S. 4857

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4857 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4857

To amend chapter 15 of title 28, United States Code, with respect to 
documentation requirements for a meeting of certain conferences and 
councils.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 23, 2026

Ms. Hirono introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend chapter 15 of title 28, United States Code, with respect to 
documentation requirements for a meeting of certain conferences and 
councils.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Open Meetings Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENT FOR MEETING OF CERTAIN CONFERENCES 
AND COUNCILS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 15 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 336. Documentation requirement for meeting of certain 
conferences and councils
``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered meeting' 
means a meeting of a conference or council undertaken pursuant to this 
chapter.
``(b) Notice Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days before a covered 
meeting, the Judicial Conference shall publish notice of the 
covered meeting on the internet website of the Judicial 
Conference, including the date, time, place, and agenda of the 
covered meeting.
``(2) Exception.--The Judicial Conference may waive for 
good cause the requirement under paragraph (1). If the Judicial 
Conference waives the requirement under paragraph (1), the 
Judicial Conference shall publish an explanation for why the 
requirement was not met on the internet website of the Judicial 
Conference.
``(c) Live Audio Streaming Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--Each covered meeting shall provide live 
audio streaming, accessible to the public without charge or 
registration.
``(2) Record.--The Judicial Conference shall maintain an 
archive of each live audio stream provided pursuant to 
paragraph (1).
``(3) Publication.--Not later than 7 days after the date of 
a covered meeting, the Judicial Conference shall publish on the 
internet website of the Judicial Conference an archive of the 
live audio stream required under paragraph (1) in a manner that 
is accessible to the public without charge or registration.
``(4) Exception.--
``(A) In general.--During each covered meeting, the 
conference or council--
``(i) shall resolve into a closed session 
when publication of the matter at issue is 
prohibited by law; or
``(ii) may, by a majority vote, resolve 
into a closed session as determined appropriate 
by the conference or council for consideration 
of a sensitive or confidential matter.
``(B) Statement.--Prior to resolving into a closed 
session under subparagraph (A), the conference or 
council shall state the reason for so resolving.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 15 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``336. Documentation requirement for meeting of certain conferences and 
councils.''.
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