# 119-hr-7738: Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026

119-hr-7738, Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7738
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7738
- Congress: 119
- Title: Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Would increase transparency for criminal surveillance orders while tightening limits on sealing and nondisclosure.** It would require text-searchable public dockets, machine-readable annual reports, and 180-day default sealing limits with automatic unsealing and judicial review. - People who are surveilled would get stronger inventories and faster notice when data were accessed beyond court authorization. Sealing extensions would be capped at 180 days for an initial extension and would need heightened, case-specific showings for further extensions. - Courts and the public would see searchable, standardized records. Applications, orders, and inventories would be filed electronically and published as open data with AOUSC-managed machine-readable reporting. - State and Tribal courts would get phased deadlines and funding to comply; most requirements would take effect two years after enactment and courts lacking electronic dockets could have up to four years. The bill would authorize up to $25 million in grants over five years and would appropriate $1 million to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for implementation. *Would add about $26 million in federal appropriations — $25 million for grants and $1 million for AOUSC — increasing federal spending.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8] (R-OH), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More notice and inventories for customers: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the government or provider to give notice to a subscriber or customer before court-authorized access to their communications or records, unless a court delays notice under the bill's delay rules. If a provider lacks contact information, the required notice would b…
- Public dockets and court reporting: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a new, single definition for "criminal surveillance orders" and require courts to file and publish many surveillance filings as electronic, text-searchable records. Judges would file standardized January reports and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOU…
- Limits on sealing and delayed notice: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would make sealing surveillance applications, orders, and inventories disfavored after an order is executed or surveillance ends. Initial sealing could last up to 180 days with a required certification and get one 180-day renewal on recertification. Any further 180-day extensio…
- Grants and compliance for State courts: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would authorize up to $25,000,000 in grants over five years for State and Tribal courts to implement the Act. It would also authorize $1,000,000 for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to support implementation. The bill would make certain federal recognition and retur…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-8516: American Leadership in AI Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7738 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7738)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-8516: American Leadership in AI Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8516)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7738 (as of 2026-04-21).