IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8235 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 9, 2020 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
AN ACT 
To provide for the modernization of electronic case 
management systems, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Courts Act of 
2020’’. 
SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS 
SYSTEMS. 
(a) CONSOLIDATION.—Not later than the date speci-
fied in subsection (e), as modified by any adjustments cer-
tified pursuant to section 6(b), the Director of the Admin-
istrative Office of the United States Courts, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator of General Services, shall de-
velop, deliver, and sustain, consistent with the require-
ments of this section and section 3, one system for all pub-
lic court records. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS OF SYSTEM.—The system de-
scribed in subsection (a) shall comply with the following 
requirements: 
(1) The system shall provide search functions, 
developed in coordination with the Administrator of 
General Services, for use by the public and by par-
ties before the court. 
(2) The system shall make public court records 
automatically accessible to the public upon receipt of 
such records. 
(3) Any information made available through a 
website established pursuant to section 205 of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
E–Government Act of 2002 shall be included in the 
system. 
(4) Any website for the system shall substan-
tially comply with the requirements under sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 205 of the E–Govern-
ment Act of 2002. 
(5) To the extent practicable, external websites 
shall be able to link to documents on the system. 
Each website established pursuant to section 205 of 
the E–Government Act of 2002 shall contain a link 
to the system. 
(c) DATA STANDARDS.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA STANDARDS.— 
The Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts, in coordination with the Ad-
ministrator of General Services and the Archivist of 
the United States, shall establish data standards for 
the system described in this section and section 3. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data standards es-
tablished under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent 
reasonable and practicable— 
(A) incorporate widely accepted common 
data elements; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
(B) incorporate a widely accepted, non-
proprietary, full text searchable, platform-inde-
pendent computer-readable format; and 
(C) be capable of being continually up-
graded as necessary. 
(3) DEADLINES.—Not later than 9 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts shall issue guidance to all Federal courts on 
the data standards established under this section. 
(d) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In carrying out the du-
ties under subsection (a), the Director shall use modern 
technology in order— 
(1) to improve security, data accessibility, data 
quality, affordability, and performance; and 
(2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants. 
(e) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in this 
subsection is January 1, 2025, unless the Administrator 
of General Services certifies to Congress, by not later than 
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, that 
an additional period of time is required. If the Adminis-
trator so certifies, the date specified in this subsection 
shall be a date that is no later than January 1, 2026. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
(f) FUNDS FOR ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, AND 
MAINTENANCE OF MODERNIZED COURT RECORDS SYS-
TEM.— 
(1) SHORT TERM ACCESS FEES TO FUND DE-
VELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF MODERNIZED COURT 
RECORDS SYSTEM.—Until the date specified in sub-
section (e), to cover the costs of carrying out this 
section and section 3 and pursuant to sections 1913, 
1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United 
States Code, the Judicial Conference shall prescribe 
a progressive schedule of reasonable additional fees 
for persons, other than government agencies, who 
accrue fees for electronic access to information 
under section 303 of Public Law 102–140 (28 
U.S.C. 1913 note; 105 Stat. 807) in an amount of 
$6,000 or greater in any quarter. Any such addi-
tional fees shall be assessed on a progressive fee 
schedule according to the level of use so that higher 
volume users are assessed higher fees. 
(2) PRICING
FOR
HIGH-VOLUME, FOR-PROFIT 
USE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Pursuant to sections 
1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, 
United States Code, the Director of the Admin-
istrative Office of the United States Courts, in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
coordination with the Administrator of General 
Services and the Office of Technology Trans-
formation of the General Services Administra-
tion, may prescribe a schedule of reasonable 
fees for high-volume, for-profit public users of 
the system described in this section and section 
3, to facilitate service-level agreements for max-
imum response times, integrations, high avail-
ability, and service and support. 
(B) FEE
REQUIREMENTS.—The schedule 
of fees described in paragraph (1) shall be 
based on a determination of specific and sub-
stantial need, and may not impair access to jus-
tice and the public right of access to court 
records, restrain innovation in the provision of 
legal services and access to public court records, 
nor inhibit not for profit research of the busi-
ness of the Federal courts. 
(3) FEES TO FUND OPERATION AND MAINTE-
NANCE
OF
MODERNIZED
COURT
RECORDS
SYS-
TEM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—To cover the costs of 
carrying out this Act, the Judicial Conference 
of the United States may, only to the extent 
necessary, prescribe schedules of reasonable 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
user fees, pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 
1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States 
Code. Such fees shall be based on the extent of 
use of the system described under this section 
and section 3 as well as factors such as feasi-
bility, fairness to other users of the system, and 
efficacy, and may not foreclose access to justice 
and the public right of access to court records. 
(B) FILING FEES PROHIBITED.—The Judi-
cial Conference of the United States may not 
prescribe filing fees to cover the cost of the sys-
tem described in this section and section 3 un-
less the Judicial Conference determines that all 
other sources of fees will not cover the costs of 
such system. Only after such a determination 
and only to the extent necessary, the Judicial 
Conference may prescribe schedules of progres-
sive filing fees under subparagraph (A). In ad-
dition to the requirements of subparagraph (A), 
such filing fees— 
(i) shall be based on factors to ensure 
that such schedules are graduated and eq-
uitable, including the type of action and 
claim for relief, the status of a filer, the 
amount of damages demanded, the esti-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
mated complexity of the type of action, and 
the interests of justice; 
(ii) may be prescribed for the filing of 
a counterclaim; 
(iii) shall not apply in the case of a 
pro se litigant or litigant who certifies the 
litigant’s financial hardship; 
(iv) shall not be a basis for rejecting 
a filing or otherwise denying a party seek-
ing relief access to the courts of the United 
States; 
(v) shall be assessed according to 
schedules, not on a case-by-case, ad hoc 
basis; and 
(vi) shall not be greater than 15 per-
cent of any other fees associated with the 
filing. 
