Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025
Courthouse Construction: New Space Sharing Rules
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This policy changes how the government builds new federal courthouses to save taxpayer money. It requires judges to share courtrooms rather than giving every judge their own private room, which helps reduce the size and cost of new buildings.
- Under these rules, larger courthouses must provide two courtrooms for every three active district judges. Bankruptcy judges, senior judges, and magistrate judges will also be required to share, with one courtroom for every two judges.
- The policy aims to stop the construction of oversized federal buildings that often sit empty. By requiring judges to share space, the government can build smaller facilities that are cheaper to maintain and operate.
- Before any new space can be added to a courthouse complex, the government must prove that the existing space is being fully used. If the old space is no longer needed, it must be removed from the government's inventory.
- The agency in charge of federal buildings, the General Services Administration, has 180 days to update its official design guides to include these new sharing requirements for all future projects.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Senate returned papers to the House.
Senate returned papers to House by by Unanimous Consent.
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.