US Congress House Bill 8235 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Engrossed on December 9 2020 - 50% progression, died in committee
Action: 2020-12-09 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Pending: Senate Judiciary Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Engrossed) [PDF]

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.

Open Courts Act of 2020

Rep. Henry Johnson [D-GA]

Rep. Doug Collins [R-GA]

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

HB6017 (Related) 2020-02-28 - Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
SB4988 (Related) 2020-12-09 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8235/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr8235/BILLS-116hr8235ih.pdf
Text	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr8235/BILLS-116hr8235eh.pdf