#aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #hbce  ,,an ,,act  ,to provide for  
the modernization of electronic case    
management systems1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,open ,courts ,act  
of #bjbj4  #b4 ,modernization of        
electronic court records systems  7a7   
,consolidation ,not later than the date 
specified in subsection 7e71 as modified
 by any adjustments certified pursuant  
to section #f7;b71 the ,director of the 
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts1 in coordination with   
the ,administrator of ,general          
,services1 shall develop1 deliver1 and  
sustain1 consistent with the            
requirements of this section and section
 #c1 one system for all public court    
records4  7b7 ,requirements of system   
,the system described in subsection 7a7 
shall comply with the following         
requirements3 7#a7 ,the system shall    
provide search functions1 developed in  
coordination with the ,administrator of 

,general ,services1 for use by the      
public and by parties before the court4 
7#b7 ,the system shall make public court
 records automatically accessible to the
 public upon receipt of such records4   
7#c7 ,any information made available    
through a website established pursuant  
to section #bje of the ,e-,government   
,act of #bjjb shall be included in the  
system4  7#d7 ,any website for the      
system shall substantially comply with  
the requirements under subsections 7b7  
and 7c7 of section #bje of the          
,e-,government ,act of #bjjb4  7#e7 ,to 
the extent practicable1 external        
websites shall be able to link to       
documents on the system4 ,each website  
established pursuant to section #bje of 
the ,e-,government ,act of #bjjb shall  
contain a link to the system4  7c7 ,data
 standards  7#a7 ,establishment of data 
standards ,the ,director of the         
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts1 in coordination with   
the ,administrator of ,general ,services

 and the ,archivist of the ,united      
,states1 shall establish data standards 
for the system described in this section
 and section #c4  7#b7 ,requirements    
,the data standards established under   
paragraph 7#a7 shall1 to the extent     
reasonable and practicable--  7,a7      
incorporate widely accepted common data 
elements2  7,b7 incorporate a widely    
accepted1 nonproprietary1 full text     
searchable1 platform-independent        
computer-readable format2 and  7,c7 be  
capable of being continually upgraded as
 necessary4  7#c7 ,deadlines ,not later 
than #i months after the date of        
enactment of this ,act1 the ,director of
 the ,administrative ,office of the     
,united ,states ,courts shall issue     
guidance to all ,federal courts on the  
data standards established under this   
section4  7d7 ,use of technology ,in    
carrying out the duties under subsection
 7a71 the ,director shall use modern    
technology in order-- 7#a7 to improve   
security1 data accessibility1 data      

quality1 affordability1 and performance2
 and  7#b7 to minimize the burden on pro
 se litigants4  7e7 ,date specified ,the
 date specified in this subsection is   
,january #a1 #bjbe1 unless the          
,administrator of ,general ,services    
certifies to ,congress1 by not later    
than #f months after the date of        
enactment of this ,act1 that an         
additional period of time is required4  
,if the ,administrator so certifies1 the
 date specified in this subsection shall
 be a date that is no later than        
,january #a1 #bjbf4  7f7 ,funds for     
establishment1 operation1 and           
maintenance of modernized court records 
system  7#a7 ,short term access fees to 
fund development and delivery of        
modernized court records system ,until  
the date specified in subsection 7e71 to
 cover the costs of carrying out this   
section and section #c and pursuant to  
sections #aiac1 #aiad1 #aibf1 #aicj1 and
 #aicb of title #bh1 ,united ,states    
,code1 the ,judicial ,conference shall  

prescribe a progressive schedule of     
reasonable additional fees for persons1 
other than government agencies1 who     
accrue fees for electronic access to    
information under section #cjc of       
,public ,law #ajb-adj 7#bh ,u4,s4,c4    
#aiac note2 #aje ,stat4 #hjg7 in an     
amount of #f1jjj or greater in any      
quarter4 ,any such additional fees shall
 be assessed on a progressive fee       
schedule according to the level of use  
so that higher volume users are assessed
 higher fees4  7#b7 ,pricing for        
high-volume1 for-profit use  7,a7 ,in   
general ,pursuant to sections #aiac1    
#aiad1 #aibf1 #aicj1 and #aicb of title 
#bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 the         
,director of the ,administrative ,office
 of the ,united ,states ,courts1 in     
coordination with the ,administrator of 
,general ,services and the ,office of   
,technology ,transformation of the      
,general ,services ,administration1 may 
prescribe a schedule of reasonable fees 
for high-volume1 for-profit public users

