Federal: With presidential administrations poised for turnover, a number of library advocacy issues are on the precipice of change: – support of net neutrality, which the FCC strongly bolstered in 2015 with the adoption of the Open Internet rules, may be weakened or eliminated under the new administration; – championship of privacy, including as it relates to…
Category: Legislation
For news about legislative activity relevant to librarianship. Not for news about or from the HSLI Legislative Committee.
First Library Legislative Meet-Up in Chicago to Take Place February 6
(via Gwen Gregory, IACRL Past President) The first Chicago Library Legislative Meet-up will take place on February 6, 2017. Don’t miss out on this chance to talk to your legislators! You can meet them in person and talk about issues affecting libraries and higher education, including education and MAP funding and library support. Members of…
Legislative Update, 12/20/2016
Federal News Want to participate in library advocacy? Be a voice for library funding, privacy & surveillance reform, access to government information, and other issues. National Library Legislative Day 2017 will occur May 1-2 in Washington, D.C. Registration is now open on the ALA website. State News: Here is an Illinois Public Media interview of Dan…
Legislative Update, 12/7/2016
Federal: Rep. Tom Price will be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under president-elect Donald Trump. Like Trump, Price has been critical of the Affordable Care Act. Price also favors changes to Medicaid and Medicare. While he made no direct comments regarding policy following his secretarial appointment, Price supports Medicaid being converted…
Legislative Update, 11/23/2016
Federal: With the 2016 U.S. presidential election cycle behind us, we can now look at near-future implications for healthcare legislation. President Elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and has proposed a replacement model that includes Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Information regarding the Trump Administration’s healthcare reform is available at www.greatagain.gov/policy/healthcare.html….
Legislative Update, 11/11/2016
First, everyday and especially on Veteran’s Day, let us say thank you to all of the veterans that have served and protected our right to participate in the legislative processes of our country! Federal: Google is filing an appeal with the Conseil d’etat, the highest court in France, regarding a ruling on the “right to…
Legislative Update, 10/26/2016
Federal: The Connecticut Four, four librarians who, in 2005, stood against providing the FBI access to library patron computer use information, are again in the news. They write in the Hartford Courant about movement in the Senate to increase FBI surveillance authority. The latest proposition would require librarians to provide the FBI with transaction records…
Legislative Update, 10/10/2016
Federal: At the beginning of October, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR), which will delay the passage of appropriations bills until after the fall election cycle. Libraries were supported in the CR, with relatively level funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program, Library of Congress, and other…
Legislative Update, 09/26/2016
Federal: Taking a look at copyright news this week while there is a lull in legislative news, Carrie Russell writes an interesting piece for the District Dispatch about interlibrary loan (ILL) permission fees. Her survey of libraries indicates that article permission fees are often steep, and she expounds on the case of one journal’s fee in particular….
Legislative Update, 09/12/2016
Federal: ALA submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the recent inclusion of broadband Internet access to the Lifeline program. Lifeline provides low-income Americans with discounted phone service. In March 2016, the FCC voted to include broadband as an additional service of this program. Recommendations made by ALA addressed non-cost-related obstacles in accessing broadband….