II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2614 

To provide for the modernization of electronic case management systems, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 4, 2021 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the modernization of electronic case 

management systems, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Courts Act of 

5 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS 

7 SYSTEMS. 

8 (a) CONSOLIDATION.—Not later than the date speci9 fied in subsection (e), the Director of the Administrative 

10 Office of the United States Courts, in coordination with 


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1 the Administrator of General Services, shall develop, de2 liver, and sustain, consistent with the requirements of this 

3 section and section 3, one system for all public court 

4 records. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF SYSTEM.—The system de6 scribed under subsection (a) shall comply with the fol7 lowing requirements: 

8 (1) The system shall provide search functions, 

9 developed in coordination with the Administrator of 

10 General Services, for use by the public and by par11 ties before the court. 

12 (2) The system shall make public court records 

13 automatically accessible to the public upon filing. 

14 (3) Any information made available through a 

15 website established pursuant to section 205 of the 

16 E–Government Act of 2002 shall be included in the 

17 system. 

18 (4) Any website for the system shall substan19 tially comply with the requirements under sub20 sections (b) and (c) of section 205 of the E–Govern21 ment Act of 2002. 

22 (5) To the extent practicable, external websites 

23 shall be able to link to documents on the system. 

24 Each website established pursuant to section 205 of 


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1 the E–Government Act of 2002 shall contain a link 

2 to the system. 

3 (6) To the extent practicable, the system shall 

4 enable courts to automatically generate and submit, 

5 in a computer-readable format, the reports required 

6 by sections 2519(1) and 3103a(d)(1) of title 18, 

7 United States Code. 

8 (c) DATA STANDARDS.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA STANDARDS.— 

10 The Director of the Administrative Office of the 

11 United States Courts, in coordination with the Ad12 ministrator of General Services and the Archivist of 

13 the United States, shall establish data standards for 

14 the system established under subsection (a). 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data standards es16 tablished under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent 

17 reasonable and practicable— 

18 (A) incorporate widely accepted common 

19 data elements; 

20 (B) incorporate a widely accepted, non21 proprietary, full text searchable, platform-inde22 pendent computer-readable format; and 

23 (C) be capable of being continually up24 graded as necessary. 


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1 (3) DEADLINES.—Not later than 6 months 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

3 of the Administrative Office of the United States 

4 Courts shall issue guidance to all Federal courts on 

5 the data standards established under this section. 

6 (d) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In carrying out the du7 ties under subsection (a), the Director shall use modern 

8 technology in order— 

9 (1) to improve security, data accessibility, data 

10 quality, affordability, and performance; and 

11 (2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants. 

12 (e) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in this 

13 subsection is the date that is 2 years after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act, unless the Administrator of 

15 General Services certifies to Congress, by not later than 

16 90 days after such date of enactment, that an additional 

17 period of time is required. If the Administrator so cer18 tifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that 

19 is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (f) FUNDS FOR ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND

21 MAINTENANCE OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS SYS22 TEM.— 

23 (1) SHORT TERM ACCESS FEES TO FUND ES24 TABLISHMENT OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS

25 SYSTEM.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Ju2 diciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of 

3 Public Law 102–140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 

4 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended— 

5 (i) in subsection (a), by inserting 

6 ‘‘The Judicial Conference shall prescribe a 

7 schedule of additional fees for any person 

8 other than a government agency who ac9 crues such fees for access in an amount of 

10 $25,000 or greater in any quarter. All fees 

11 collected shall be deposited as offsetting 

12 collections to the Judiciary Information 

13 Technology Fund pursuant to section 

14 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States 

15 Code, to reimburse expenses incurred in 

16 carrying out section 2 of the Open Courts 

17 Act of 2021.’’ before ‘‘The Director of the 

18 Administrative Office of the United States 

19 Courts’’; and 

20 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘All 

21 fees hereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

22 otherwise provided in this section, all fees 

23 hereafter’’. 

24 (B) EXCESS FEES.—Amounts deposited in 

25 the Judiciary Information Technology Fund 


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1 pursuant to the amendments made by subpara2 graph (A) and not used to reimburse expenses 

3 incurred in carrying out section 2 of this Act 

4 may be used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 

5 28, United States Code. 

6 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

7 made by subparagraph (A) shall take effect on 

8 the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) FILING FEES TO FUND OPERATION AND

10 MAINTENANCE OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS

11 SYSTEM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Ju13 diciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of 

14 Public Law 102–140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 

15 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended by striking sub16 sections (a) and (b), and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(a) To cover the costs of carrying out section 2 of 

19 the Open Courts Act of 2021, the Judicial Conference 

20 may, only to the extent necessary, prescribe schedules of 

21 reasonable filing fees, pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 

22 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, 

23 which— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall be based on the extent of use of the 

2 system described under such section 2 for purposes 

3 of such action; 

4 ‘‘(2) shall in addition be based on factors in5 cluding the nature of the action and claim for relief, 

6 the amount of damages demanded, the estimated 

7 complexity of the type of action, and the interests of 

8 justice; 

9 ‘‘(3) may be prescribed for the filing of a coun10 terclaim; 

11 ‘‘(4) shall not apply in the case of a pro se liti12 gant or litigant who certifies their financial hard13 ship; and 

14 ‘‘(5) shall not be a basis for denying access to 

15 the courts of the United States. 

16 ‘‘(b) The Judicial Conference and the Director shall 

17 transmit each schedule of fees prescribed under subsection 

18 (a) to Congress at least 90 days before the schedule be19 comes effective. All fees collected under subsection (a) 

20 shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the Judiciary 

21 Information Technology Fund pursuant to section 

22 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to reimburse 

23 expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open 

24 Courts Act of 2021. 


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1 ‘‘(c) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule 

2 of fees prescribed under subsection (a) three years after 

3 it becomes effective and every three years thereafter to 

4 ensure that the fees meet the requirements of this section. 

