A.9162 (Hevesi) / S.7046 (Marcellino)

STAFF CONTACT :

Vice President of Government Affairs
518.465.7511

BILL

A.9162 (Hevesi) / S.7046 (Marcellino)

SUBJECT

Taxpayer Access to Publicly Funded Research Act

DATE

Oppose

The Business Council opposes this legislation which would require the final manuscripts of peer-reviewed, private-sector journal articles reporting on research supported by New York State Funding, be made freely available to the public on state agency websites no later than six months after their publication in journals.

While we support public access to certain publicly funded information, particularly the raw data resulting from state funded research, we believe that state agencies should not undermine the fundamental intellectual property rights of publishers for research findings that may have significant pecuniary value.

Private sector non-profit and commercial publishers have made substantial investments in the articles and journals which receive state funding. These works aid in the advancement of science and contribute to substantial gains in research.  New York must maintain copyright protections that will help provide an important incentive for publishers to continue to invest in the peer review and publication of journals.

This bill would undermine these incentives for publishers. As a consequence, it will diminish the high quality of scientific research in New York as well as damage jobs within New York’s publishing industry.

For these reasons the Business Council recommends against enactment of this legislation.