An Act for Public Ownership of Public Information (full text)
Summary
A copyright notice is present on the bottom of every page at malegislature.gov. This copyright notice should not be there, as it prevents us or anyone else from copying the law to explain it. This itself is not such a big deal, really, as we think this copyright is not enforced.
The bigger deal for housing providers, which is how MassLandlords gets involved, is the building and fire code. The way Massachusetts regulations present these codes, they add modifications onto the text we have to buy. For example, we have to pay for the source of the 2015 building code:
https://shop.iccsafe.org/international-codes/2015-international-building-coder.html
And then we have to pay for the 2015 differences:
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/spr/sprcat/agencies/780.htm
Then we have to reconstruct for ourselves, each licenseholder separately, what the regulation actually says.
The differences are published online for free, but with the disclaimer that the online version is not kept up to date, not official, and may not be relied upon. For instance:
https://www.mass.gov/regulations/780-CMR-chapter-3-use-and-occupancy
Of course the online version could be official, except the state makes money selling official versions under its copyright.
The fire code is copyrighted and available only for purchase similar to the building code.
Full Text of the Public Ownership of Public Information Bill
To be posted.
Explanation of the Public Ownership of Public Information Bill
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An Act for Public Ownership of Public Information.
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WHEREAS the people of this Commonwealth have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State, as set forth in Article 4 of the Declaration of Rights;
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WHEREAS a self-governing, free, and sovereign State depends on the liberty of the press, which in turn depends on access to information;
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WHEREAS the Supreme Court of the United States has held that the Government Edicts Doctrine bars legislators from owning the law, in that officials empowered to speak with the force of law cannot be the authors of, and therefore cannot copyright, the works they create in the course of their official duties;
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WHEREAS the Legislature cannot own copyright in the works that the Legislature creates;
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WHEREAS the Legislature asserts copyright in its works, including copyright in the laws, by way of a notice on the website malegislature.gov that states, “Copyright © 2021 The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;”
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WHEREAS improper assertion of copyright in public-domain works is a criminal offense under the federal Copyright Act of 1976 as amended.
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
SECTION 1 Chapter 66 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 1A the following section:- |
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Section 1B.
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The Legislature disclaims, abandons, relinquishes, and waives copyright in the works of the Legislature, including all works created prior to the effective date hereof, and hereby irrevocably transfers and dedicates all such works to the public domain.
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The Legislature shall not claim copyright in any future works created by or on behalf of the Legislature, and all such works that the Legislature causes to be published shall contain a notice stating that: “The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hereby irrevocably dedicates this work to the public domain, and waives all copyright and associated claims and causes of action with respect to this work.”
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This section shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its purpose, which is to encourage the freedom of speech and of the press.
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SECTION 2 |
This change would subject the legislature to the public records law. Currently committee votes are secret, so the public do not know how a legislator voted at the crucial stage of committee recommendations. This bill would make committee votes public same as floor votes. |
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SECTION 3
Chapter 66 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:- |
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Section 22.
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Any document to which a regulation refers shall be deemed a public record.
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If the legislature or an executive agency want to derive the Massachusetts building code, fire code or other law or regulation from a third party copyright source, such as the ICC, then they will have to obtain licensing from the ICC for statewide publication. |
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