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
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;
(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.
(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
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
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-
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.
(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.
(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
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
(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
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—
(A) 
produced 
additional 
usable 
functionality of the system described under sec-
tions 2 and 3 of this Act; 
(B) held live, publicly accessible dem-
onstrations of software in development; and 
(C) allowed the Comptroller General or a 
designee to attend all sprint reviews held during 
such 6 month or quarterly period. 
SEC. 5. REVIEW AND PUBLICATION OF USER FEES. 
(a) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Judicial Conference of 
the United States shall review any schedule of fees pre-
scribed under this Act 3 years after such schedule becomes 
effective and every 3 years thereafter to ensure that the 
schedule meets the requirement of this Act. If a fee sched-
ule does not meet such requirements, the Judicial Con-
ference shall prescribe a new schedule of fees pursuant 
to this section and submit the new schedule of fees to Con-
gress pursuant to this section. 
(b) FEE PROPOSAL AND COMMENT PERIODS.— 
(1) PUBLIC
COMMENT.—The Judicial Con-
ference of the United States shall publish any sched-
ule of new fees or fee adjustments, as authorized 
under this Act, in the Federal Register and on the 
website of the United States Courts. The Judicial
Conference shall accept public comment on the pro-
posed fees for a period of not less than 60 days. 
(2) PUBLICATION OF FINAL SCHEDULE OF NEW 
FEES
OR
FEE
ADJUSTMENTS.—After the period 
specified in paragraph (2), the final schedule of new 
fees or fee adjustments shall be published in the 
Federal Register and on the website of the United 
States Courts along with an explanation of any 
changes from the proposed schedule of new fees or 
fee adjustments. 
(3) 
CONGRESSIONAL
REVIEW
PERIOD.—A 
schedule of fees set or adjusted under paragraph (3) 
may not become effective— 
(A) before the end of the 90-day period be-
ginning on the day after the date on which the 
Judicial Conference publishes the schedule of 
new fees or fee adjustments under paragraph 
(3); or 
(B) if a law is enacted disapproving such 
fee. 
(c) STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Conference of 
the United States shall periodically study the system 
described in sections 2 and 3 of this Act in accord-
ance with this section. The study shall examine—
(A) the relative extent to which specific 
functions and usage of the system are sup-
ported, directly or indirectly, by fees, appropria-
tions, and other sources of revenue; and 
(B) whether, and to what extent, there are 
additional fees of any kind that could be more 
appropriately imposed to support the operations 
and maintenance of the system and whether or 
not any such fees should or must be imposed by 
statute or by judiciary regulation; 
(C) whether, and to what extent, there are 
additional appropriations that should be pur-
sued that should be provided to support the sys-
tem in lieu of fees; and 
(D) whether, and to what extent, there are 
other sources of revenue that should be pro-
vided to support the system. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the ap-
propriateness of any fees, the Judicial Conference of 
the United States shall consider the extent to which 
any such fees would— 
(A) negatively or positively affect the ad-
ministration of justice; 
(B) impose inappropriate burdens on ac-
cess to justice by litigants;
(C) relate to the relative impact of activi-
ties on system costs; 
(D) improve fairness to users; 
(E) otherwise be fair or unfair to the pub-
lic; 
(F) be feasible to implement effectively; 
and 
(G) generate meaningful revenue. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Con-
ference of the United States shall submit to the 
Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentative and the Senate a report on the conclu-
sions of the study described under this section. 
(4) FEE
AUTHORITY.—If the Judicial Con-
ference of the United States determines, pursuant to 
subsection (a), that additional fees are reasonable 
and necessary to fund the system described in sec-
tions 2 and 3, it may promulgate such fees pursuant 
to section 2(f)(3)(A). 
(5) ADDITIONAL REPORT.—Not less frequently 
than every 3 years, the Judicial Conference shall re-
view the matters described in this subsection and re-
port any new findings to Congress as described in
this subsection. Any fees may be adjusted pursuant 
to section 2(f)(3)(A). 
SEC. 6. REPORTING AND CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ON 
FINANCES. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT
AND CONSULTATION CON-
CERNING
FUNDING
FOR
THE
FOLLOWING
FISCAL 
YEAR.—At the beginning of each fiscal year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administra-
tive Office of the United States Courts shall submit to 
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate a report on— 
(1) the status of funding the system described 
under sections 2 and 3; and 
(2) plans for any new fee proposals or adjust-
ments and whether there is a foreseeable need to use 
the certification authority provided under subsection 
(b)(2) in the following fiscal year. 
(b) 
CERTIFICATION
REGARDING
ANTICIPATED 
FUNDING IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Admin-
istrative Office of the United States Courts may 
treat any and all receipts, funds, expenditures and 
costs associated with the system established under 
sections 2 and 3 as constituting a separate item in 
its budget distinct from the remainder of its budget.
(2) CERTIFICATION.—At the beginning of a fis-
cal year, starting in fiscal year 2023, and only when 
necessary, the Director of the Administrative Office 
of the United States Courts may submit a certifi-
cation, including supporting documentation and 
analysis, to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate, which— 
(A) identifies any expected deficit in funds 
for that fiscal year; and 
(B) specifies the Director’s response for 
such deficit for the remainder of that fiscal 
year, including— 
(i) modifying the scope and scale of 
the system described in sections 2 and 3; 
(ii) increasing fees or other receipts 
within the Judicial Conference’s authority; 
and 
(iii) temporarily delaying the delivery 
of the system. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 days 
after receipt of the certification described in para-
graph (2), the Director of the Administrative Office 
of the United States Courts and the Chairs and 
Ranking Members of the Committees on the Judici-
ary of the House of Representatives and the Senate
shall meet in person concerning the certification, 
supporting documentation, and analysis. 
(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director of the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts 
may implement its response described in paragraph 
(2) any time after the 30-day period following the 
consultation described in paragraph (3). 
(5) GAO REVIEW.—In any fiscal year during 
which such certification is issued and implemented, 
the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a comprehensive review of the certification 
not later than 120 days after its submission, includ-
ing— 
(A) the accuracy of the expectations of the 
Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts with respect to any deficit 
in funds; 
(B) the efficacy of the Director’s rec-
ommended response, and 
(C) 
the 
Comptroller 
General’s 
rec-
ommendations for alternative or additional re-
sponses submitted as a report to the Director 
and Committees on the Judiciary of the House 
of Representatives and the Senate.
(6) DIRECTOR
RESPONSE
TO
REVIEW.—Not 
later than 60 days after the Comptroller General of 
the United States conducts a review under para-
graph (5), the Director of the Administrative Office 
of the United States Courts shall prepare and sub-
mit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate a response 
to such review. 
SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 
Act, shall be construed to— 
(1) affect the filing fees or other filing proce-
dures for prisoners; or 
(2) abrogate, limit, or modify the requirements 
described in section 1915 of title 28, United States 
Code. 
SEC. 8. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS. 
The system described under sections 2 and 3 of this 
Act shall comply with relevant digital accessibility stand-
ards established pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilita-
tion Act of 1973. 
SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 
2020. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8235 
AN ACT 
To provide for the modernization of electronic case 
management systems, and for other purposes.