Open Courts Act of 2021
Bill: S.2614 | Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob (R-OH)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Open Courts Act of 2021
This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a single electronic system for all public federal court records that is publicly accessible, free of charge, and does not require registration.

To provide for the modernization of electronic case management systems, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Open Courts Act of 
2021''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS 
              SYSTEMS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Consolidation.--Not later than the date specified in 
subsection (e), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts, in coordination with the Administrator of General 
Services, shall develop, deliver, and sustain, consistent with the 
requirements of this section and section 3, one system for all public 
court records.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Requirements of System.--The system described under 
subsection (a) shall comply with the following requirements:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The system shall provide search functions, 
        developed in coordination with the Administrator of General 
        Services, for use by the public and by parties before the 
        court.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The system shall make public court records 
        automatically accessible to the public upon filing.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Any website for the system shall substantially 
        comply with the requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of 
        section 205 of the E-Government Act of 2002.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) To the extent practicable, the system shall 
        enable courts to automatically generate and submit, in a 
        computer-readable format, the reports required by sections 
        2519(1) and 3103a(d)(1) of title 18, United States 
        Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Data Standards.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Establishment of data standards.--The Director 
        of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of General Services and the 
        Archivist of the United States, shall establish data standards 
        for the system established under subsection (a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Requirements.--The data standards established 
        under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent reasonable and 
        practicable--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) incorporate widely accepted common 
                data elements;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) incorporate a widely accepted, 
                nonproprietary, full text searchable, platform-
                independent computer-readable format; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) be capable of being continually 
                upgraded as necessary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Deadlines.--Not later than 6 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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Use of Technology.--In carrying out the duties under 
subsection (a), the Director shall use modern technology in order--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to improve security, data accessibility, data 
        quality, affordability, and performance; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to minimize the burden on pro se 
        litigants.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Date Specified.--The date specified in this subsection 
is the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, unless the Administrator of General Services certifies to 
Congress, by not later than 90 days after such date of enactment, that 
an additional period of time is required. If the Administrator so 
certifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that is 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Funds for Establishment, Operation, and Maintenance of 
Modernized Court Records System.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Short term access fees to fund establishment 
        of modernized court records system.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Section 303 of the 
                Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public 
                Law 102-140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is 
                amended--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in subsection (a), by 
                        inserting ``The Judicial Conference shall 
                        prescribe a schedule of additional fees for any 
                        person other than a government agency who 
                        accrues such fees for access in an amount of 
                        $25,000 or greater in any quarter. All fees 
                        collected shall be deposited as offsetting 
                        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 
                        section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 2021.'' 
                        before ``The Director of the Administrative 
                        Office of the United States Courts''; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in subsection (b), by 
                        striking ``All fees hereafter'' and inserting 
                        ``Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
                        all fees hereafter''.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Excess fees.--Amounts deposited in the 
                Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to the 
                amendments made by subparagraph (A) and not used to 
                reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 
                of this Act may be used pursuant to section 612(a) of 
                title 28, United States Code.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Effective date.--The amendment made by 
                subparagraph (A) shall take effect on the date of 
                enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Filing fees to fund operation and maintenance 
        of modernized court records system.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Section 303 of the 
                Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public 
                Law 102-140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is 
                amended by striking subsections (a) and (b), and 
                inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) To cover the costs of carrying out section 2 of the 
Open Courts Act of 2021, the Judicial Conference may, only to the 
extent necessary, prescribe schedules of reasonable filing fees, 
pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, 
United States Code, which--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) shall be based on the extent of use of the 
        system described under such section 2 for purposes of such 
        action;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) shall in addition be based on factors 
        including the nature of the action and claim for relief, the 
        amount of damages demanded, the estimated complexity of the 
        type of action, and the interests of justice;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) may be prescribed for the filing of a 
        counterclaim;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) shall not apply in the case of a pro se 
        litigant or litigant who certifies their financial hardship; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) shall not be a basis for denying access to 
        the courts of the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) The Judicial Conference and the Director shall 
transmit each schedule of fees prescribed under subsection (a) to 
Congress at least 90 days before the schedule becomes effective. All 
fees collected under subsection (a) shall be deposited as offsetting 
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 section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 
2021.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule of 
fees prescribed under subsection (a) three years after it becomes 
effective and every three years thereafter to ensure that the fees meet 
the requirements of this section. If the fees do not meet the 
requirements of this section, the Judicial Conference shall prescribe a 
new schedule of fees pursuant to subsection (a) and submit the new 
schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to subsection (b).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information 
Technology Fund pursuant to this section and not used to reimburse 
expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 
2021 may be used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, United States 
Code.''.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Effective date.--The amendment made by 
                subparagraph (A) shall take effect on the date 
                specified in subsection (e).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEM 
              REQUIREMENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Not later than the date specified in 
subsection (d), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts, in coordination with the Administrator of General 
Services, shall make all materials in the system established under 
section 2 publicly accessible, free of charge.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Use of Technology.--In providing public access under 
subsection (a), the Director shall, in coordination with the 
Administrator of General Services, use modern technology in order--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to improve security, data accessibility, ease 
        of public access, affordability, and performance; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to minimize the burden on pro se 
        litigants.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Date Specified.--The date specified in this subsection 
is the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, unless the Administrator of General Services certifies to 
Congress, by not later than 90 days after such date of enactment, that 
an additional period of time is required. If the Administrator so 
certifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that is 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Funding for Public Access to Modernized Electronic 
Court Records System.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Section 303 of the Judiciary 
        Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 102-140; 105 
        Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c)(1) To cover the costs of ensuring the public 
accessibility, free of charge, of all materials in the system described 
under sections 2 and 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 in accordance 
with section 3 of such Act, the Judicial Conference 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 pursuant to section 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United 
States Code, to reimburse expenses incurred in providing services in 
accordance with section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) To cover any additional marginal costs of ensuring 
the public accessibility, free of charge, of all materials in the 
system described under sections 2 and 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 
in accordance with section 3 of such Act, the Judicial Conference may 
prescribe schedules of reasonable filing fees, pursuant to sections 
1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code. The 
schedules--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) shall be based on the extent of use of the 
        system described under such section 2;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) shall, in addition, be based on factors 
        including the nature of the type of action and claim for 
        relief, the amount of damages demanded, the estimated 
        complexity of the type of action, and the interests of 
        justice;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) may be prescribed for the filing of a 
        counterclaim;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(D) shall not apply to a pro se litigant or a 
        litigant who certifies their financial hardship; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(E) shall not be a basis for denying access to 
        the courts of the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(3)(A) The Judicial Conference and the Director shall 
transmit each schedule of fees prescribed under this subsection to 
Congress at least 90 days before the schedule becomes effective. All 
fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited as offsetting 
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 providing services in accordance with section 3 of 
the Open Courts Act of 2021.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(B) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule of 
fees prescribed under this paragraph three years after it becomes 
effective and every three years thereafter to ensure that the fees meet 
the requirements of this paragraph. If the fees do not meet the 
requirements of this paragraph, the Judicial Conference shall prescribe 
a new schedule of fees pursuant to this paragraph and submit the new 
schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to subparagraph (A).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(C) Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information 
Technology Fund pursuant to this subsection and not used to reimburse 
expenses incurred in carrying out section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 
2021 may be used to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 
2 of the Open Courts Act of 2021. Amounts not used to reimburse 
expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 
2021 may be used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, United States 
Code.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by 
        paragraph (1) shall take effect beginning on the date specified 
        in subsection (d).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, 
shall be construed to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) affect the filing fees or other filing 
        procedures for prisoners; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) abrogate, limit, or modify the requirements 
        described in section 1915 of title 28, United States 
        Code.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The system described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act or 
the amendments made by such sections shall comply with relevant digital 
accessibility standards established pursuant to section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. GAO REVIEW.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall notify Congress whether the Director 
of the Administrative Office of United States Courts has--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) produced additional usable functionality of 
        the system described under sections 2 and 3 of this 
        Act;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) held live, publicly accessible demonstrations 
        of software in development; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) allowed the Comptroller General or a designee 
        to attend all sprint reviews held during the applicable 
        period.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Audit.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) conduct an audit of the system established 
        under this Act, including the compliance of vendors with the 
        quality assessment surveillance plan, code quality, and whether 
        the system is meeting the needs of users; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) shall submit to Congress a report that 
        contains--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the results of the audit required 
                under paragraph (1); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) any recommendations to improve the 
                system established under this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Open Courts Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF ELECTRONIC FEDERAL COURT RECORDS SYSTEMS.

