S 2096 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

2d SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

S. 2096CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

February 9, 2012CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the Federal Government funds basic and applied research with the expectation that new ideas and discoveries that result from the research, if shared and effectively disseminated, will advance science and improve the lives and welfare of people of the United States and around the world; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the Internet makes it possible for this information to be promptly available to every scientist, physician, educator, and citizen at home, in school, or in a library.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF FEDERAL AGENCY.

In this Act, the term ‘Federal agency’ means an Executive agency as defined under section 105 of title 5, United States Code.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. FEDERAL RESEARCH PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY.

(a) In General- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal agency with extramural research expenditures of over $100,000,000 shall develop a Federal research public access policy that is consistent with and advances purposes of the Federal agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Content- Each Federal research public access policy shall provide for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) submission to the Federal agency of an electronic version of the author’s final manuscript of original research papers that have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and result from research supported, in whole or in part, from funding by the Federal Government;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the incorporation of all changes resulting from the peer review publication process in the manuscript described under paragraph (1);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the replacement of the final manuscript with the final published version if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the publisher consents to the replacement; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the goals of the Federal agency for functionality and interoperability are retained;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) free online public access to such final peer-reviewed manuscripts or published versions as soon as practicable, but not later than 6 months after publication in peer-reviewed journals;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) production of an online bibliography of all research papers that are publicly accessible under the policy, with each entry linking to the corresponding free online full text; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) long-term preservation of, and free public access to, published research findings--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in a stable digital repository maintained by the Federal agency; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) if consistent with the purposes of the Federal agency, in any repository meeting conditions determined favorable by the Federal agency, including free public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Application of Policy- Each Federal research public access policy shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) apply to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) researchers employed by the Federal agency whose works remain in the public domain; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) researchers funded by the Federal agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide that works described under paragraph (1)(A) shall be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) marked as being public domain material when published; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) made available at the same time such works are made available under subsection (b)(4); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) make effective use of any law or guidance relating to the creation and reservation of a Government license that provides for the reproduction, publication, release, or other uses of a final manuscript for Federal purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Exclusions- Each Federal research public access policy shall not apply to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) research progress reports presented at professional meetings or conferences;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) laboratory notes, preliminary data analyses, notes of the author, phone logs, or other information used to produce final manuscripts;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) authors who do not submit their work to a journal or works that are rejected by journals.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(f) Report-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than October 1 of each year, the head of each Federal agency shall submit a report on the Federal research public access policy of that agency to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) any other committee of Congress of appropriate jurisdiction.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) CONTENT- Each report under this subsection shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) a statement of the effectiveness of the Federal research public access policy in providing the public with free online access to papers on research funded by the Federal agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) a list of papers published in peer-reviewed journals that report on research funded by the Federal agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) a corresponding list of papers made available by the Federal agency as a result of the Federal research public access policy; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) a summary of the periods of time between public availability of each paper in a journal and in the online repository of the Federal agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY- The Federal agency shall make the statement under paragraph (2)(A) and the lists of papers under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) available to the public by posting such statement and lists on the website of the Federal agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink