Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 501


Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 23, 2015


An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 85285) to Part 3 of Division 35 of the Water Code, relating to resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 501, as amended, Levine. Resources: Delta research.

Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, requires the Delta Stewardship Council to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the Delta, meeting specified requirements. The act requires the Delta Independent Science Board to develop a scientific program relating to the management of the Delta.

This bill would require a person conducting Delta research, as defined, whose research is funded, in whole or in part, by the state, to take specified actions with regard to the sharing of the primary data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of that research.begin insert The bill would make a researcher ineligible for state funding if the researcher does not substantially comply with these requirements within 6 months of completing the Delta research project, until the researcher complies with those requirements.end insert The bill would authorize the Delta Independent Science Board to adopt guidelines to provide adjustments to, and, where essential, exceptions from, these requirements and would exempt the adoption of these guidelines from the procedural requirements for the adoption of regulations. The bill would require a state agency that funds or participates in Delta research to implement policies to disseminate and share Delta research results,begin delete in a specified manner.end deletebegin insert including, but not limited to, making it a condition of a grant that the grantee share research data, collections, and findings with other researchers.end insert

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The bill would make a researcher ineligible for state funding if the researcher does not provide the information required by the bill within 6 months of the date of the final publication or public dissemination of the research findings, until the researcher complies with the bill’s requirements.

end delete
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The bill would provide that all legal rights to tangible property collected or created during Delta research remain with the researcher, as determined by the policies of the organization providing the grant, contract, or other agreement, except as specified, but would require a researcher to make this tangible property appropriately available to other researchers.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 85285) is
2added to Part 3 of Division 35 of the Water Code, to read:

3 

4Chapter  6. Dissemination and Sharing of State-Funded
5Delta Research Data
6

 

7

85285.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
8shall apply:

9(a) “Delta research” means scientific inquiry that meets one or
10both of the following conditions:

11(1) The San Francisco Bay or the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
12is, in whole or in part, the locus of the research.

13(2) The research addresses environmental factors relevant to
14this division, including, but not limited to, hydrodynamics, salinity,
15geomorphology, studies related to aquatic species, and water
16quality, including mercury contamination, in the Sacramento River,
17the San Joaquin River, or any tributary, including any
18impoundment on any tributary, of the Sacramento or San Joaquin
19Rivers.

P3    1(b) “Researcher” means a person who conducts Delta research
2and whose research is funded, in whole or in part, by the state,
3including, but not limited to, by a research grant.

begin delete

4(c) “Tangible property” means personal property other than
5equipment and intellectual property.

end delete
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6

85285.5.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

7(a) The state normally allows researchers to retain principal
8legal rights to intellectual property developed through state-funded
9research to provide incentives for development and dissemination
10of inventions, software, and publications that can enhance their
11usefulness, accessibility, and upkeep.

12(b) These incentives do not, however, reduce the responsibility
13that investigators and organizations have, as members of the
14scientific and engineering community, to make results, data, and
15collections available to other researchers.

16(c) Some state-funded Delta research supports the collection or
17creation of tangible property, such as insects, marine life, drilling
18core samples, and genetically altered microorganisms.

end delete
begin insert
19

begin insert85285.5.end insert  

It is the intent of the Legislature that persons
20conducting Delta research have a responsibility, as members of
21the scientific community, to share results and findings with other
22researchers for the public benefit, including, but not limited to,
23data, samples, and other material collected while conducting the
24research.

end insert
25

85286.  

Except as provided in Section 85286.5, a researcher
26shall do all of the following:

27(a) Provide the Delta Science Program with access to all primary
28data created for conducting Delta research.

29(b) Promptly prepare and submit for publication, with authorship
30that accurately reflects the contributions of those involved, all
31significant findings from Delta research.

32(c) Permit and encourage the publication of Delta research by
33those actually performing Delta research, unless a state funding
34recipient intends to publish or disseminate those findings by itself.

35(d) Share with other researchers, at no more than incremental
36cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data, samples,
37physical collections, and other supporting materials created or
38gathered in the course of conducting Delta research.

P4    1(e) Encourage and facilitate the sharing of the primary data,
2samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials
3created or gathered in the course of conducting Delta research.

4(f) Release privileged or confidential information only in a form
5that protects the privacy of individuals and subjects involved.

6

85286.5.  

The Delta Independent Science Board established
7pursuant to Section 85280 may adopt guidelines to provide
8adjustments to, and, where essential, exceptions from, the
9requirements of this chapter, for the purposes of safeguarding the
10rights of individuals and subjects, or the validity of the results, and
11the integrity of collections, or accommodating legitimate research
12interests. The guidelines adopted pursuant to this section are not
13regulations for purposes of, and shall not be subject to, Chapter
143.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of
15Title 2 of the Government Code.

16

85287.  

A state agency that funds or participates in Delta
17research shall implement policies to disseminate and share Delta
18research results,begin delete in ways appropriate to field and circumstances,
19including through the proposal review process, conducting
20negotiations for, and imposing conditions upon, awards, providing
21appropriate support and incentives for data cleanup, documentation,
22dissemination, and storage, and by taking other similar actions. end delete

23begin insert including, but not limited to, end insertbegin insertmaking it a condition of a grant that
24the grantee share research data, collections, and findings with
25other researchers.end insert

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26

85287.5.  

A researcher that does not provide the information
27in the manner required by this chapter within six months of the
28date of the final publication or public dissemination of the findings
29of the Delta research results is not eligible for state funding until
30the researcher complies with this chapter.

end delete
begin delete
31

85288.  

(a) All legal rights to tangible property collected or
32created during Delta research remain with the researcher, as
33determined by the policies of the organization providing the grant,
34contract, or other agreement specifying the rights and obligations
35of the researcher, except as otherwise provided in that grant,
36contract, or agreement.

37(b) A researcher shall, as a member of the scientific and
38engineering community, make the tangible property specified in
39subdivision (a) appropriately available to other researchers.

end delete
begin insert
P5    1

begin insert85287.5.end insert  

A researcher that does not substantially comply with
2the requirements of Section 85286 within six months of completing
3the Delta research project is not eligible for state funding until
4the researcher complies with those requirements.

end insert


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