ARIZONA STATE SENATE

RESEARCH STAFF

JULIET SPEISMAN

LEGISLATIVE INTERN

KIMBERLY YEE

LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Telephone: (602) 542-3171

Facsimile: (602) 542-7833

TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

DATE: February 28, 2001

SUBJECT: Strike Everything Amendment to S.B. 1527, relating to universities; donors; intellectual property; confidentiality

Purpose

Exempts from public records laws state university records such as intellectual property, donated historical materials, and names and information concerning donors or potential donors to a university.

Background

State universities in Arizona receive funding for research grant proposals from the public as well as the private sector. Many research grant proposals include intellectual property such as invention disclosures prior to patent protection, proprietary information of private entities, and research notebooks compiled by faculty members.

Twenty-three states have adopted laws which define the material to be enclosed in research grant proposals of state universities as intellectual property that cannot be released as public information until grants are funded. These laws protect the private companies and universities involved in a specific research proposal from having intellectual property accessible to potential competitors. The strike everything amendment to S.B. 1527 protects records held by a state university from being subject to public records requirements.

There is no fiscal impact to the state general fund associated with this bill.

Provisions

1. Exempts from public records laws state university records such as intellectual property, donated historical materials, and names and information concerning donors or potential donors to a university.

Intellectual Property

2. Defines intellectual property as a trade secret and is contained in the following:

(a) Unfunded grant applications or proposals.

(b) Proprietary data or research material provided to a university by a third party.

3. Establishes contract requirements for a university and third party to ensure that intellectual property provided to a university remains confidential.

Historical Records

4. Exempts from public records laws historical records and materials donated to a university by a private person or entity, if restricted access is a condition of the donation. Specifies the exemption expires after 20 years.

Donor Records

5. Exempts from public records laws university records about donors or potential donors, except for the names of donors and specified information about the actual donation given.

Miscellaneous

6. Prohibits the exemptions from being applicable if the subject matter of the university’s records becomes available to the general public.

7. Provides for a general effective date.

JS/KY/ac