On January 3, 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued final "data quality" rules, effective immediately. The rules were published pursuant to a rider on the FY 2001 Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act (P.L. 106-554), which requires OMB to publish guidelines that "provide policy and procedural guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by Federal agencies." The rider requires agencies to issue their own implementing guidelines that include "administrative mechanisms allowing affected persons to seek and obtain correction of information maintained and disseminated by the agency."

OMB proposed the data quality rules on June 28, 2001. After receiving a number of comments (see OMB Watch's comments), OMB published interim final rules on September 28, 2001, and sought additional comments on one provision. The rules published last week are final rules providing additions and refinements to the interim final rule published on September 28.

By April 1, 2002, each agency covered by the Paperwork Reduction Act must publish a notice for comment in the Federal Register providing guidelines for implementing the rider for its agency, along with how the agency will develop the administrative mechanism that allows people to seek and obtain appropriate correction of information maintained and disseminated by the agency. After consideration of public comments, each agency must submit its plan to OMB by July 1, 2002. The plan must be put into place by the start of the next fiscal year, October 1, 2002.

The administrative mechanism shall apply to all information that the agency disseminates, regardless of when the agency first disseminated the information. The agency must institute a pre-dissemination review for data quality for new information disseminated after October 1, 2002.