The Geospatial Data Act Passes

Last year we wrote about a called the Geospatial Data Act, S1253,  The Act passed in a bipartisan manner in October 2018, as reported by the American Association of Geographers.  This legislation will save U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars because it allows government agencies for better coordination, avoiding duplication of efforts, and to procure geospatial expertise, technology, services, and data from across the full range of the dynamic and rapidly growing U.S. geographic and geospatial community.  Also key is that the Act establishes procedures and guidance for the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), which we have written about in this blog and in our book, and the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC).  After considering input from a variety of stakeholders, including the AAG, House and Senate committees finally settled on a streamlined bill stripped of the damaging provisions that would have limited federal procurement of geospatial data and services to a small segment of the geospatial community,” said the AAG.

As we described earlier, the Act should be a significant aid to visibility and advancement of geospatial technology.  Key segments of the Act include:

• Section 2 defines the term ‘geospatial data’ for the US federal government.
• Section 3 clarifies the role of a Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC).
• Section 4 clarifies the role of a National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC).
• Section 5 describes the importance of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
• Section 8 describes the creation and operation of the ‘GeoPlatform’ as an electronic service that provides access to geospatial data and metadata for geospatial data.

Keep an eye on this blog and other resources to keep track of benefits resulting from the Geospatial Data Act.

The passage of the Geospatial Data Act promises to be a positive step forward for the geospatial industry.  Photograph by Joseph Kerski.