 of the system described in this section
 and section #c1 to facilitate          
service-level agreements for maximum    
response times1 integrations1 high      
availability1 and service and support4  
7,b7 ,fee requirements ,the schedule of 
fees described in paragraph 7#a7 shall  
be based on a determination of specific 
and substantial need1 and may not impair
 access to justice and the public right 
of access to court records1 restrain    
innovation in the provision of legal    
services and access to public court     
records1 nor inhibit not for profit     
research of the business of the ,federal
 courts4  7#c7 ,fees to fund operation  
and maintenance of modernized court     
records system  7,a7 ,in general ,to    
cover the costs of carrying out this    
,act1 the ,judicial ,conference of the  
,united ,states may1 only to the extent 
necessary1 prescribe schedules of       
reasonable user fees1 pursuant to       
sections #aiac1 #aiad1 #aibf1 #aicj1 and
 #aicb of title #bh1 ,united ,states    

,code4 ,such fees shall be based on the 
extent of use of the system described   
under this section and section #c as    
well as factors such as feasibility1    
fairness to other users of the system1  
and efficacy1 and may not foreclose     
access to justice and the public right  
of access to court records4  7,b7       
,filing fees prohibited ,the ,judicial  
,conference of the ,united ,states may  
not prescribe filing fees to cover the  
cost of the system described in this    
section and section #c unless the       
,judicial ,conference determines that   
all other sources of fees will not cover
 the costs of such system4 ,only after  
such a determination and only to the    
extent necessary1 the ,judicial         
,conference may prescribe schedules of  
progressive filing fees under           
subparagraph 7,a74 ,in addition to the  
requirements of subparagraph 7,a71 such 
filing fees-- 7i7 shall be based on     
factors to ensure that such schedules   
are graduated and equitable1 including  

the type of action and claim for relief1
 the status of a filer1 the amount of   
damages demanded1 the estimated         
complexity of the type of action1 and   
the interests of justice2  7ii7 may be  
prescribed for the filing of a          
counterclaim2  7iii7 shall not apply in 
the case of a pro se litigant or        
litigant who certifies the litigant's   
financial hardship2  7iv7 shall not be a
 basis for rejecting a filing or        
otherwise denying a party seeking relief
 access to the courts of the ,united    
,states2  7v7 shall be assessed         
according to schedules1 not on a        
case-by-case1 ad hoc basis2 and  7vi7   
shall not be greater than #ae percent of
 any other fees associated with the     
filing4  7#d7 ,use of funds  7,a7       
,deposit fees ,all fees collected under 
this subsection shall be deposited as   
offsetting collections to the ,judiciary
 ,information ,technology ,fund pursuant
 to section #fab7;c77#a77;,a7 of title  
#bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 to reimburse

 expenses incurred in carrying out this 
section4  7,b7 ,authorized uses of fees 
,amounts deposited to the ,judiciary    
,information ,technology ,fund pursuant 
to this paragraph and not used to       
reimburse expenses incurred in carrying 
out this section and section #c may be  
used pursuant to section #fab7;a7 of    
title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#e7 
,interest of justice ,a court may waive 
any fee imposed under paragraph 7#c7 in 
the interest of justice upon motion4    
7#f7 ,effective date ,paragraphs 7#b7   
and 7#c7 shall take effect on the date  
specified in subsection 7e74 ,paragraph 
7#a7 and section #cjc of ,public ,law   
#ajb-adj 7#bh ,u4,s4,c4 #aiac note2 #aje
 ,stat4 #hjg7 shall cease to have effect
 on that date4  #c4 ,public access to   
electronic court records system         
requirement  7a7 ,in general ,not later 
than the date specified in section      
#b7;e71 and subject to any certification
 under section #f7;b71 the ,director of 
the ,administrative ,office of the      

