110 STAT. 3870 PUBLIC LAW 104-320—OCT. 19, 1996 Public Law 104-320 104th Congress An Act Oct. 19, 1996 To reauthorize alternative means of dispute resolution in the Federal administrative [H.R. 4194] process, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Administrative the United States of America in Congress assembled. Dispute ^solution Act of SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 5 USC 571 note. This Act may be cited as the "Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996". SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITIONS. Section 571 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (3)— (A) by striking ", in lieu of an adjudication as defined in section 551(7) of this title,"; (B) by striking "settlement negotiations,"; and (C) by striking "and arbitration" and inserting "arbitration, and use of ombuds"; and (2) in paragraph (8)— (A) in subparagraph (B) by striking "decision," and inserting "decision;"; and (B) by striking the matter following subparagraph (B). SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS. (a) LIMITATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY APPLICATION TO COMMUNICATION.— Subsections (a) and (b) of section 574 of title 5, United States Code, are each amended in the matter before paragraph (1) by striking "any information concerning". (b) DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMUNICATION.—Section 574(b)(7) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "(7) except for dispute resolution communications generated by the neutral, the dispute resolution commimication was provided to or was available to all parties to the dispute resolution proceeding.". (c) ALTERNATIVE CONFIDENTIALITY PROCEDURES. —Section 574(d) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting "(1)" after "(d)"; and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: "(2) To qualify for the exemption established under subsection (j), an alternative confidential procedure under this si^bsection may not provide for less disclosure than the confidential procedures otherwise provided under this section.".
�
