# 117-hr-5844: Open Courts Act of 2021

117-hr-5844, Open Courts Act of 2021, is a 117th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-5844
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 117-hr-5844
- Congress: 117
- Title: Open Courts Act of 2021
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
- Introduced: 2021-11-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Open Courts Act of 2021 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.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48] (R-CA), 2021-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 117-hr-1448: PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act
- 117-hr-1799: PPP Extension Act of 2021
- 117-hr-310: To posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, in recognition of thei…
- 117-hr-1057: Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Act
- 117-hres-895: Strongly condemning ongoing violence and human rights abuses stemming from Cameroon's Anglophone crisis.
- 117-hres-881: Condemning the heinous terrorist attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on January 15, 2022.

## Sources
- [117-hr-5844 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5844)

## Related
- [117-hr-1448: PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-1448)
- [117-hr-1799: PPP Extension Act of 2021](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-1799)
- [117-hr-310: To posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Glen Doher…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-310)
- [117-hr-1057: Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-1057)
- [117-hres-895: Strongly condemning ongoing violence and human rights abuses stemming from Came…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hres-895)
- [117-hres-881: Condemning the heinous terrorist attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyvi…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hres-881)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-5844 (as of 2025-11-18).