I.3.5 State Legislation
I.3.5.a California
The California Information Practices Act permits access to underlying data pertaining to individuals for certain statistical and scientific research purposes. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.24(h), (t).
California has also enacted more specific statutory provisions to provide researchers with access to underlying data: (i) pertaining to breast cancer, AIDS and sudden infant death syndrome; (ii) contained in live birth certificates; and (iii) resulting from "health manpower pilot projects." See Cal. Gov't Code § 27491.41(f); Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 102460(c), 121120, 128165; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 30461.6(j).
I.3.5.b Massachusetts
Massachusetts law provides for the establishment of a registry to record cases of malignant disease and to facilitate epidemiologic surveys of cancer. Underlying data in the registry is required to be made available to health researchers. See Mass. Gen. L. ch. 111, § 111B.
Massachusetts law also requires the public health commissioner to share with researchers certain underlying data pertaining to morbidity and mortality. See id. ch. 111, § 24A.
I.3.5.c Michigan
Michigan law requires the health department to establish a public health research policy that expressly takes into account: (a) "[t]he public's interest in the free access to governmental information"; and (b) "[t]he public's interest in the effective use of available data to protect and promote the health of individuals and the public as a whole." See Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 333.2611(2)(d), (g).