Portman continues efforts to reform court records database

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) on Dec. 9 introduced a bipartisan bill that would reform the federal government’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), a database of federal judicial filings.

The Open Courts Act, S. 4988, sponsored by Sen. Portman and original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), would authorize federal funds to modernize the government’s electronic case management systems, according to the congressional record bill summary.

“PACER was intended to create a level playing field for small-time litigants, small business, civil society, journalists, and citizens who care about transparency in government,” Sen. Portman said. “However, with its frustrating interface and fees, PACER has done the opposite.”

The bill builds upon the bipartisan Electronic Court Records Reform Act of 2019, S. 2064, which Sens. Portman and Wyden unveiled in July 2019 to reform PACER. U.S. Reps. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) introduced the same-named H.R. 1164 last year.

If enacted, Sen. Portman’s newly introduced S. 4988 would resolve three issues with the PACER system: the need for a uniform way of filing, tracking and saving case information; the costs for searches, downloads and printouts; and use of the $146 million of annual PACER revenue that has been found to be used for purposes not directly related to the public access of records, according to the senator’s office.

“The American people should have easy access to the court records of their country, and this bipartisan, consensus legislation will fix the problem once and for all by putting in place a free, streamlined system with an emphasis on security, accessibility, affordability, and performance,” said Sen. Portman.

The legislation has been referred to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.