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COVID-19 STIMULUS BENEFITS NOW AVAILABLE TO ELIGIBLE LAW LIBRARIES 

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package that contains several benefits for the legal information industry. This includes the following new programs:

• The Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) , which will provide direct support to museums and libraries, including eligible law libraries, to address community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available on . The deadline for submitting applications is June 28, 2021.
• The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund, which will provide funds to eligible schools and libraries, including public law libraries, to support the purchase of Wi-Fi hotspots, laptops, tablets, and other devices to loan to patrons. More information is available on the . The application is expected to open in June 2021.

U.S. territories, states, and local and tribal governments received $350 billion in funding through ARPA. Law libraries may benefit from some of these funds, through aid to small businesses and nonprofits and investments in education, government services, and broadband infrastructure.

ARPA also includes another round of stimulus checks for individuals and provided an additional $300 per week of enhanced unemployment benefits through September 6, 2021.

FUNDING FOR THE LEGAL INFORMATION INDUSTRY / FISCAL YEAR 2022

President Biden’s (Budget) includes proposed budget increases for the legislative branch agencies that provide permanent public access to and preservation of essential government information, including the Library of Congress, the Law Library of Congress, and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). The Budget also includes increases to several grant programs that promote public access to legal information and support access to justice, including the IMLS and the Legal Services Corporation. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵsupports the President’s proposals to increase funding for these agencies.

In May 2021, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵsubmitted testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee in support of funding for the Library of Congress, the Law Library of Congress, and the GPO. Funding for these agencies will support greater access to legal information, including the digitization of legal materials and preservation partnerships with law libraries. Funding for these agencies is especially important as their workload has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADDITIONAL FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

In addition to advocating for funding for the legal information industry, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵhas been advocating for additional legislative priorities, including the following issues:

BALANCED COPYRIGHT LAWS

In March 2021, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵsubmitted comments to (R-NC) on his draft legislation, the Digital Copyright Act of 2021 (DCA), which would update the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The proposed changes in the draft legislation amend the DMCA in ways that would significantly impact the ability of law libraries to provide equitable access to copyrighted materials. While ³ÉÈËÊÓƵsupports some of the changes in the DCA that promote access to legal information, we are concerned that other changes may limit the abilities of law libraries to provide access to copyrighted works and preserve these works. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵcontinues to advocate for the needs of law libraries as Senator Tillis works on updates to the DMCA.

In April 2021, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵsubmitted comments on the development of regulations affecting law libraries in the implementation of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act. Under the new law, qualifying law libraries will be eligible to preemptively opt out of proceedings before the Copyright Claims Board, which was established to evaluate copyright infringement matters for small claims. We will share more information with members about how to opt out once it is available.

EQUITABLE ACCESS TO OFFICIAL LEGAL INFORMATION

³ÉÈËÊÓƵcontinues to advocate for legislation to modernize the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to provide additional flexibility for law libraries to meet the government information needs of their users and their organizations.

In April 2021, the GPO selected ´¡´¡³¢³¢â€™s nominee, Allen R. Moye along with fellow ³ÉÈËÊÓƵmember Richard A. Leiter, to serve on the Depository Library Council (DLC). Leiter and Moye join ³ÉÈËÊÓƵmember Jennifer Bryan Morgan on the DLC. As members of the DLC, Moye, Leiter, and Morgan provide advice and recommendations to the GPO on improving policy and operational matters related to the FDLP.

UNIFORM ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL ACT

³ÉÈËÊÓƵcontinues to work with ³ÉÈËÊÓƵchapters to advocate for the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act. In May 2021, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵpresident Emily R. Florio discussed ´¡´¡³¢³¢â€™s support for UELMA on a free hosted by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC). The webinar also featured ³ÉÈËÊÓƵpast president Barbara Bintliff, who served as the reporter for ULC’s UELMA Drafting Committee. Recently, the has been advocating for UELMA in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the has been advocating for UELMA in Massachusetts.

´¡´¡³¢³¢â€™s UELMA resources page includes advocacy materials that can be used by law librarians and legal information professionals to support state advocacy efforts. Please email Janet Peros, chair of the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵGovernment Relations Committee or Emily Feltren, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵdirector of government relations if you would like more information.

SAVE THE DATE / VIRTUAL LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY TRAINING 

The ³ÉÈËÊÓƵVirtual Legislative Advocacy Training will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. The training is free for ³ÉÈËÊÓƵmembers. Additional details will be available soon.

³ÉÈËÊÓƵAdvocacy / 2020 Year In Review

2020 was a challenging and unpredictable year for all of us. As the COVID-19 pandemic changed our professional and personal lives, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵfocused on advocating for the immediate needs of the legal information industry. We are grateful to all the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵmembers and partners who joined the Association’s advocacy efforts throughout the year, sharing stories about how your law libraries are adapting to serve your organizations. Below are a few highlights of AALL’s government relations issues and advocacy efforts in 2020:

SUPPORTING GREATER ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

In March, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ2019-2020 President Michelle Cosby before the U.S. House of Representatives (House) Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee in support of the funding requests of the Library of Congress and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). ³ÉÈËÊÓƵalso advocated for funding for the (IMLS) and the (NARA). Congress provided to IMLS and NARA to ensure continued public access to information during the pandemic. In April, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵPresident Cosby during the General Services Administration’s virtual public meeting about public access to regulatory data.

The federal Judiciary launched a new website for the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system in June, incorporating some of AALL’s  to modernize the website to provide improved access to court information. Legislation to make PACER free, including the Open Courts Records Act (), passed the U.S. House but was not considered by the Senate. The Judicial Conference of the United States and Congressional leadership have expressed interest in continuing negotiations on a new PACER bill in the 117th Congress.

