AALL Statement in support of D.C. Council Bill 20-0221, the Uniform ...

STATEMENT OF
EMILY J. FELTREN
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES
ON BILL 20-221,
THE UNIFORM ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL ACT OF 2013
BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY
AT A PUBLIC HEARING
July 1, 2013
Chairperson Wells and members of the Committee:
I am Emily Feltren, Director of Government Relations of the American Association of
Law Libraries (AALL). On behalf of AALL, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to
testify in support of Bill 20-0221, the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act of 2013 (UELMA).
AALL strongly urges the Committee to approve UELMA, which will ensure that D.C.’s online
legal material deemed official will be authenticated, preserved and made permanently available
to the public, thereby guaranteeing the same level of trustworthiness that print provides today.
AALL is a nonprofit educational organization with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois and
a Government Relations Office in Washington, D.C. The Association represents 5,000 law
librarians who serve the information needs of the legal community and the public at academic,
firm, state, court and county law libraries. AALL’s mission is to promote and enhance the value
of law libraries, to foster law librarianship and to provide leadership and advocacy in the field of
legal information and information policy.
I would like to thank you, Chairperson Wells, for introducing UELMA in April. This
important Act addresses the urgent problem, first indentified in AALL’s 2007 State-by-State

Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources, that many state governments are
eliminating their print legal resources in favor of online-only, without assuring trustworthiness
and reliability. AALL recently conducted the groundbreaking National Inventory of Legal
Materials, which includes legal resources at all levels of government. More than 350 law
librarians answered questions related to authentication, preservation and permanent public access
of state, county and municipal information. In 2012, the Government Relations Office and
AALL’s Digital Access to Legal Information Committee analyzed the data gathered in the
inventory, which includes thousands of legal titles. This analysis confirmed what we already
knew: most states have not yet taken steps to ensure their legal materials are authentic or
preserved. This is deeply troubling. If online legal material is not authenticated, researchers may
not be able to rely on electronic information, courts may not accept citing to online authority, and
scholarship publishers may not accept electronic citations. With the introduction of UELMA in
D.C., the District has the opportunity to be a leader in recognizing the need for access to
trustworthy legal materials.
UELMA provides flexibility for jurisdictions to determine the best technologies to meet
the Act’s requirements. UELMA is technology neutral because of the rapid changes in
technology and because there is no consensus among experts on the best methods. UELMA
allows each state or jurisdiction to determine what best suits their needs and budget. The
California Office of Legislative Counsel’s white paper, “Authentication of Primary Legal
Materials and Pricing,” provides an overview of the available technologies and their costs. The
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes report, “Prototype for Authentication of Official
Electronic Record and Pricing,” looks specifically at the in-house method that the Minnesota
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Office of the Revisor of Statutes developed. Their system did not require any additional funds
because it was built using existing office resources.
The enactment chart I’ve included with my testimony demonstrates that UELMA need
not be expensive. Of the eight states that have enacted UELMA, only four have included fiscal
notes. Of the states that included fiscal notes, the costs range widely, but most costs are setup
costs that disappear after the first year. The other four states have determined that they can meet
UELMA’s requirements without additional financial resources.
AALL strongly urges you to support Bill 20-0221. By adopting UELMA, D.C. will
establish itself as a leader understanding that official, electronic legal material must be
authenticated, preserved and made permanently available to the public. Thank you very much for
your consideration of this important matter. I will be happy to answer any questions.
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