I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8235 

To provide for the modernization of electronic case management systems, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself and Mr. COLLINS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was 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 2020’’. 

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 establish, 

2 maintain, and operate, consistent with the requirements 

3 of this section and section 3, one system for all public 

4 court records. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF SYSTEM.—The system devel6 oped under subsection (a) shall comply with the following 

7 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) Any information that is prohibited from 

13 public disclosure by law or court order shall be re14 dacted. 

15 (3) Any information made available through a 

16 website established pursuant to section 205 of the 

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

18 system. 

19 (4) Any website for the system shall substan20 tially comply with the requirements under sub21 sections (b) and (c) of section 205 of the E–Govern22 ment Act of 2002. 

23 (5) To the extent practicable, external websites 

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

25 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 (c) DATA STANDARDS.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA STANDARDS.— 

5 The Director of the Administrative Office of the 

6 United States Courts, in coordination with the Ad7 ministrator of General Services and the Archivist of 

8 the United States, shall establish data standards for 

9 the system established under subsection (a). 

10 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data standards es11 tablished under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent 

12 reasonable and practicable— 

13 (A) incorporate widely accepted common 

14 data elements; 

15 (B) incorporate a widely accepted, non16 proprietary, full text searchable, platform-inde17 pendent computer-readable format; and 

18 (C) be capable of being continually up19 graded as necessary. 

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

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

22 of the Administrative Office of the United States 

23 Courts shall issue guidance to all Federal courts on 

24 the data standards established under this section. 


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1 (d) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In developing the system 

2 under subsection (a), the Director shall use modern tech3 nology in order— 

4 (1) to improve security, data accessibility, af5 fordability, and performance; and 

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

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

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

9 the enactment of this Act, unless the Administrator of 

10 General Services certifies to Congress, by not later than 

11 90 days after such date of enactment, that an additional 

12 period of time is required. If the Administrator so cer13 tifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that 

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

15 (f) FUNDS FOR ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND

16 MAINTENANCE OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS SYS17 TEM.— 

18 (1) SHORT TERM ACCESS FEES TO FUND ES19 TABLISHMENT OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS

20 SYSTEM.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Ju22 diciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of 

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

24 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended— 


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

2 ‘‘The Judicial Conference shall prescribe a 

3 schedule of additional fees for any person 

4 who accrues such fees for access in an 

5 amount of $25,000 or greater in any quar6 ter. All fees collected shall be deposited as 

7 offsetting collections to the Judiciary In8 formation Technology Fund pursuant to 

9 section 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United 

10 States Code, to reimburse expenses in11 curred in carrying out section 2 of the 

12 Open Courts Act of 2020.’’ before ‘‘The 

13 Director of the Administrative Office of 

14 the United States Courts’’; and 

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

16 fees hereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

17 otherwise provided in this section, all fees 

18 hereafter’’. 

19 (B) EXCESS FEES.—Amounts deposited in 

20 the Judiciary Information Technology Fund 

21 pursuant to the amendments made by subpara22 graph (A) and not used to reimburse expenses 

23 incurred in carrying out section 2 of this Act 

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

25 28, United States Code. 


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1 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

2 made by subparagraph (A) shall take effect on 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (2) FILING FEES TO FUND OPERATION AND

5 MAINTENANCE OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS

6 SYSTEM.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Ju8 diciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of 

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

10 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended by striking sub11 sections (a) and (b), and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

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

14 the Open Courts Act of 2020, the Judicial Conference 

15 may, only to the extent necessary— 

16 ‘‘(1) prescribe reasonable filing fees, pursuant 

17 to sections 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of 

18 title 28, United States Code, for collection by the 

19 courts under those sections, which— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall be based on the extent of the 

21 use by the person filing of the system estab22 lished under such section 2 for purposes of such 

23 action; 

24 ‘‘(B) shall in addition be adjusted based on 

25 factors including the nature of the action and 


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1 claim for relief, the amount of damages de2 manded, the estimated complexity of the type of 

3 action, and the interests of justice; 

4 ‘‘(C) may be prescribed for the filing of a 

5 counterclaim; and 

6 ‘‘(D) shall not apply in the case of a pro 

7 se litigant or litigant who certifies their finan8 cial hardship; and 

9 ‘‘(2) prescribe a reasonable fee for the filing of 

10 a proof of claim or interest under Rule 3002 and 

11 Rule 3003 of the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, 

12 which may be adjusted proportionately to the 

13 amount of the claim, the status of the claim, and the 

14 type of proceeding in which the claim is filed, and 

15 interests of justice. 