In addition, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts ³ÉÈËÊÓƵmember to serve on its new public user group to provide advice and feedback on ways to improve PACER and the Judiciary’s other electronic public access services. The GPO AALL’s nominee, , to serve on the Depository Library Council (DLC). As a member of the DLC, Morgan provides advice and recommendations to the GPO and its new director, Hugh Halpern on improving policy and operational matters related to the Federal Depository Library Program.

In December, the Office of Management and Budget accepted to include librarians at educational institutions, including academic law librarians, as eligible for fee exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. The Administrative Conference of the United States that agencies include a “last updated” date when they publish federal court filings and court opinions on their websites.

³ÉÈËÊÓƵ2020-2021 President Emily R. Florio and ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ2020-2021 Vice President Diane M. Rodriguez participated in the Legal Services Corporation’s podcast in December to discuss AALL’s support for access to justice and the role law libraries play in closing the justice gap.

PROMOTING A BALANCE IN COPYRIGHT LAWS

In August, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵPresident Florio participated in the House Judiciary Committee’s listening session to discuss of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

In October, the United States Patent and Trade Office cited about copyright considerations in artificial intelligence (AI) in a . In November, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ, Shira Perlmutter, and her staff to learn about Register Perlmutter’s priorities and share AALL’s perspective on the copyright needs of law librarians and legal information professionals.

³ÉÈËÊÓƵADVOCACY RESOURCES

³ÉÈËÊÓƵprovided advocacy training opportunities and additional advocacy resources for members throughout the year. In September, we held the featuring Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19). The ³ÉÈËÊÓƵGovernment Relations Committee gathered , including information about registering to vote, finding your polling place, and requesting absentee and mail-in ballots.

³ÉÈËÊÓƵwill continue to provide members with training and resources to advocate for the legal information profession in 2021. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵhas an upcoming advocacy training, .

³ÉÈËÊÓƵ& THE 117TH CONGRESS 

The 117th United States Congress convened on January 3, 2021. Days later, the violent events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 shocked and outraged many of us. Congress is now focused on the security breach and potential actions in response to these events. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵbelieves that equitable access to legal information is a core component of a healthy democracy.

Following the November elections and the January runoff election in Georgia, the Democrats will lead the House and U.S. Senate for the next two years. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵis awaiting more information about the new Administration’s priorities before finalizing its new legislative priorities.

As the work of the new Congress continues, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵcontinues to monitor legislation that impacts law libraries and the legal information profession. We will also continue to work with ³ÉÈËÊÓƵchapters to advocate for the at the state level. We will keep you informed of any developments that may impact your law libraries.

COVID RELIEF PACKAGE / BENEFITS FOR THE LEGAL INFORMATION INDUSTRY

°Õ³ó±ðÌý signed by President Trump on December 27, 2020 included several benefits for the legal information industry. °Õ³ó±ðÌýÌý(PPP), which is designed to help small businesses, received an additional $284 billion. Congress made several changes to the PPP that could help eligible entities, including solo and small law firms; nonprofits; independent contractors; and self-employed individuals. The changes include allowing PPP recipients to receive a second PPP loan; expanding the list of forgivable expenses; and clarifying that forgiven PPP loans will be tax deductible.

As part of the relief package, individuals received a second round of direct payments from the federal government. Those unemployed received additional benefits including $300 per week through March 14, 2021. In addition, unemployment benefits were extended to self-employed individuals and gig workers.

FY 2021 FEDERAL AGENCY FUNDING LEVELS SUPPORT GREATER ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

President Trump signed a for federal agencies on December 27, 2020. The federal agencies that support the legal information profession received funding, including:

• $757 million for the Library of Congress, a $32 million increase over FY 2020. This includes funding to replace the Law Library of Congress’ deteriorating shelving units, which will ensure more timely public access to the Law Library’s collections;
• $117 million for the U.S. Government Publishing Office, equal to FY 2020 levels. This includes funding to support the Federal Depository Library Program and ; and
• $377 million for the National Archives and Records Administration, an $18 million increase over FY 2020. This includes funding to enable the processing, preservation, management, and storage of federal government records in print and electronic formats.

³ÉÈËÊÓƵhas  for these agencies’ funding requests to support free public access to government information, such as bills and statutes, the United States Statutes at Large, and the Congressional Record. The funding also supports the agencies’ digitization and preservation efforts that provide access to information produced by the federal government.

The funding package also contained legislation that created the Ìý(CASE Act). The CASE Act creates a new Copyright Claims Board within the U.S. Copyright Office to evaluate copyright infringement matters for claims under $30,000. Importantly, the law includes the ability for libraries to opt out of proceedings before the Copyright Claims Board. The law requires the Copyright Office to establish the Copyright Claims Board within one year of the bill’s enactment. ³ÉÈËÊÓƵwill provide more information once opt out procedures have been developed by the U.S. Copyright Office.

ADVOCACY TRAINING / REGISTER NOW

GOVERNMENT LAW LIBRARY FUNDING: ADVOCACY TRAINING FOR LAW LIBRARIES

• Thursday, February 11, 2021 / 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (CST)
• Free for members and nonmembers

Government law libraries are funded in a variety of ways: through local, state, or federal budgets, court fees and fines, subscriptions, or a combination of all of those. Many court systems are currently re-evaluating the impacts of court fees and fines on members of the public, and government budgets are facing significant cuts due to the pandemic. Now more than ever, government law librarians and their allies must effectively advocate for full funding of their libraries. This webinar will empower participants with successful advocacy strategies they can implement at their institutions. This training will be moderated by , assistant director for support services at the Sacramento County Public Law Library. Speakers include , director at the Law Library of Louisiana and , circuit librarian at the U.S. Court of Appeals Library for the Fourth Circuit.