Congress·In Committee·S. 4857

Open Meetings Act of 2026

Judicial Branch: Open Meetings and Audio Streaming

Jun 23·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Open Meetings Act of 2026

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A senate committee

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary is reviewing this bill after it was sent there on June 23, 2026. No further action has taken place since June 23, 2026, and the bill remains stalled in committee.

Companion bill: Judicial Branch: Open Meetings and Audio Streaming →

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill was introduced by a single member and has not yet gained broad support or moved past the initial committee stage.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Companion
Identical companion bill H.R. 9408 (119th) was introduced in the other chamber.
H.R. 9408 (119th) →

Key Points

This bill requires the Judicial Conference to tell the public about its meetings at least 30 days in advance. The notice must include the date, time, and what will be discussed.
The group would have to provide a free live audio stream of its meetings so anyone can listen. They must also post a recording of the meeting online within one week.
Meetings could still be closed to the public if the law requires it or if members vote to discuss private or sensitive information. The group must explain why they are closing the session before they do it.
The goal is to make the way federal courts are managed more transparent to the public. Currently, many of these high level discussions happen behind closed doors.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 23, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 23, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Open Meetings Act of 2026

Bill NumberS 4857

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.