Oregon transparency bill memo
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NOTE: The main page for this project is at Oregon transparency bill/
Pete submitted the following memo to the Oregon Legislative Counsel, via his state representative (Ben Cannon) at the end of October 2008. Legislative Counsel will draft a bill based on this for prefiling, by the end of December, taking input along the way. Ben Cannon or Jefferson Smith are willing to sponsor this.
Contents |
[edit] Memo to Legislative Counsel
[edit] Describe the problem:
Works of the Oregon government are often not accessible to the citizens who fund them, and to whom they relate most closely. The problem is twofold -- legal and practical:
- (a) legal problem: Government agencies claim copyright over works that are properly owned by the people of Oregon, who fund their production. As a matter of common law, and of U.S. Federal law, works of the government are understood to be in the public domain, ineligible for copyright protection; works of the Oregon government should have the same status. Oregon citizens should have the ability to republish such works as state-produced photographs of Oregon institutions, maps of legislative districts, and studies without concern for their copyright status or possible legal repercussions.
- (b) practical problem: Significant works produced by state agencies are often not accessible to Oregonians who would benefit from the knowledge, and put it to good use. Studies and reports produced by state agencies are not always published on the Internet in a timely fashion; and when they are, they are often in a relatively inaccessible, proprietary format (like PDF), as opposed to a format that allows the end user to work with the underlying data (such as a spreadsheet document) or easy access (such as HTML)
[edit] Proposed solution:
- (a) Establish by statute, or refer an amendment to the Oregon Constitution, stating that works of the state government are in the public domain; prohibit state agencies from placing copyright notices on web sites or published materials produced by them.
- (b) Establish standards for what studies are published on the Internet; direct agencies to use formats that are conducive to use by a broad constituency.
[edit] Introduced in prior session?
No; however, see Senate Bill 518 (2007), which would require release of information relating to economic incentives.
[edit] Amends current law or program?
Yes, but unsure what statutes.
[edit] Contact:
Pete Forsyth <contact info removed to reduce spam>
Kristin Wolff <contact info removed to reduce spam>