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 2020. 


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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 2020 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) AUTHORITY FOR SHORT TERM DELAYS OF PUB2 LIC ACCESS TO CERTAIN RECORDS.—The Judicial Con3 ference, after appropriate public notice and opportunity 

4 for comment, may designate categories of records which 

5 are not automatically made publicly accessible under sub6 section (a). Any such category shall be no broader than 

7 necessary, based on a determination of a specific and sub8 stantial interest in restricting the public right of access 

9 to court records, and subject to no more than a 5-day 

10 delay before being made publicly accessible under sub11 section (a). Any such designation shall expire after 3 years 

12 unless renewed pursuant to the requirements of this sub13 section. 

14 (c) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In providing public ac15 cess under subsection (a), the Director shall, in coordina16 tion with the Administrator of General Services, use mod17 ern technology in order— 

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

19 of public access, affordability, and performance; and 

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

21 (d) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in this 

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

23 the enactment of this Act, unless the Administrator of 

24 General Services certifies to Congress, by not later than 

25 90 days after such date of enactment, that an additional 


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1 period of time is required. If the Administrator so cer2 tifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that 

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

4 (e) FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO MODERNIZED

5 ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEM.— 

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

7 Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 

8 102–140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c)(1) To cover the costs of ensuring the public ac11 cessibility, free of charge, of all materials in the system 

12 established under section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 

13 2020 in accordance with section 3 of such Act, the Judi14 cial Conference shall collect an annual fee from the De15 partment of Justice equal to the Public Access to Court 

16 Electronic Records access fees paid by the Department of 

17 Justice in 2018, as adjusted for inflation. All fees collected 

18 under this subsection shall be deposited as offsetting col19 lections to the Judiciary Information Technology Fund 

20 pursuant to section 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States 

21 Code, to reimburse expenses incurred in providing services 

22 in accordance with section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 

23 2020. 

24 ‘‘(2) To cover any additional marginal costs of ensur25 ing the public accessibility, free of charge, of all materials 


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1 in the system established under section 2 of the Open 

2 Courts Act of 2020 in accordance with section 3 of such 

3 Act, the Judicial Conference may prescribe reasonable fil4 ing fees, pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, 

5 and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, for collection 

6 by the courts under those sections. The filing fees— 

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

8 the person filing of the system established under 

9 such section 2 for purposes of such action; 

10 ‘‘(B) shall be adjusted based on factors includ11 ing the nature of the action and claim for relief, the 

12 amount of damages demanded, the estimated com13 plexity of the type of action, and the interests of jus14 tice; 

15 ‘‘(C) may be prescribed for the filing of a coun16 terclaim; and 

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

18 litigant who certifies their financial hardship. 

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

20 shall transmit each schedule of fees prescribed under this 

21 subsection to Congress at least 90 days before the sched22 ule becomes effective. All fees collected under this sub23 section shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the 

24 Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to sec25 tion 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to reimVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8235.IH H8235

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1 burse expenses incurred in providing services in accord2 ance with section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2020. 

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

4 of fees prescribed under this paragraph three years after 

5 it becomes effective and every three years thereafter to 

6 ensure that the fees meet the requirements of this para7 graph. If the fees do not meet the requirements of this 

8 paragraph, the Judicial Conference shall prescribe a new 

9 schedule of fees pursuant to this paragraph and submit 

10 the new schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to subpara11 graph (A). 

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

13 Technology Fund pursuant to this subsection and not used 

14 to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 3 

15 of the Open Courts Act of 2020 may be used to reimburse 

16 expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open 

17 Courts Act of 2020. Amounts not used to reimburse ex18 penses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open 

19 Courts Act of 2020 may be used pursuant to section 

20 612(a) of title 28, United States Code.’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

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

23 date specified in subsection (d). 


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1 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

3 Act, shall be construed to— 

4 (1) affect the filing fees or other filing proce5 dures for prisoners; or 

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

7 described in section 1915 of title 28, United States 

8 Code. 

9 SEC. 5. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS. 

10 The systems established under sections 2 and 3 of 

11 this Act or the amendments made by such sections shall 

12 comply with relevant digital accessibility standards estab13 lished pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 

14 of 1973. 

Æ 


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