,united ,states ,courts1 in coordination
 with the ,administrator of ,general    
,services1 shall make all materials in  
the system described in section #b and  
this section publicly accessible1 free  
of charge and without requiring         
registration4  7b7 ,use of technology   
,in providing public access under       
subsection 7a71 the ,director shall1 in 
coordination with the ,administrator of 
,general ,services1 use modern          
technology in order-- 7#a7 to improve   
security1 data accessibility1 quality1  
ease of public access1 affordability1   
and performance2 and  7#b7 to minimize  
the burden on pro se litigants4  7c7    
,funding for public access to modernized
 electronic court records system  7#a7  
,in general ,to cover any marginal costs
 of ensuring the public accessibility1  
free of charge1 of all materials in the 
system in accordance with this section1 
the ,judicial ,conference of the ,united
 ,states shall collect an annual fee    
from ,federal agencies equal to the     

,public ,access to ,court ,electronic   
,records access fees paid by those      
agencies in #bjah1 as adjusted for      
inflation4 ,all fees collected under    
this subsection shall be deposited as   
offsetting collections to the ,judiciary
 ,information ,technology ,fund pursuant
 to section #fab7;c77#a77;,a7 of title  
#bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 to reimburse
 expenses incurred in providing services
 in accordance with this section4  7#b7 
,authorized uses of fees ,amounts       
deposited to the ,judiciary ,information
 ,technology ,fund pursuant to this     
subsection and not used to reimburse    
expenses incurred in carrying out this  
section may be used to reimburse        
expenses incurred in carrying out       
section #b4 ,amounts not used to        
reimburse expenses incurred in carrying 
out section #b may be used pursuant to  
section #fab7;a7 of title #bh1 ,united  
,states ,code4  7#c7 ,effective date    
,paragraph 7#a7 shall take effect       
beginning on the date specified in      

section #b7;e74  #d4 ,ensuring modern   
development standards  7a7 ,industry    
standards ,the system described in      
sections #b and #c shall be developed in
 accordance with industry standards for 
the incremental development of new      
information technology systems1         
including user-centered design1 ,agile  
software development practices and      
procurement1 and service-oriented       
architecture4  7b7 ,analyses ,the       
,director of the ,administrative ,office
 of the ,united ,states ,courts shall1  
in cooperation with the ,administrator  
of ,general ,services1 conduct regular  
analyses at each stage of system        
development to ensure that any          
requirements--  7#a7 are consistent with
 this ,act2  7#b7 meet the business     
needs of users of the system1 the       
public1 and the judiciary2 and  7#c7    
comply with relevant statutes and rules1
 including chapter #aca of title #bh1   
,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as
 the ,rules ,enabling ,act71 the        

,federal ,rules of ,procedure1 and local
 rules and orders of ,federal courts4   
7c7 ,initial plan ,not later than #f    
months after the date of enactment of   
this ,act1 the ,director of the         
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts shall submit to         
,congress a report with respect to its  
initial plan for development of the     
system after consultation with the      
,office of ,technology ,transformation  
,services of the ,general ,services     
,administration and the ,united ,states 
,digital ,service1 which may include an 
analysis of the state of the system as  
of the date of enactment of this ,act1  
an approach for developing the system   
consistent with sections #b and #c of   
this ,act1 and a proposed timeline for  
development4  7d7 ,reports and notice   
7#a7 ,reports  7,a7 ,in general ,each   
quarter after the issuance of the report
 described in subsection 7c71 the       
,director of the ,administrative ,office
 of the ,united ,states ,courts shall   

report quarterly to the ,committees on  
the ,judiciary of the ,house of         
,representatives and the ,senate on     
progress of the development of the      
system1 improvements achieved1 and risks
 that arise 7such as lack of funding    
source or lack of technological         
solutions to meet the needs of this ,act
 or applicable statutes and rules74     
,such report shall include an assessment
 of vendors' compliance with a quality  
assessment surveillance plan1 code      
quality1 and whether the system is      
meeting users' needs4  7,b7 ,system     
status ,not later than #fj days after   
the end of each fiscal year1 the        
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall report to ,congress on the
 policies1 goals1 performance1 budget1  
contracts1 fee proposals1 and user fees 
of the ,administrative ,office of the   
,united ,states ,courts1 including input
 from a cross-section of the            
nongovernmental users and stakeholders1 
with respect to the system described in 

