Folks,
Some of you may have seen the recent article from the AAG over the weekend that was critical of the Geospatial Data Act. There is concern over Section 11, which some believe is a ‘new plot to hijack GIS’. NSGIC has been a strong advocate for the GDA and does not support this view.
NSGIC believes that a strict reading of Section 11, the portion of the GDA bill that has drawn out the criticism by AAG and others, supports our claim that the bill does not impact existing professional licensure or procurement processes. Section 11 was added at the request of several entities that had the influence to ensure that no bill moved forward without some inclusion along the lines of what's in Section 11. It's good to keep in mind that the legislative process is often an exercise in compromise with the outcome not as always as tidy as it could be.
NSGIC expects in the coming days, formal legal analysis will be available from one or more authoritative legal sources to confirm that section 11 benignly asserts the status quo. Ideally, the forthcoming analysis will definitively refute the assertions made by the AAG and the bill can move forward. If not, then we all go back to the drawing board.
In short, let's take some deep breaths, resist the temptation to fan the fire (for now), and agree to come to the table when the additional information becomes available. And, hopefully, we put our energy back into proactive support of this effort.
I have attached two older documents relevant to Section 11 and a link to a recent blog post by NSGIC: https://www.nsgic.org/geospatial-data-act-sets-table
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
- - Tony
