Open Courts Act of 2020

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 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.

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Timeline

1. 14 September 2020

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 14 September 2020

   Introduced

   Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 14 September 2020

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

4. 15 September 2020

   Committee

   Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

   Source: Committee

5. 8 December 2020

   Passed

   Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

   Source: Floor

6. 8 December 2020

   Passed

   On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7015-7018)

   Source: Floor

7. 8 December 2020

   Passed

   Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

   Source: Floor

8. 8 December 2020

   Floor

   DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 8235.

   Source: Floor

9. 8 December 2020

   Floor

   Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7015-7021)

   Source: Floor

10. 8 December 2020

    Floor

    Mr. Johnson (GA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

    Source: Floor

11. 9 December 2020

    Introduced

    Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Referred in Senate · 9 December 2020 · Official file
• Engrossed in House · 8 December 2020 · Official file
• Introduced in House · 14 September 2020 · Official file

Documents

8 official files

• Referred in Senate (text)

  Referred in Senate · EN · 9 December 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Referred in Senate (PDF)

  Referred in Senate · EN · 9 December 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Engrossed in House (text)

  Engrossed in House · EN · 8 December 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Engrossed in House (PDF)

  Engrossed in House · EN · 8 December 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Passed House

  summary · EN · 8 December 2020

  Open at official source

• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 14 September 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 14 September 2020

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 14 September 2020

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] · D · Sponsor
• Doug Collins · R · Sponsor
• · ssju00 · Standing
• · hsju00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → Twenty-First Century Courts Act
• related to ← Open Courts Act of 2020