128 
‘‘(2) not later than one year following enact-
ment of this clause, and every 2 years thereafter, 
audit each agency to determine compliance with and 
implementation of the requirements of this section 
and issue reports to the Committee on Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate on the 
result of such audit; 
‘‘(3) catalog the matters specifically exempted 
from disclosure by statute pursuant to subsection 
(b)(3), and any use of such exemptions by agencies; 
and 
‘‘(4) review and prepare a report on the proc-
essing of requests by agencies for information per-
taining to an entity that has received assistance 
under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabiliza-
tion Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) during 
any period in which the Federal Government owns 
or owned more than 50 percent of the stock of such 
entity.’’. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORT BY CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH 
SERVICE.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) ANNUAL REPORT
BY CONGRESSIONAL RE-
SEARCH SERVICE.—The Congressional Research Service 
shall, on an annual basis— 
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129 
‘‘(1) compile a list of statutes that specifically 
exempt records from disclosure pursuant to sub-
section (b)(3); and 
‘‘(2) make such list available to— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Oversight and Ac-
countability of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
‘‘(B) the public.’’. 
(d) PUBLIC INTEREST BALANCING TEST.—Section 
552(a)(8)(A)(i)(I) of title 5, United States Code is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘, and such harm outweighs the public 
interest (including the interest in furthering public under-
standing of the operations or decision making of an official 
or employee of an agency, facilitating the ability of the 
public to make informed decisions with respect to electoral 
or democratic processes, investigating any reasonable sus-
picion of governmental wrongdoing, and furthering public 
health or safety) in making available such information’’ 
after ‘‘described in subsection (b)’’. 
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130 
TITLE VIII—IMPROVING TRANS-
PARENCY WITHIN THE JUDI-
CIAL SYSTEM 
SEC. 801. TELEVISING SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 45 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 678. Televising supreme court proceedings 
‘‘The Supreme Court shall permit television coverage 
of all open sessions of the Court unless the Court decides, 
by a vote of the majority of justices, that allowing such 
coverage in a particular case would constitute a violation 
of the due process rights of one or more of the parties 
before the Court.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 
for chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘678. Televising Supreme Court proceedings.’’. 
SEC. 802. AUDIO RECORDING OF SUPREME COURT PRO-
CEEDINGS. 
The Chief Justice of the United States shall ensure 
that the audio of an oral argument before the Supreme 
Court of the United States is recorded and is made pub-
licly available on the internet website of the Supreme 
Court at the same time that it is recorded. 
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131 
SEC. 803. AVAILABILITY ON THE INTERNET OF FINANCIAL 
DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF JUDICIAL OFFI-
CERS. 
Section 103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App. 103), as amended by this Act, is further 
amended by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) The Judicial Conference shall make available 
any report filed with it under this title by a judicial officer 
within 48 hours of the applicable submission deadline on 
the website of the Judicial Conference in a searchable, 
sortable, downloadable, machine-readable format.’’. 
SEC. 804. GAO AUDIT OF PACER. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct an audit of the public access to court 
electronic records system maintained by the Administra-
tive Office of the United States Courts, and shall submit 
to Congress, the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts, and any other appropriate Federal agency 
or office, a report that contains the results of the audit, 
along with any recommendations for improving the public 
access to court electronic records system. 
SEC. 805. ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS REFORM. 
(a) CONSOLIDATION OF THE CASE MANAGEMENT/ 
ELECTRONIC CASE FILES SYSTEM.— 
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132 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts, in coordination with the Administrator of 
General Services, shall consolidate the Case Manage-
ment/Electronic Case Files system, and shall develop 
one system for all filings with courts of the United 
States, which shall be administered by the Adminis-
trative Office of the United States Courts. 
(2) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In developing the 
system under paragraph (1), the Director shall use 
modern technology in order— 
(A) to improve security, data accessibility, 
affordability, and performance; and 
(B) to minimize the burden on pro se liti-
gants. 
(3) AVAILABILITY TO STATES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may choose to 
participate in the system developed under this 
subsection. 
(B) FEE.—The Director shall charge a fee 
to a State that chooses to participate in the sys-
tem, which is set at a level to recover the cost 
of providing the services associated with the ad-
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