sections #b and #c of this ,act4  7#b7  
,notice ,not later than #f months after 
the date of enactment of this ,act1 and 
quarterly thereafter1 the ,comptroller  
,general of the ,united ,states shall   
notify ,congress that the ,director of  
the ,administrative ,office of the      
,united ,states ,courts has-- 7,a7      
produced additional usable functionality
 of the system described under sections 
#b and #c of this ,act2  7,b7 held live1
 publicly accessible demonstrations of  
software in development2 and  7,c7      
allowed the ,comptroller ,general or a  
designee to attend all sprint reviews   
held during such #f month or quarterly  
period4  #e4 ,review and publication of 
user fees  7a7 ,periodic review ,the    
,judicial ,conference of the ,united    
,states shall review any schedule of    
fees prescribed under this ,act #c years
 after such schedule becomes effective  
and every #c years thereafter to ensure 
that the schedule meets the requirement 
of this ,act4 ,if a fee schedule does   

not meet such requirements1 the         
,judicial ,conference shall prescribe a 
new schedule of fees pursuant to this   
section and submit the new schedule of  
fees to ,congress pursuant to this      
section4  7b7 ,fee ,proposal and        
,comment ,periods  7#a7 ,public comment 
,the ,judicial ,conference of the       
,united ,states shall publish any       
schedule of new fees or fee adjustments1
 as authorized under this ,act1 in the  
,federal ,register and on the website of
 the ,united ,states ,courts4 ,the      
,judicial ,conference shall accept      
public comment on the proposed fees for 
a period of not less than #fj days4     
7#b7 ,publication of final schedule of  
new fees or fee adjustments ,after the  
period specified in paragraph 7#b71 the 
final schedule of new fees or fee       
adjustments shall be published in the   
,federal ,register and on the website of
 the ,united ,states ,courts along with 
an explanation of any changes from the  
proposed schedule of new fees or fee    

adjustments4  7#c7 ,congressional review
 period ,a schedule of fees set or      
adjusted under paragraph 7#c7 may not   
become effective--  7,a7 before the end 
of the #ij-;day period beginning on the 
day after the date on which the         
,judicial ,conference publishes the     
schedule of new fees or fee adjustments 
under paragraph 7#c72 or  7,b7 if a law 
is enacted disapproving such fee4  7c7  
,study  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,judicial 
,conference of the ,united ,states shall
 periodically study the system described
 in sections #b and #c of this ,act in  
accordance with this section4 ,the study
 shall examine--  7,a7 the relative     
extent to which specific functions and  
usage of the system are supported1      
directly or indirectly1 by fees1        
appropriations1 and other sources of    
revenue2 and  7,b7 whether1 and to what 
extent1 there are additional fees of any
 kind that could be more appropriately  
imposed to support the operations and   
maintenance of the system and whether or

 not any such fees should or must be    
imposed by statute or by judiciary      
regulation2  7,c7 whether1 and to what  
extent1 there are additional            
appropriations that should be pursued   
that should be provided to support the  
system in lieu of fees2 and  7,d7       
whether1 and to what extent1 there are  
other sources of revenue that should be 
provided to support the system4  7#b7   
,considerations ,in determining the     
appropriateness of any fees1 the        
,judicial ,conference of the ,united    
,states shall consider the extent to    
which any such fees would-- 7,a7        
negatively or positively affect the     
administration of justice2  7,b7 impose 
inappropriate burdens on access to      
justice by litigants2  7,c7 relate to   
the relative impact of activities on    
system costs2  7,d7 improve fairness to 
users2  7,e7 otherwise be fair or unfair
 to the public2  7,f7 be feasible to    
implement effectively2 and  7,g7        
generate meaningful revenue4  7#c7      

,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,judicial ,conference of the ,united    
,states shall submit to the ,committees 
on the ,judiciary of the ,house of      
,representative and the ,senate a report
 on the conclusions of the study        
described under this section4  7#d7 ,fee
 authority ,if the ,judicial ,conference
 of the ,united ,states determines1     
pursuant to subsection 7a71 that        
additional fees are reasonable and      
necessary to fund the system described  
in sections #b and #c1 it may promulgate
 such fees pursuant to section          
#b7;f77#c77;,a74  7#e7 ,additional      
report ,not less frequently than every  
#c years1 the ,judicial ,conference     
shall review the matters described in   
this subsection and report any new      
findings to ,congress as described in   
this subsection4 ,any fees may be       
adjusted pursuant to section            
#b7;f77#c77;,a74  #f4 ,reporting and    
certification to ,congress on finances  