5 If the fees do not meet the requirements of this section, 

6 the Judicial Conference shall prescribe a new schedule of 

7 fees pursuant to subsection (a) and submit the new sched8 ule of fees to Congress pursuant to subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(d) Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information 

10 Technology Fund pursuant to this section and not used 

11 to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 

12 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 may be used pursuant 

13 to section 612(a) of title 28, United States Code.’’. 

14 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

15 made by subparagraph (A) shall take effect on 

16 the date specified in subsection (e). 

17 SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS 

18 SYSTEM REQUIREMENT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date specified 

20 in subsection (d), the Director of the Administrative Office 

21 of the United States Courts, in coordination with the Ad22 ministrator of General Services, shall make all materials 

23 in the system established under section 2 publicly acces24 sible, free of charge. 


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1 (b) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In providing public ac2 cess under subsection (a), the Director shall, in coordina3 tion with the Administrator of General Services, use mod4 ern technology in order— 

5 (1) to improve security, data accessibility, ease 

6 of public access, affordability, and performance; and 

7 (2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants. 

8 (c) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in this 

9 subsection is the date that is 2 years after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act, unless the Administrator of 

11 General Services certifies to Congress, by not later than 

12 90 days after such date of enactment, that an additional 

13 period of time is required. If the Administrator so cer14 tifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that 

15 is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (d) FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO MODERNIZED

17 ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Judiciary 

19 Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 

20 102–140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(c)(1) To cover the costs of ensuring the public ac23 cessibility, free of charge, of all materials in the system 

24 described under sections 2 and 3 of the Open Courts Act 

25 of 2021 in accordance with section 3 of such Act, the JudiVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2614.IS S2614

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1 cial Conference shall collect an annual fee from Federal 

2 agencies equal to the Public Access to Court Electronic 

3 Records access fees paid by those agencies in 2018, as 

4 adjusted for inflation. All fees collected under this sub5 section shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the 

6 Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to sec7 tion 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to reim8 burse expenses incurred in providing services in accord9 ance with section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021. 

10 ‘‘(2) To cover any additional marginal costs of ensur11 ing the public accessibility, free of charge, of all materials 

12 in the system described under sections 2 and 3 of the 

13 Open Courts Act of 2021 in accordance with section 3 of 

14 such Act, the Judicial Conference may prescribe schedules 

15 of reasonable filing fees, pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 

16 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code. 

17 The schedules— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be based on the extent of use of the 

19 system described under such section 2; 

20 ‘‘(B) shall, in addition, be based on factors in21 cluding the nature of the type of action and claim 

22 for relief, the amount of damages demanded, the es23 timated complexity of the type of action, and the in24 terests of justice; 


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1 ‘‘(C) may be prescribed for the filing of a coun2 terclaim; 

3 ‘‘(D) shall not apply to a pro se litigant or a 

4 litigant who certifies their financial hardship; and 

5 ‘‘(E) shall not be a basis for denying access to 

6 the courts of the United States. 

7 ‘‘(3)(A) The Judicial Conference and the Director 

8 shall transmit each schedule of fees prescribed under this 

9 subsection to Congress at least 90 days before the sched10 ule becomes effective. All fees collected under this sub11 section shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the 

12 Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to sec13 tion 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to reim14 burse expenses incurred in providing services in accord15 ance with section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule 

17 of fees prescribed under this paragraph three years after 

18 it becomes effective and every three years thereafter to 

19 ensure that the fees meet the requirements of this para20 graph. If the fees do not meet the requirements of this 

21 paragraph, the Judicial Conference shall prescribe a new 

22 schedule of fees pursuant to this paragraph and submit 

23 the new schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to subpara24 graph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information 

2 Technology Fund pursuant to this subsection and not used 

3 to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 3 

4 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 may be used to reimburse 

5 expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open 

6 Courts Act of 2021. Amounts not used to reimburse ex7 penses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open 

8 Courts Act of 2021 may be used pursuant to section 

9 612(a) of title 28, United States Code.’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

11 by paragraph (1) shall take effect beginning on the 

12 date specified in subsection (d). 

13 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

14 Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 

15 Act, shall be construed to— 

16 (1) affect the filing fees or other filing proce17 dures for prisoners; or 

18 (2) abrogate, limit, or modify the requirements 

19 described in section 1915 of title 28, United States 

20 Code. 

21 SEC. 5. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS. 

22 The system described under sections 2 and 3 of this 

23 Act or the amendments made by such sections shall com24 ply with relevant digital accessibility standards established 

25 pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 


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1 SEC. 6. GAO REVIEW. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, 

4 the Comptroller General of the United States shall notify 

5 Congress whether the Director of the Administrative Of6 fice of United States Courts has— 

7 (1) produced additional usable functionality of 

8 the system described under sections 2 and 3 of this 

9 Act; 

10 (2) held live, publicly accessible demonstrations 

11 of software in development; and 

12 (3) allowed the Comptroller General or a des13 ignee to attend all sprint reviews held during the ap14 plicable period. 

15 (b) AUDIT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

17 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

18 (1) conduct an audit of the system established 

19 under this Act, including the compliance of vendors 

20 with the quality assessment surveillance plan, code 

21 quality, and whether the system is meeting the needs 

22 of users; and 

23 (2) shall submit to Congress a report that con24 tains— 

25 (A) the results of the audit required under 

26 paragraph (1); and 


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1 (B) any recommendations to improve the 

2 system established under this Act. 

Æ 


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