Federal Research Public Access Act Reintroduced

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New legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week to support the publication of federally-sponsored research results under open access terms.
Sponsored by Senator Lieberman of Connecticut and co-sponsored by Senator Cornyn of Texas, it mandates open access to author pre-print versions with peer review changes in federally-run repositories within six months of publication. Called S.1373, it is a nearly identical version to the bill of the same name that these two senators introduced in 2006, which ultimately died in committee. The 2006 version was supported by a wide variety of organizations including the American Library Association, as tracked by the Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA).

In his statement on the floor of the Senate introducing the bill, Senator Cornyn described the benefits of the legislation:

Our bill will ask all Federal departments and agencies that invest $100 million or more annually in research to develop a public access policy. Our goal is to have the results of all government-funded research to be disseminated and made available to the largest possible audience. By speeding access to this research, we can help promote the advancement of science, accelerate the pace of new discoveries and innovations, and improve the lives and welfare of people at home and abroad.

The practical reality of the legislation would be to endorse the NIH open access policy, apply it to a wider array of departments, and run counter to the U.S. Representative John Conyer's proposed "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act" (discussed earlier on DLTJ). The differences between the two bills are described below. The major change is the exclusion of progress reports at meetings or conferences from the open access provisions, plus oversight by additional committees in the U.S. House and Senate. ATA released a statement that supports this version of the bill.

Line 1: Line 1:
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109th CONGRESS
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111th CONGRESS
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2d Session
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1st Session
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S. 2695
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S. 1373
To provide for Federal agencies to develop public access policies relating to research conducted by employees of that agency or from funds administered by that agency.
To provide for Federal agencies to develop public access policies relating to research conducted by employees of that agency or from funds administered by that agency.
Line 9: Line 9:
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
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May 2, 2006
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June 25, 2009
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Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
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Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
A BILL
Line 21: Line 21:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the `Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006'.
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This Act may be cited as the `Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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(d) Exclusions- Each Federal research public access policy shall not apply to--
(d) Exclusions- Each Federal research public access policy shall not apply to--
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(1) research progress reports presented at professional meetings or conferences;
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(1) laboratory notes, preliminary data analyses, notes of the author, phone logs, or other information used to produce final manuscripts;
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(2) laboratory notes, preliminary data analyses, notes of the author, phone logs, or other information used to produce final manuscripts;
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(2) classified research, research resulting in works that generate revenue or royalties for authors (such as books) or patentable discoveries, to the extent necessary to protect a copyright or patent; or
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(3) classified research, research resulting in works that generate revenue or royalties for authors (such as books) or patentable discoveries, to the extent necessary to protect a copyright or patent; or
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(3) authors who do not submit their work to a journal or works that are rejected by journals.
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(4) authors who do not submit their work to a journal or works that are rejected by journals.
(e) Patent or Copyright Law- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any right under the provisions of title 17 or 35, United States Code.
(e) Patent or Copyright Law- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any right under the provisions of title 17 or 35, United States Code.
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(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
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(B) the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives; and
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(B) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives;
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(C) the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives;
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(D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
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(E) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
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(C) any other committee of Congress of appropriate jurisdiction.
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(F) any other committee of Congress of appropriate jurisdiction.
(2) CONTENT- Each report under this subsection shall include--
(2) CONTENT- Each report under this subsection shall include--

Gavin Baker at Open Access News has some things to watch as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.

The text was modified to update a link from http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/media/Release09-0625.html to http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/news/news_releases/Release09-0625.shtml on January 28th, 2011.

The text was modified to update a link from http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ForPress.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=1959bcce-802a-23ad-4dbe-e2aece171fb3&Region_id=&Issue_id= to http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=1959bcce-802a-23ad-4dbe-e2aece171fb3&ContentType_id=b94acc28-404a-4fc6-b143-a9e15bf92da4&Group_id=24eb5606-e2db-4d7f-bf6c-efc5df80b676&MonthDisplay=6&YearDisplay=2009 on February 12th, 2011.

The text was modified to update a link from http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa/ to http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/issues/frpaa/index.shtml on June 9th, 2011.

The text was modified to update a link from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/godort/godortresolutions/20060626308.cfm# to http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Resolution_on_the_Federal_Research_Public_Access_Act_of_2006_(FRPAA) on November 13th, 2012.