7a7 ,annual ,report and ,consultation   
,concerning ,funding for the ,following 
,fiscal ,year ,at the beginning of each 
fiscal year after the date of enactment 
of this ,act1 the ,director of the      
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts shall submit to the     
,committees on the ,judiciary of the    
,house of ,representatives and the      
,senate a report on--  7#a7 the status  
of funding the system described under   
sections #b and #c2 and  7#b7 plans for 
any new fee proposals or adjustments and
 whether there is a foreseeable need to 
use the certification authority provided
 under subsection 7b77#b7 in the        
following fiscal year4  7b7             
,certification ,regarding ,anticipated  
,funding in the ,current ,fiscal ,year  
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director of the  
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts may treat any and all   
receipts1 funds1 expenditures and costs 
associated with the system established  
under sections #b and #c as constituting

 a separate item in its budget distinct 
from the remainder of its budget4  7#b7 
,certification ,at the beginning of a   
fiscal year1 starting in fiscal year    
#bjbc1 and only when necessary1 the     
,director of the ,administrative ,office
 of the ,united ,states ,courts may     
submit a certification1 including       
supporting documentation and analysis1  
to the ,committees on the ,judiciary of 
the ,house of ,representatives and the  
,senate1 which--  7,a7 identifies any   
expected deficit in funds for that      
fiscal year2 and  7,b7 specifies the    
,director's response for such deficit   
for the remainder of that fiscal year1  
including--  7i7 modifying the scope and
 scale of the system described in       
sections #b and #c2  7ii7 increasing    
fees or other receipts within the       
,judicial ,conference's authority2 and  
7iii7 temporarily delaying the delivery 
of the system4  7#c7 ,consultation ,not 
later than #cj days after receipt of the
 certification described in paragraph   

7#b71 the ,director of the              
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts and the ,chairs and     
,ranking ,members of the ,committees on 
the ,judiciary of the ,house of         
,representatives and the ,senate shall  
meet in person concerning the           
certification1 supporting documentation1
 and analysis4  7#d7 ,implementation    
,the ,director of the ,administrative   
,office of the ,united ,states ,courts  
may implement its response described in 
paragraph 7#b7 any time after the       
#cj-;day period following the           
consultation described in paragraph     
7#c74  7#e7 ,,gao review ,in any fiscal 
year during which such certification is 
issued and implemented1 the ,comptroller
 ,general of the ,united ,states shall  
conduct a comprehensive review of the   
certification not later than #abj days  
after its submission1 including--  7,a7 
the accuracy of the expectations of the 
,director of the ,administrative ,office
 of the ,united ,states ,courts with    

respect to any deficit in funds2  7,b7  
the efficacy of the ,director's         
recommended response1 and  7,c7 the     
,comptroller ,general's recommendations 
for alternative or additional responses 
submitted as a report to the ,director  
and ,committees on the ,judiciary of the
 ,house of ,representatives and the     
,senate4  7#f7 ,director response to    
review ,not later than #fj days after   
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states conducts a review under        
paragraph 7#e71 the ,director of the    
,administrative ,office of the ,united  
,states ,courts shall prepare and submit
 to the ,committees on the ,judiciary of
 the ,house of ,representatives and the 
,senate a response to such review4  #g4 
,rule of construction ,nothing in this  
,act1 or the amendments made by this    
,act1 shall be construed to-- 7#a7      
affect the filing fees or other filing  
procedures for prisoners2 or  7#b7      
abrogate1 limit1 or modify the          
requirements described in section #aiae 

of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code4    
#h4 ,digital accessibility standards    
,the system described under sections #b 
and #c of this ,act shall comply with   
relevant digital accessibility standards
 established pursuant to section #ejh of
 the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc4  #i4
 ,determination of ,budgetary ,effects  
,the budgetary effects of this ,act1 for
 the purpose of complying with the      
,statutory ,pay-,as-,you-,go ,act of    
#bjaj1 shall be determined by reference 
to the latest statement titled          
,budgetary ,effects of ,,paygo          
,legislation for this ,act1 submitted   
for printing in the ,congressional      
,record by the ,chairman of the ,house  
,budget ,committee1 provided that such  
statement has been submitted prior to   
the vote on passage4  ,passed the ,house
 of ,representatives ,december #h1      
#bjbj4;,clerk4