Narrative: The Geospatial Data Act of 2017 was reintroduced on Nov. 15 (GIS Day) in both the Senate and the House. The Senate bill (S.2128) has six co-sponsors right now, including Senators Hatch, Warner, Wyden, Heller, Boozman, and Klobuchar. The House bill (H.R.4395) is co-sponsored by Rep. Westerman and Rep. Moulton. The bill was reintroduced after a number of significant changes were made, including elimination of Sections 11 and 12 and simplication of the definition of geospatial data in Section 2, in addition to a few other minor revisions. Cy Smith, the Oregon Geospatial Information Officer, has been working with Senator Hatch's office and AAG to settle on the revised language and get the bill reintroduced. He will provide information on the revisions and talk about the overarching intent and importance of the bill, as well as next steps to enact the legislation.
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Bio: Cy Smith, joined the State of Oregon in 2000. He is responsible for statewide coordination of all GIS activities in state, regional and local governments, helping to assure the elimination of redundant activities. He is Past-President of the National States Geographic Information Council, Past-President of the Urban Regional Information Systems Association, and Founding Chair of the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations, a coalition of 13 geospatial professional organizations representing over 170,000 members. Cy was GIS Manager for Olathe, Kansas for four years, Kansas State GIS Coordinator for three years, and a GIS consultant for PlanGraphics, Inc. for four years.
