Shelby Amendment
The Shelby Amendment consists of two sentences added by Congress in 1998 to the Fiscal Year 1999 Omnibus Consolidated Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, sentences designed to require federal agencies to make available to the public research data produced by federal grantees under FOIA in certain circumstances. These sentences were:[1]
- Provided further, That the Director of OMB amends Section -.36 of OMB Circular A-110 to require Federal awarding agencies to ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through the procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act: Provided further, That if the agency obtaining the data does so solely at the request of a private party, the agency may authorize a reasonable user fee equaling the incremental cost of obtaining data.
OMB published two proposed revisions before settling on this:[2]
- in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for research data relating to published research findings produced under an award that were used by the Federal Government in developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law, the Federal awarding agency shall request, and the recipient shall provide, within a reasonable time, the research data so that they can be made available to the public through the procedures established under FOIA.
This revised circular applies only to data that is published and used by the Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law. Additionally, the circular is applicable only to data first produced under new or competing continuing grants awarded after April 17, 2000, the regulation's effective date.[3]
References
- ↑ FY 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act (144 CONG. REC. H11178 (daily ed. Oct. 19, 1998))
- ↑ Circular A-110 in October of 1999, 64 Fed. Reg. 54926 (October 8, 1999), which became effective April 17, 2000. See Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations, 65 Fed. Reg. 14406, 14407 (March 16, 2000).
- ↑ 64 Fed. Reg. 54926.
Sources
The above passage is taken from Salt Inst. v. Thompson, 345 F. Supp. 2d 589 (E.D. Va. Nov. 15, 2004), which held against a right to the underlying data on standing grounds.
