H.R. 8235 · 116th Congress
Open Courts Act of 2020
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Passed the House without a recorded vote, then expired. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted, but didn't become law before the 116th Congress ended.
D
JohnsonSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- House Introduced Sep 14, 2020
- House Passed Dec 8, 2020
This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a single electronic system for all public court records that is publicly accessible for free. Under the existing Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, users are charged fees for accessing court documents.
What it does: CRS summary · Passed House · Dec 8, 2020
Open Courts Act of 2020
This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a single electronic system for all public court records that is publicly accessible for free. Under the existing Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, users are charged fees for accessing court documents.
To fund the development of the new consolidated system, the Judicial Conference must temporarily establish a progressive schedule of additional fees for persons, other than government agencies, that are higher-volume users of PACER.
To fund the operations of the new system, the Judicial Conference shall collect an annual fee from federal agencies based on the amount of PACER fees paid by the agencies in 2018.
The Judicial Conference may also establish reasonable filing fees based on specified factors, including the extent of a person's use and the interests of justice.
The bill specifies various reporting requirements related to the new system, including for the Government Accountability Office.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Open Courts Act of 2020
Latest action (Dec 9, 2020): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Law · Origin: House · Introduced: Sep 14, 2020
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- House Introduced Sep 14, 2020
- House Passed Dec 8, 2020
No recorded floor vote found.