Thomas Jefferson Researcher's Privilege Act of 1999

Summary: Thomas Jefferson Researcher's Privilege Act of 1999 - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to make FOIA inapplicable to matters that are data, records, or information, including actual research documents, collected or produced in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on academic, commercial, scientific, or technical issues, including: (1) unpublished lecture notes, unpublished research notes, data, processes, results, or other confidential information from research which is in progress, unpublished, or not yet verified; or (2) any other information related to research, the disclosure of which could affect the conduct or outcome of the research, the likelihood of similar research in the future, the ability to obtain patents or copyrights from the research, or any other proprietary rights any entity may have in the research or results of the research. 
(Sec. 3) Amends Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to require the court by which a subpoena was issued, on timely motion, to quash or modify the subpoena if it requires disclosure of data, records, or information, including actual research documents, collected or produced in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on academic, commercial, scientific, or technical issues. 
Authorizes the court: (1) if a subpoena requires disclosure of such data, records, or information, to protect a person subject to or affected by the subpoena, to quash or modify the subpoena; or (2) if the party in whose behalf the subpoena is issued shows a substantial need for the testimony or material that cannot be otherwise met without undue hardship and assures that the person to whom the subpoena is addressed will be reasonably compensated, to order appearance or production only upon specified conditions. 
(Sec. 4) Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to authorize a person engaged in the study or research of academic, commercial, scientific, or technical issues to claim a privilege to refuse to disclose data, records, or information concerning that study or research. 
(Sec. 5) Repeals the provision (regarding data produced under Federal grants and agreements awarded to institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999) that: (1) requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to amend OMB Circular A-110 to require Federal awarding agencies to ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through procedures established under FOIA; and (2) allows the agency obtaining the data, if it does so solely at the request of a private party, to authorize a reasonable user fee equaling the incremental cost of obtaining the data.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Thomas Jefferson Researcher's 
Privilege Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS.

    Section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(4)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) data, records, or information, including 
                actual research documents, collected or produced in the 
                conduct of or as a result of study or research on 
                academic, commercial, scientific, or technical issues, 
                including--
                            ``(i) unpublished lecture notes, 
                        unpublished research notes, data, processes, 
                        results or other confidential information from 
                        research which is in progress, unpublished or 
                        not yet verified; or
                            ``(ii) any other information related to 
                        research, the disclosure of which could 
                        affect--
                                    ``(I) the conduct or outcome of the 
                                research;
                                    ``(II) the likelihood of similar 
                                research in the future;
                                    ``(III) the ability to obtain 
                                patents or copyrights from the 
                                research; or
                                    ``(IV) any other proprietary rights 
                                any entity may have in the research or 
                                results of the research;''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.

    Rule 45(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in clause (iv) by striking the period and 
                inserting a comma and ``or''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(v) requires disclosure of data, records, or 
                information, including actual research documents, 
                collected or produced in the conduct of or as a result 
                of study or research on academic, commercial, 
                scientific, or technical issues, including--
                            ``(I) unpublished lecture notes, 
                        unpublished research notes, data, processes, 
                        results or other confidential information from 
                        research which is in any progress, unpublished 
                        or not yet verified, or
                            ``(II) any other information related to 
                        research, the disclosure of which could affect 
                        the conduct or outcome of the research, the 
                        likelihood of similar research in the future, 
                        the ability to obtain patents or copyrights 
                        from the research, or any other proprietary 
                        rights any entity may have in the research or 
                        results of the research.''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) in clause (iii) by inserting ``or'' after the 
                comma; and
                    (B) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
                    ``(iv) requires disclosure of data, records, or 
                information, including actual research documents, 
                collected or produced in the conduct of or as a result 
                of study or research on academic, commercial, 
                scientific, or technical issues, including--
                            ``(I) unpublished lecture notes, 
                        unpublished research notes, data, processes, 
                        results or other confidential information from 
                        research which is in any progress, unpublished 
                        or not yet verified, or
                            ``(II) any other information related to 
                        research, the disclosure of which could affect 
                        the conduct or outcome of the research, the 
                        likelihood of similar research in the future, 
                        the ability to obtain patents or copyrights 
                        from the research, or any other proprietary 
                        rights any entity may have in the research or 
                        the results of the research.''.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE.

    Article V of the Federal Rules of Evidence is amended by adding 
after rule 501 the following:
``Rule 502. Privilege for research information
    ``A person engaged in the study or research of academic, 
commercial, scientific, or technical issues may claim the privilege to 
refuse to disclose data, records, or information, including actual 
research documents, concerning that study or research. Such person may 
refuse to disclose unpublished lecture notes, unpublished research 
notes, data, processes, results, or other confidential information from 
research which is in any progress, unpublished or not yet verified, and 
any other information related to research, the disclosure of which 
could affect the conduct or outcome of the research, the likelihood of 
similar research in the future, the ability to obtain patents or 
copyrights from the research, or any other proprietary rights any 
entity may have in the research or the results of the research.''.

SEC. 5. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING DATA PRODUCED UNDER FEDERAL 
              GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS AWARDED TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 
              EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

    The fifth and sixth provisos under the subheading ``salaries and 
expenses'' under the heading ``OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET'' under 
title III of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 
1999 (Public Law 105-277; 112 Stat. 2681-495) are repealed.