    (a) Consolidation.--Not later than the date specified in subsection 
(e), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts, in coordination with the Administrator of General Services, 
shall develop, deliver, and sustain, consistent with the requirements 
of this section and section 3, one system for all public Federal court 
records.
    (b) Requirements of System.--The system described under 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 parties before the court.
            (2) The system shall make public Federal court records 
        automatically accessible to the public upon filing.
            (3) The home page for public access to the system shall 
        include a notice displayed to first-time visitors, as 
        determined through a mechanism that does not require 
        registration or impose a fee, that users will not use the 
        system for an unlawful purpose. Access to documents through 
        other means, including under paragraph (6), may not be 
        conditioned upon acknowledging such notice.
            (4) Any information made available through a website 
        established pursuant to section 205 of the E-Government Act of 
        2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note) shall be included in the system.
            (5) Any website for the system shall substantially comply 
        with the requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of section 
        205 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note).
            (6) 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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note) shall contain a link to the system.
            (7) To the extent practicable, the system shall enable 
        courts to automatically generate and submit, in a computer-
        readable format, the reports required by sections 2519(1) and 
        3103a(d)(1) of title 18, United States Code.
    (c) Data Standards.--
            (1) Establishment of data standards.--The Director of the 
        Administrative Office of the United States Courts, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of General Services and the 
        Archivist of the United States, shall establish data standards 
        for the system established under subsection (a).
            (2) Requirements.--The data standards established under 
        paragraph (1) shall, to the extent reasonable and practicable--
                    (A) incorporate widely accepted common data 
                elements;
                    (B) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, 
                full text searchable, platform-independent computer-
                readable format; and
                    (C) be capable of being continually upgraded as 
                necessary.
            (3) Deadlines.--Not later than 270 days 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 
        subsection.
    (d) Use of Technology.--In carrying out the duties under subsection 
(a), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts shall use modern technology--
            (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 the 
date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless 
the Administrator of General Services certifies to Congress, by not 
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, that an 
additional period of time is required. If the Administrator so 
certifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that is 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (f) Funds for Establishment, Operation, and Maintenance of 
Modernized Court Records System.--
            (1) Short term access fees to fund establishment of 
        modernized court records system.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 303 of the Judiciary 
                Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 102-
                140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended--
                            (i) in subsection (a), by inserting ``The 
                        Judicial Conference shall prescribe, after 
                        providing public notice and an opportunity for 
                        public comment, a schedule of additional fees 
                        for any person other than a government agency 
                        that accrues such fees for access in an amount 
                        of $25,000 or greater in any quarter. All fees 
                        collected under the preceding sentence shall be 
                        deposited as offsetting 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 sections 2 and 3 of the Open 
                        Courts Act of 2021.'' before ``The Director of 
                        the Administrative Office of the United States 
                        Courts''; and
                            (ii) in subsection (b), in the second 
                        sentence, by striking ``All'' and inserting 
                        ``Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
                        all''.
                    (B) Excess fees.--Amounts deposited in the 
                Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to the 
                amendments made by subparagraph (A) may only be used 
                for purposes of this Act.
                    (C) Effective date.--The amendments made by 
                subparagraph (A) shall take effect on the date of 
                enactment of this Act.
            (2) Filing fees to fund operation and maintenance of 
        modernized court records system.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 303 of the Judiciary 
                Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 102-
                140; 105 Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note) is amended by 
                striking subsections (a) and (b), and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(a) To cover the costs of carrying out section 2 of the Open 
Courts Act of 2021, the Judicial Conference may, after providing public 
notice and an opportunity for public comment and only to the extent 
necessary to cover such costs not otherwise provided by appropriations, 
prescribe schedules of reasonable filing fees, pursuant to sections 
1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, 
which--
            ``(1) shall be based on the extent of use of the system 
        described under such section 2 for purposes of carrying out 
        such section 2;
            ``(2) shall be based on factors to ensure that such 
        schedules are graduated, including the cause of action and 
        claim for relief, the status of the filer in the action and the 
        financial hardship an additional fee would place on the filer, 
        the amount of damages demanded, the estimated complexity of the 
        type of action, and the interests of justice;
            ``(3) may be prescribed for the filing of a counterclaim;
            ``(4) shall not apply in the case of a pro se litigant, a 
        first time litigant who is an individual, or a litigant who 
        certifies their financial hardship; and
            ``(5) shall not be a basis for denying access to the courts 
        of the United States.
    ``(b)(1) The Judicial Conference and the Director of the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts (in this section 
referred to as the `Director') shall transmit each schedule of fees 
prescribed under subsection (a) to Congress at least 90 days before the 
schedule becomes effective. All fees collected under subsection (a) 
shall be deposited as offsetting 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 
section 2 of the Open Courts Act of 2021.
    ``(2) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule of fees 
prescribed under subsection (a) 3 years after the schedule becomes 
effective and every 3 years thereafter to ensure that the fees meet the 
requirements of this section. If the fees do not meet the requirements 
of this section, the Judicial Conference shall, after providing public 
notice and an opportunity for public comment, prescribe a new schedule 
of fees pursuant to subsection (a) and submit the new schedule of fees 
to Congress pursuant to this subsection.
    ``(c) A court, upon motion, may waive any fee imposed under 
subsection (a) in the interest of justice.''.
                    (B) Effective date.--The amendment made by 
                subparagraph (A) shall take effect on the date 
                specified in subsection (e).
    (g) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives a report on the amount of appropriations necessary to 
carry out subsections (a) through (d).

SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC FEDERAL COURT RECORDS SYSTEM 
              REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than the date specified in subsection 
(c), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts, in coordination with the Administrator of General Services, 
shall make all materials in the system established under section 2 
publicly accessible, free of charge, and without requiring 
registration.
    (b) Use of Technology.--In providing public access under subsection 
(a), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts shall, in coordination with the Administrator of General 
Services, use modern technology--
            (1) to improve security, data accessibility, ease of public 
        access, affordability, and performance; and
            (2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants.
    (c) Date Specified.--The date specified in this subsection is the 
date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless 
the Administrator of General Services certifies to Congress, by not 
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, that an 
additional period of time is required. If the Administrator so 
certifies, the date specified in this subsection is the date that is 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Funding for Public Access to Modernized Electronic Court 
Records System.--
            (1) In general.--Section 303 of the Judiciary 
        Appropriations Act, 1992 (title III of Public Law 102-140; 105 
        Stat. 807) (28 U.S.C. 1913 note), as amended by section 
        2(f)(2)(A) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(d)(1) To cover the costs of ensuring the public accessibility, 
free of charge, of all materials in the system described under sections 
2 and 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 in accordance with section 3 of 
such Act, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall 
collect an annual fee from Federal agencies equal to the Public Access 
to Court Electronic Records access fees paid by those agencies in 2021, 
as adjusted for inflation. For any Federal agency that did not pay 
Public Access to Court Electronic Records access fees in fiscal year 
2021, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts may collect 
fees based on a standard annual fee determined by the Judicial 
Conference. All fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited 
as offsetting 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 providing services in accordance with 
section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021.
    ``(2) To cover any additional marginal costs of ensuring the public 
accessibility, free of charge, of all materials in the system described 
under sections 2 and 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 in accordance 
with section 3 of such Act, the Judicial Conference may, after 
providing public notice and an opportunity for public comment and only 
to the extent necessary to cover such costs not otherwise provided by 
appropriations, prescribe schedules of reasonable filing fees, pursuant 
to sections 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States 
Code, which--
            ``(A) shall be based on the extent of use of the system 
        described under such section 2;
            ``(B) shall, in addition, be based on factors to ensure 
        that such schedules are graduated, including the cause of 
        action and claim for relief, the status of the filer in the 
        action and the financial hardship an additional fee would place 
        on the filer, the amount of damages demanded, the estimated 
        complexity of the type of action, and the interests of justice;
            ``(C) may be prescribed for the filing of a counterclaim;
            ``(D) shall not apply to a pro se litigant, a first time 
        litigant who is an individual, or a litigant who certifies 
        their financial hardship; and
            ``(E) shall not be a basis for denying access to the courts 
        of the United States.
    ``(3)(A) The Judicial Conference and the Director shall transmit 
each schedule of fees prescribed under this subsection to Congress at 
least 90 days before the schedule becomes effective. All fees collected 
under this subsection shall be deposited as offsetting 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 providing public access in accordance with section 3 of the 
Open Courts Act of 2021.
    ``(B) The Judicial Conference shall review a schedule of fees 
prescribed under this subsection 3 years after the schedule becomes 
effective and every 3 years thereafter to ensure that the fees meet the 
requirements of this subsection. If the fees do not meet the 
requirements of this subsection, the Judicial Conference shall 
prescribe a new schedule of fees pursuant to this subsection and submit 
the new schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to subparagraph (A).
    ``(C) Amounts deposited to the Judiciary Information Technology 
Fund pursuant to this subsection and not used to reimburse expenses 
incurred in carrying out section 3 of the Open Courts Act of 2021 may 
be used to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 of 
that Act and not for any other purpose.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect on the date specified in subsection (c).

