# 119-s-4857: Open Meetings Act of 2026

119-s-4857, Open Meetings Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4857
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4857
- Congress: 119
- Title: Open Meetings Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-23
- Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Requires public notice and live audio streams for Judicial Conference meetings.** This bill would require the Judicial Conference to post meeting notices on its website at least 30 days before covered meetings with the date, time, place, and agenda, to provide live audio streaming that is free and does not require registration, to archive each stream and post the archive within 7 days, and to allow closed sessions only when law prohibits publicity or by majority vote for sensitive matters with the reason stated before closing.

## Provisions PRIA read

- More public access to court meetings: benefit, low. If enacted, the Judicial Conference would have to post notice of each covered meeting at least 30 days before it. Notices would have to show the date, time, place, and agenda. The Conference would be able to waive the 30-day rule for good cause. If it waived notice, it would have to post an explana…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-4857 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4857)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4857 (as of 2026-08-11).