Open Meetings Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9408 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9408

 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2026

   Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Deluzio, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Ramirez, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced
    the following bill; which was 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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