California’s Open Access Bill Passes House Assembly : Open Access Now

"Last Thursday, the California House Assembly passed the California Taxpayer Access to Publicly Funded Research Act (AB 609). AB 609 would provide free public access to the published results of more than $200 million in annual, state-funded research. All publications resulting from a state-funded grant would be made openly accessible to the public within 6 months of publication through the California Digital Library. The bill will be heard in the state Senate later this summer. AB 609 is a bi-partisan bill co-authored by Republican Assemblyman Brian Nestande and Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gatto. The idea for the bill originated in Nestande’s office by a Science and Technology Fellow after the fellow discovered her colleagues in medical and biotechnology professions were unable to access the latest research articles. This lack of access impacts their ability to help patients and develop cutting-edge technologies. Gatto’s legislation was inspired by Aaron Swartz‘s work. California Newswire quoted Gatto as saying, 'Aaron Swartz followed in the footsteps of our founding fathers and stood up to authority in the pursuit of knowledge.' Gatto provided additional comments about the bill and the high cost of journal articles: 'Forcing someone to pay large fees to find the results of research paid for by tax dollars limits the public’s ability to be informed and stifles innovation. We must ensure that Californians have access to the most up-to-date and cutting-edge research. This bill is a simple solution that promotes the sharing of knowledge and investment in our future.' Currently, the majority of articles on the results of publicly funded research are only available through costly journal subscription services. Single articles cost an individual approximately $30 each, and journal subscriptions for school’s can be as high as $40,000 per year. The 10-campus University of California system spends nearly $40 million on academic journal subscriptions per year. Many of these articles are written, reviewed, and edited by University of California professors as part of their scholarly duties. California residents in support of the bill should write to their state representatives in support of AB 609. SPARC has set up a legislative action center to help with this process."