The Open Courts Act, S 2614, would eliminate fees to the public charged by the federal courts’ Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system

Jul 1, 2022

Community newspapers are awaiting consideration of the Open Courts Act, S 2614, to eliminate fees to the public charged by the federal courts’ Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system.

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.

PACER provides access to millions of public record filings within the federal court system including petitions, transcripts and scheduling documents. It generates more than $140 million by requiring the public to pay 10 cents a page for a search and an additional 10 cents a page to download or print. Critics have said the revenue far exceeds the cost of operating PACER. The Administrative Office of the US Courts has hoped to fend off legislation by promising future action to make records available free to the public. But Portman has said he is unconvinced that the courts administration can achieve the goals of providing fair public access without legislation.

NNA Chair Brett Wesner, president of Wesner Publications, Cordell, Oklahoma, said NNA has long supported Portman’s efforts and similar legislation in previous Congresses. But this year, NNA has elevated the issue to a higher priority.

“The actions of federal courts are becoming increasingly newsworthy for local communities,” Wesner said. “As courts consider all sorts of cases involving environmental, criminal justice and federal agency rulings that affect our towns, we find our newsrooms struggling to cover the stories without busting the budgets. We don’t think PACER was ever meant to be a revenue-raiser for the courts, so NNA is pushing to see this bill move to a markup and floor action this summer.”