S. 2614 would require the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), working with technology experts at the General Services Administration (GSA), to establish a centralized, cloud-based case management system for all public court records that is accessible to the general public at no cost. That system would consolidate the dozens of case management systems currently in use throughout the federal judiciary.
To cover the system’s costs, S. 2614 would authorize the AOUSC to revise its fee structure in two phases: Over the first three years, fees would increase for high-volume users of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service—those users that now pay more than $25,000 per quarter in fees. Starting in 2026, PACER user fees would be eliminated, providing access to legal documents to the general public at no charge. The costs of the judiciary’s case management system would instead be funded by higher filing fees for civil and bankruptcy cases.