SEC. 4. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.

    The system described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act shall 
comply with relevant digital accessibility standards established 
pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
794d).

SEC. 5. GAO REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall notify Congress whether the Director of the 
Administrative Office of United States Courts has--
            (1) produced additional usable functionality of the system 
        described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act;
            (2) held live, publicly accessible demonstrations of 
        software in development; and
            (3) allowed the Comptroller General or a designee to attend 
        all sprint reviews held during the applicable period.
    (b) Audit.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall--
            (1) conduct an audit of the system established under this 
        Act, including the compliance of vendors with the quality 
        assessment surveillance plan, code quality, and whether the 
        system is meeting the needs of users; and
            (2) submit to Congress a report that contains--
                    (A) the results of the audit; and
                    (B) any recommendations to improve the system 
                established under this Act.

SEC. 6. CYBERSECURITY REVIEW.

    The Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts, as applicable, shall ensure the cybersecurity of the 
system described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act, in coordination 
with the relevant cybersecurity expert agencies in the executive branch 
and consistent with the relevant cybersecurity standards that would 
apply if the system would be operated by an agency in the executive 
branch.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out sections 2 and 3 of this Act.

SEC. 8. 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 procedures for 
        prisoners; or
            (2) abrogate, limit, or modify the requirements described 
        in section 1915 of title 28, United States Code.
                                                       Calendar No. 307

117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2614

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