
Royalties received by confidential filers
Notwithstanding section 12(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710a(c) ) and section 209 of title 35, the information required to be reported under this section shall include the original source and amount or value of any royalties received by the reporting individual, or the spouse or any dependent child of the reporting individual, that were received as a result of an invention, including any royalty interest payment made under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 ( Public Law 99–502 ; 100 Stat. 1785), an amendment made by such Act, or any other applicable authority.
(c)
Procedure for releasing reports to Members of Congress
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a Member of Congress, any agency or supervising ethics office in the executive branch shall furnish to the Member of Congress a copy of any report submitted under subsection (a), which shall be unredacted, except with respect to social security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, rental property addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, financial account numbers, signatures, and the personally identifiable information of dependent children.
(d)
Reports
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and each year thereafter, the head of each agency shall submit to the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and as to each agency within the intelligence community (as that term is defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )), the head of each such agency shall also submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, a report relating to confidential financial disclosures of officers and employees under the jurisdiction of such agency for the preceding fiscal year, which shall include—
(1)
the number of individuals who filed such disclosures with the agency under this section, including, if applicable, the subcomponent of the agency that has jurisdiction over the individual and the reason for filing confidentially;
(2)
the number of special Government employees, as defined in section 202 of title 18, that are required to file confidential financial disclosure reports with the agency under this section; and
(3)
any additional information determined to be relevant by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics after consultation with the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
(e)
Public disclosure of royalties received by certain Federal employees
(1)
Definition
For the purposes of this subsection, the term  covered individual  means an individual who—
(A)
is required to file a confidential financial disclosure report under this section; and
(B)
reports receiving a royalty interest under subsection (b).
(2)
Requirement
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and annually thereafter, each agency shall publish a report on the internet website of the agency, listing—
(A)
the names of all covered individuals; and
(B)
the original source and amount or value of any royalties reported under this section by each covered individual.
 .
(f)
Rule of construction
Nothing in this section, or any amendment made by this section, shall be construed to limit the ability of an advisory committee, as defined in section 1001 of title 5, United States Code, to conduct work related to the function of the advisory committee.
3.
Preventing organizational conflicts of interest in Federal acquisition
(a)
In general
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the Office of Management and Budget shall, as appropriate, enact or update any regulation necessary to ensure that conflict of interest reviews for prospective contractors or grantees include reviews of royalties paid to prospective contractors or grantees in the preceding calendar year.
(b)
Ongoing reviews
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, each agency conducting any conflict of interest review described in subsection (a) shall report to the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and as to each agency within the intelligence community (as that term is defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )), the head of each such agency shall also report to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, on the number of identified cases of potential conflict of interest related to royalty payments and the steps taken to mitigate those cases.
4.
Severability
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provision or the amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.