Illinois considers state-level public access policy (SPARC2)

"The Illinois Open Access to Articles Act (SB 1900) was introduced into the Illinois State Senate in February of 2013 by State Senator Daniel Biss (D-Evanston). WHAT DOES THE LEGISLATION REQUIRE? As introduced, the legislation would require that all Illinois State Universities and Colleges develop an 'open access to research articles policy' within one year of the bill’s passage.  The legislation requires that policies direct faculty employed by State institutions of higher education submit an electronic version of the author's final manuscript of original research papers upon acceptance by a scholarly research journal to their employing institution.  These manuscripts would then be made freely available to the public immediately upon publication, and an irrevocable, worldwide copyright license to use these manuscripts would be granted by the author to the public. An online bibliography of all the research papers publically accessible under this policy would be produced, and each institution would ensure that the manuscripts were housed in a digital archive that provides both long-term public access and preservation.' In April of 2013, an Amendment was filed which supersedes the requirement for Institutions to develop Open Access Policies, and replaces it with a requirement that they establish an 'Open Access to Research Task Force' to review the issue, and to make recommendations on how best each institution can further the goals of  the original legislation. STATUS Bill is currently active. If the legislation passes, such recommendations would be required to be presented to the Illinois State Senate by January 1, 2015. WHY THIS BILL? To maximize the social and economic benefits of research to the public, published research articles produced by faculty at public institutions of higher education should be made as widely available as possible - including making articles immediately freely available where practicable, and ensure broad long term accessibility for reuse and further research. The public support that these faculty receive and the increased impact that broad public dissemination of research has is an important public purpose, and many public higher education institutions have developed (or are developing) the capacity to provide free access over the Internet to such research through institutional repositories or otherwise. Yet, a substantial portion of the research currently is not freely available over the Internet because the faculty have entered into publication agreements with terms that restrict access to the results of the unclassified research conducted by State employees.  SPARC Resources on The Illinois Open Access to Research Articles Act (SB 1900)  [1]  Text of Legislation as Introduced [2] Text of Amendment 2 [3] Text of Amendment 3 [4] Link to State Assembly Page on SB 1990 [5] Link to 'Senator Revising Proposed Research Release Mandate' [6] Link to 'Sen. Biss Ammends Open Access…'”