S. 3059 — what changed
Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act
From Introduced in Senate to Engrossed in Senate. 2 sections amended and 1 removed between Introduced in Senate and Engrossed in Senate.
Section 1 Short title
changed
This Act may be cited as the “Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act of 2021”.Act”.
Sec. 2 Periodic transaction reports and online publication of financial disclosure reports of Federal judges
added
Periodic transaction reporting requirement for Federal judges—
added
In general— Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
added “(11) Each judicial officer.
added “(12) Each bankruptcy judge appointed under section 152 of title 28, United States Code.
added “(13) Each United States magistrate judge appointed under section 631 of title 28, United States Code.”
added
Effective date— The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply to applicable transactions occurring on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
removed
Congress finds that—
changed
Online publication of financial disclosure reports of Federal judges— recent reports indicate certain Federal judges have failed to recuse themselves from cases and controversies in which the financial interests Section 105 of the Federal judges are implicated;Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
added
by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
added
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
added “(c) Online publication of financial disclosure reports of Federal judges
added “(1) Establishment of database—Subject to paragraph (4), not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall establish a searchable internet database to enable public access to any report required to be filed under this title by a judicial officer, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge.
added “(2) Availability—Not later than 90 days after the date on which a report is required to be filed under this title by a judicial officer, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall make the report available on the database established under paragraph (1) in a full-text searchable, sortable, and downloadable format for access by the public.
added “(3) Redaction—Any report made available on the database established under paragraph (1) shall not contain any information that is redacted in accordance with subsection (b)(3).
added “(4) Additional time
added “(A) In general—Subject to subparagraph (B), the requirements of this subsection may be implemented after the date described in paragraph (1) if the Administrative Office of the United States Courts identifies in writing to the relevant committees of Congress the additional time needed for that implementation.
added “(B) Publication requirement—The Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall continue to make the reports described in paragraph (1) available to the public during the period in which the Administrative Office of the United States Courts establishes the database under this subsection.”
added
Technical and conforming amendments—
added
Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (a)(1)) is amended—
added
in paragraph (9), by striking “, as defined under section 109(12)”; and
added
in paragraph (10), by striking “, as defined under section 109(13)”.
added
Section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended—
added
in subsection (a)(1), by striking “be revealing” and inserting “by revealing”; and
added
in subsection (b)—
added
in paragraph (1)—
added
in the first sentence, by striking “be,,” and inserting “be,”; and
added
in the third sentence, by striking “may be may” and inserting “may be, may”; and
added
in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of this Act” and inserting “who is a judicial officer or a judicial employee”.
added
Section 107(a)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended in the last sentence by striking “and (d)” and inserting “and (e)”.
removed
Federal law and the judicial recusal rules applicable to Federal judges require that Federal judges disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which the impartiality of the Federal judges might be reasonably questioned, including instances in which a Federal judge has any financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding;
removed
litigants and the public have an interest in fair and impartial judicial proceedings, the results and conduct of which avoid any appearance of impropriety; and
removed
in 2012, the STOCK Act (Public Law 112–105; 126 Stat. 291) was enacted, which provides that Members of Congress and Federal officials have a duty of trust and confidentiality to not use information obtained from their official duties for private gain, including the purchase and sale of stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, and other securities.
Sec. 3 Periodic transaction reports and online publication of financial disclosure reports of Federal judicial officers
removed
removed
Periodic transaction reporting requirement for Federal judicial officers—
removed
In general— Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
removed
“(11) Each judicial officer.”
removed
Effective date— The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply to applicable transactions occurring on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
removed
Online publication of financial disclosure reports of Federal judicial officers— Section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
removed
by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
removed
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
removed
“(c) Online publication of financial disclosure reports of judicial officers
removed
“(1) Establishment of database—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act of 2021, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall establish a searchable internet database to enable public access to any report required to be filed by a judicial officer under this title.
removed
“(2) Availability—Not later than 90 days after the date on which a report is required to be filed under this title by a judicial officer, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall make the report available on the database established under paragraph (1) in a full-text searchable, sortable, and downloadable format for access by the public.
removed
“(3) Redaction—Any report made available on the database established under paragraph (1) shall not contain any information that is redacted in accordance with subsection (b)(3).”
removed
Technical and conforming amendments—
removed
Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (a)(1)) is amended—
removed
in paragraph (9), by striking “, as defined under section 109(12)”; and
removed
in paragraph (10), by striking “, as defined under section 109(13)”.
removed
Section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended—
removed
in subsection (a)(1), by striking “be revealing” and inserting “by revealing”; and
removed
in subsection (b)—
removed
in paragraph (1)—
removed
in the first sentence, by striking “be,,” and inserting “be,”; and
removed
in the third sentence, by striking “may be may” and inserting “may be, may”; and
removed
in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of this Act” and inserting “who is a judicial officer or a judicial employee”.
removed
Section 107(a)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) is amended in the last sentence by striking “and (d)” and inserting “and (e)”.