GOOD Act

Senate Bill

S. 252

119th Congress

GOOD Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 24, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Ron Johnson

Senator

Republican

WI

Cosponsors

15

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Summary

The Guidance Out Of Darkness Act requires federal agencies to publish all guidance documents online in a centralized location on the date they are issued. Agencies must maintain a designated website with all active guidance documents, provide clear hyperlinks for access, and indicate when documents have been rescinded. Documents must be categorized and organized into subcategories for easy navigation.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The Guidance Out Of Darkness Act requires federal agencies to publish all guidance documents online in a centralized location on the date they are issued. Agencies must maintain a designated website with all active guidance documents, provide clear hyperlinks for access, and indicate when documents have been rescinded. Documents must be categorized and organized into subcategories for easy navigation.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Guidance Out Of Darkness Act or the GOOD Act This bill establishes requirements concerning the posting of agency guidance documents. Specifically, an agency must publish guidance documents online on the dates they are issued, publish all of its guidance documents that are in effect in a single location on a designated website, display a hyperlink on its website that provides access to the guidance documents on such website, and indicate on such website if a guidance document has been rescinded. The documents must be categorized as guidance documents and further divided into subcategories.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires agencies to publish guidance documents online when issued
Mandates single centralized website location for all guidance
Requires hyperlinks for easy public access
Must indicate when guidance has been rescinded
Documents must be categorized and organized by subcategory

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This transparency legislation addresses concerns about regulatory guidance being difficult to find or outdated. For businesses and individuals subject to agency rules, it provides easier access to understand compliance expectations. For agencies, it creates standardized publication requirements. The bill promotes accountability by ensuring the public can track when guidance is issued, modified, or withdrawn.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Related Subjects

Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Government information and archives

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

252, 119th Congress (2025). "GOOD Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-252