Title: Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act of 2017
This bill requires each federal agency with annual extramural research expenditures of over $100 million to develop a federal research public access policy that (1) is consistent with, and that advances, the purposes of the agency; and (2) follows common procedures for the collection and depositing of research papers.
Each federal research public access policy is applicable to (1) researchers employed by the federal agency whose works remain in the public domain, and (2) researchers funded by the agency. The bill specifies exclusions.
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress regarding (1) an analysis of the period between the date on which each paper becomes publicly available in a journal and the date on which the paper is in the online repository of the applicable federal agency, and (2) the effectiveness of the policy in providing the public with free online access to papers on research funded by each agency required to develop a policy.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1701 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1701

   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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2017

 Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Access to Science and 
Technology Research Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (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;
            (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;
            (3) the United States has a substantial interest in 
        maximizing the impact and utility of the research it funds by 
        enabling a wide range of reuses of the peer-reviewed literature 
        that reports the results of such research, including by 
        enabling computational analysis by state-of-the-art 
        technologies;
            (4) the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a 
        policy memorandum dated February 22, 2013, which established 
        the commitment of the executive branch of the Federal 
        Government to ensuring that ``the direct results of Federally 
        funded scientific research are made available to and useful for 
        the public, industry, and the scientific community''; and
            (5) the executive branch advises that such public access 
        should be implemented ``with the fewest constraints possible''.

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.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL RESEARCH PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY.

    (a) Requirement To Develop Policy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, each Federal agency with annual 
        extramural research expenditures of over $100,000,000 shall 
        develop a Federal research public access policy that is 
        consistent with and advances the purposes of the Federal 
        agency.
            (2) Common procedures.--To the extent practicable, Federal 
        agencies required to develop a policy under paragraph (1) shall 
        follow common procedures for the collection and depositing of 
        research papers.
    (b) Content.--Each Federal research public access policy shall 
provide for--
            (1) submission to a digital repository designated or 
        maintained by 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 that result from research supported, in whole or in part, 
        from funding by the Federal Government;
            (2) the incorporation of all changes resulting from the 
        peer review publication process in the manuscript described 
        under paragraph (1);
            (3) the replacement of the final manuscript with the final 
        published version if--
                    (A) the publisher consents to the replacement; and
                    (B) the goals of the Federal agency for 
                functionality and interoperability are retained;
            (4) free online public access to such final peer-reviewed 
        manuscripts or published versions within a time period that is 
        appropriate for each type of research conducted or sponsored by 
        the Federal agency, not later than 12 months after publication 
        in peer-reviewed journals, preferably sooner, or as adjusted 
        under established mechanisms;
            (5) a means, using established mechanisms for making 
        requests to the applicable Federal agency, for members of the 
        public and other stakeholders to request to adjust the period 
        before such a final peer-reviewed manuscript or published 
        version is made publicly available by presenting evidence 
        demonstrating that the period is inconsistent with the 
        objectives of the Federal research public access policy or the 
        needs of the public, industry, or the scientific community;
            (6) providing research papers as described in paragraph (4) 
        in formats and under terms that enable productive reuse of the 
        research and computational analysis by state-of-the-art 
        technologies;
            (7) improving the ability of the public to locate and 
        access research papers made accessible under the Federal 
        research public access policy; and
            (8) long-term preservation of, and free public access to, 
        published research findings--
                    (A) in a stable digital repository maintained by 
                the Federal agency; or
                    (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.
    (c) Application of Policy.--Each Federal research public access 
policy shall--
            (1) apply to--
                    (A) researchers employed by the Federal agency 
                whose works remain in the public domain; and
                    (B) researchers funded by the Federal agency;
            (2) provide that works described under paragraph (1)(A) 
        shall be--
                    (A) marked as being public domain material when 
                published; and
                    (B) made available at the same time such works are 
                made available under subsection (b)(4); and
            (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.
    (d) Exclusions.--Each Federal research public access policy shall 
not apply to--
            (1) research progress reports presented at professional 
        meetings or conferences;
            (2) laboratory notes, preliminary data analyses, notes of 
        the author, phone logs, or other information used to produce 
        final manuscripts;
            (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
            (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.
    (f) GAO Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) includes an analysis of the period between the date on 
        which each paper becomes publicly available in a journal and 
        the date on which the paper is in the online repository of the 
        applicable Federal agency; and
            (2) examines the effectiveness of the Federal research 
        public access policy in providing the public with free online 
        access to papers on research funded by each Federal agency 
        required to develop a policy under subsection (a)(1), 
        including--
                    (A) whether the terms of use applicable to such 
                research papers in effect are effective in enabling 
                productive reuse of the research and computational 
                analysis by state-of-the-art technologies; and
                    (B) examines whether such research papers should 
                include a royalty-free copyright license that is 
                available to the public and that permits the reuse of 
                those research papers, on the condition that 
                attribution is given to the author or authors of the 
                research and any others designated by the copyright 
                owner.
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