Bill Sponsor
Senate Bill 4988
116th Congress(2019-2020)
Open Courts Act of 2020
Introduced
Introduced
Introduced in Senate on Dec 9, 2020
Overview
Text
Introduced
Dec 9, 2020
Latest Action
Dec 9, 2020
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill
The primary form of legislative measure used to propose law. Depending on the chamber of origin, bills begin with a designation of either H.R. or S. Joint resolution is another form of legislative measure used to propose law.
Bill Number
4988
Congress
116
Policy Area
Law
Law
Primary focus of measure is matters affecting civil actions and administrative remedies, courts and judicial administration, general constitutional issues, dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration. Measures concerning specific constitutional amendments may fall under the policy area relevant to the subject matter of the amendment (e.g., Education). Measures concerning criminal procedure and law enforcement may fall under Crime and Law Enforcement policy area.
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Ohio
Democrat
Oregon
Senate Votes (0)
House Votes (0)
No Senate votes have been held for this bill.
Summary

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 higher-volume nongovernmental users of PACER.

To fund the operations of the new system, the Judicial Conference shall collect an annual fee from each federal agency equal to that agency's PACER fees in 2018, adjusted for inflation. 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.

Text (1)
December 9, 2020
Actions (2)
12/09/2020
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
12/09/2020
Introduced in Senate
Public Record
Record Updated
Jan 11, 2023 1:43:49 PM