United States 116th Congress Status: Died 1 I cosponsors

HR 8235 — Open Courts Act of 2020

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

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

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.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HR 8235 on the official United States source →

Action History

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

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

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

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

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

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

  7. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

  8. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

  9. Introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

Law Computer security and identity theft Computers and information technology Government information and archives Internet and video services Judicial procedure and administration User charges and fees Internet, web applications, social media
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 8235 do?
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.
Who sponsors HR 8235?
HR 8235 is sponsored by Henry Johnson (Whig).
What is the current status of HR 8235?
This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 8235?
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Last checked for changes about 11 hours ago · updated continuously

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