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118th Congress Commerce

H.R. 1631: Pro Codes Act

ReportedJul 22, 2024

  1. Introduced (completed)Mar 17, 2023
  2. Passed House (not reached)
  3. Passed Senate (not reached)
  4. To the President (not reached)
  5. Became law (not reached)

Summary

Reported to House, Jul 22, 2024

This bill addresses copyright protections for privately-developed technical standards that are incorporated into a law or regulation (e.g., a state law that requires buildings to comply with the electrical standards developed by a private standards development organization).

Currently, there is not a consensus as to whether a technical standard that has been incorporated by reference into a law retains copyright protection. (A technical standard created by a private organization is typically eligible for copyright protection, but some courts have ruled that standards incorporated into law lose their copyright protections for various reasons. For example, some courts have held that incorporated standards effectively became law and therefore entered the public domain.)

Under this bill, a technical standard shall retain its copyright protection even if it has been incorporated by reference into a law or regulation, if the applicable standards development organization makes the standard available on a free publicly accessible online source and in a format that facilitates the location of specific content.

Read the full summary

If a party asserts that an incorporated technical standard has lost its copyright protection because it has not been made available for free online, the party making that assertion shall bear the burden of proof.

The bill also includes reporting requirements for the Copyright Office and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO must conduct several studies and report on the findings, including the potential impacts of the bill on consumers and historically disadvantaged communities.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Key votes

House final vote, Jul 22, 2024

On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended

Failed 248–127

Yea 248two-thirds 250Nay 127

  • Democrats105 yea, 78 nay
  • Republicans142 yea, 49 nay
  • Independents1 yea, 0 nay

Broke with their party: Ann Wagner (R-MO), Robert Wittman (R-VA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Mark Takano (D-CA) voted Nay; and 117 more

See how all 375 members voted

Showing 431 of 431 members

Yea 248

Republicans (142)

Democrats (105)

Independents (1)

Nay 127

Republicans (49) broke with their party

Democrats (78) broke with their party

Not voting 56

Senate

Not yet voted

Roll calls

1 vote on this bill

Showing 1 of 1 roll calls

  • Jul 22, 2024HouseOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedFinal passageFailed, yea-nay 248–127
    Roll call 357 tally by party
    PartyYeaNayPresentNot voting
    Democrats10578029
    Republicans14249027
    Independents1000
    Total248127056

    House roll call 357: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended. Failed.

    127 crossed party lines: 78 Democrats, 49 Republicans

    How each member voted (431)

Amendments

0 offered

No amendments were offered to this bill.

Cosponsors

19

Bipartisan support.

Who scored on this bill

800 points earned
  1. 1Darrell Issa R-CA SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced, marked up, reported4 events+38
  2. 2Dan Bishop R-NC1 maverick vote; cosponsored2 events+6
  3. 2Lance Gooden R-TX1 maverick vote; cosponsored2 events+6
  4. 2Alma Adams D-NC1 maverick vote1 event+6
  5. 2Pete Aguilar D-CA1 maverick vote1 event+6
See all scorers and every scoring event

Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.

Other bills by Darrell Issa

History

  1. Mar 17, 2023Introduced in the House by Darrell Issa.
Show the full action history (16 actions)
  1. Jul 22, 2024Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 118-601.
  2. Jul 22, 2024Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 501.
  3. Jul 22, 2024Mr. Issa moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  4. Jul 22, 2024Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4658-4665; text: CR H4658-4660)
  5. Jul 22, 2024DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1631.
  6. Jul 22, 2024At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  7. Jul 22, 2024Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4708)
  8. Jul 22, 2024Failed of passage/not agreed to in House On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 248 - 127 (Roll no. 357).
  9. Jul 22, 2024On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 248 - 127 (Roll no. 357).
  10. Apr 17, 2024Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  11. Apr 17, 2024Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 4.
  12. Apr 16, 2024Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  13. Jul 19, 2023the motion to favorably report was withdrawn by unanimous consent
  14. Jul 19, 2023Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  15. Mar 17, 2023Introduced in House
  16. Mar 17, 2023Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.