Open Courts Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-8235
Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4]
Introduced: 2020-09-14 in the House
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Computer security and identity theft
Computers and information technology
Government information and archives
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Judicial procedure and administration
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-14
text: 

Open Courts Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a single electronic system for all public court records that is publicly accessible for free. Under the existing Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, users are charged fees for accessing court documents.
 
To fund the development of the new consolidated system, the Judicial Conference must temporarily establish a schedule of additional fees for persons that are higher-volume users of PACER.
 
To fund the operations of the new system, the Judicial Conference shall collect an annual fee from the Department of Justice based on the amount of PACER fees paid by the department in 2018. The Judicial Conference may also establish reasonable filing fees based on specified factors, including the extent of a person's use and the interests of justice.

action_date: 2020-12-08
text: 

Open Courts Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a single electronic system for all public court records that is publicly accessible for free. Under the existing Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, users are charged fees for accessing court documents.
 
To fund the development of the new consolidated system, the Judicial Conference must temporarily establish a progressive schedule of additional fees for persons, other than government agencies, that are higher-volume users of PACER.
 
To fund the operations of the new system, the Judicial Conference shall collect an annual fee from federal agencies based on the amount of PACER fees paid by the agencies in 2018. 

 
The Judicial Conference may also establish reasonable filing fees based on specified factors, including the extent of a person's use and the interests of justice.
 
The bill specifies various reporting requirements related to the new system, including for the Government Accountability Office.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-12-09
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7015-7018)
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 8235.
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7015-7021)
action_date: 2020-12-08
text: Mr. Johnson (GA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
action_date: 2020-09-15
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2020-09-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-09-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-09-14
text: Introduced in House