(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(A) DEPOSIT
FEES.—All fees collected 
under this subsection shall be deposited as off-
setting collections to the Judiciary Information 
Technology 
Fund 
pursuant 
to 
section 
612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to 
reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out 
this section. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
(B) 
AUTHORIZED
USES
OF
FEES.— 
Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information 
Technology Fund pursuant to this paragraph 
and not used to reimburse expenses incurred in 
carrying out this section and section 3 may be 
used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, 
United States Code. 
(5) INTEREST OF JUSTICE.—A court may waive 
any fee imposed under paragraph (3) in the interest 
of justice upon motion. 
(6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraphs (2) and (3) 
shall take effect on the date specified in subsection 
(e). Paragraph (1) and section 303 of Public Law 
102–140 (28 U.S.C. 1913 note; 105 Stat. 807) shall 
cease to have effect on that date. 
SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS 
SYSTEM REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date specified 
in section 2(e), and subject to any certification under sec-
tion 6(b), the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts, in coordination with the Adminis-
trator of General Services, shall make all materials in the 
system described in section 2 and this section publicly ac-
cessible, free of charge and without requiring registration. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
(b) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—In providing public ac-
cess under subsection (a), the Director shall, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator of General Services, use mod-
ern technology in order— 
(1) to improve security, data accessibility, qual-
ity, ease of public access, affordability, and perform-
ance; and 
(2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants. 
(c) FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO MODERNIZED 
ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To cover any marginal costs 
of ensuring the public accessibility, free of charge, of 
all materials in the system in accordance with this 
section, the Judicial Conference of the United States 
shall collect an annual fee from Federal agencies 
equal to the Public Access to Court Electronic 
Records access fees paid by those agencies in 2018, 
as adjusted for inflation. All fees collected under this 
subsection shall be deposited as offsetting collections 
to the Judiciary Information Technology Fund pur-
suant to section 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United 
States Code, to reimburse expenses incurred in pro-
viding services in accordance with this section. 
(2) AUTHORIZED USES OF FEES.—Amounts de-
posited to the Judiciary Information Technology 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
Fund pursuant to this subsection and not used to 
reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out this sec-
tion may be used to reimburse expenses incurred in 
carrying out section 2. Amounts not used to reim-
burse expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 
may be used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, 
United States Code. 
(3) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 
take effect beginning on the date specified in section 
2(e). 
SEC. 4. ENSURING MODERN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. 
(a) INDUSTRY STANDARDS.—The system described 
in sections 2 and 3 shall be developed in accordance with 
industry standards for the incremental development of 
new information technology systems, including user-cen-
tered design, Agile software development practices and 
procurement, and service-oriented architecture. 
(b) ANALYSES.—The Director of the Administrative 
Office of the United States Courts shall, in cooperation 
with the Administrator of General Services, conduct reg-
ular analyses at each stage of system development to en-
sure that any requirements— 
(1) are consistent with this Act; 
(2) meet the business needs of users of the sys-
tem, the public, and the judiciary; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
(3) comply with relevant statutes and rules, in-
cluding chapter 131 of title 28, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Rules Enabling Act’’), the 
Federal Rules of Procedure, and local rules and or-
ders of Federal courts. 
(c) INITIAL PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Ad-
ministrative Office of the United States Courts shall sub-
mit to Congress a report with respect to its initial plan 
for development of the system after consultation with the 
Office of Technology Transformation Services of the Gen-
eral Services Administration and the United States Digital 
Service, which may include an analysis of the state of the 
system as of the date of enactment of this Act, an ap-
proach for developing the system consistent with sections 
2 and 3 of this Act, and a proposed timeline for develop-
ment. 
(d) REPORTS AND NOTICE.— 
(1) REPORTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Each quarter after the 
issuance of the report described in subsection 
(c), the Director of the Administrative Office of 
the United States Courts shall report quarterly 
to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate on 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
HR 8235 RFS
progress of the development of the system, im-
provements achieved, and risks that arise (such 
as lack of funding source or lack of techno-
logical solutions to meet the needs of this Act 
or applicable statutes and rules). Such report 
shall include an assessment of vendors’ compli-
ance with a quality assessment surveillance 
plan, code quality, and whether the system is 
meeting users’ needs. 
(B) SYSTEM STATUS.—Not later than 60 
days after the end of each fiscal year, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall 
report to Congress on the policies, goals, per-
formance, budget, contracts, fee proposals, and 
user fees of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts, including input from a 
cross-section of the nongovernmental users and 
stakeholders, with respect to the system de-
scribed in sections 2 and 3 of this Act. 
(2) NOTICE.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and quarterly 
thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall notify Congress that the Director of the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts 
has— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:10 Dec 11, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8235.RFS
H8235
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS