YVN Summary
\n\nIf your city or state is under a federal court order, you would get a say in who watches it. Federal judges sometimes name a monitor — an outside person paid to check whether a government is following that order. Courts would have to name the pick in advance and take public comment first. Monitor pay would be capped too. The Judicial Conference, the federal courts' national rule-making body, would set the top rate. Each monitor would file a yearly report on fees charged and work done. Courts would have to post those reports for the public.\n\nThe bill would also shorten how long one monitor stays. No monitor could serve more than 5 years, be brought back on the same case, or hold two of these jobs at once. After 6 years, the case would move to a different judge. Some monitors have already been in place 6 years. In those cases, a new monitor would step in within 180 days of the bill becoming law. A new judge would take over within a year. Courts could only change the parts of an order a government has not yet met.
","status":"INTRODUCED","topics":["CRIME"],"introducedAt":"2026-05-04T00:00:00+00:00","latestActionAt":"2026-05-04T00:00:00+00:00","congressGovUrl":null,"accountabilityFlags":{"transparency_accountability":["↑ Public comment on court monitor appointments — notice required first","↑ Yearly public report of monitor fees — courts must publish it","↑ Cap on court monitor fees — top rates set nationally","↑ Conflict rules for court monitors — only one job at a time","↓ Court monitors' time overseeing a government — capped at 5 years","↑ New judge on long-running court oversight — required after 6 years","↓ Court power to change monitor terms — only where rules go unmet","↓ Long-running monitors already in place — replaced within 180 days"]},"tldr":"Courts would take public comment before picking a monitor for a city or state — and cap each one at 5 years.","summaryStandard":"v2","flagExplainers":{"transparency_accountability":["Before a judge picks someone to oversee a city or state, the court would have to name that person publicly and take comments. This step is new, and the courts' national policy body would write it into the rules.","The report would list what the monitor charged and what work was done, including any free or discounted hours. The court would have to make it available to anyone.","The Judicial Conference would set the highest rates a monitor could bill. The bill also says monitors may work for free or at a discount.","One person could not run two of these oversight jobs at the same time. The next monitor on a case also could not work for the same employer as the last one.","A monitor could serve at most 5 years on a case, and could not be brought back under the same court order. Longer oversight would have to pass to someone new.","Six years after a court order sets up oversight, the case would move to another judge in the same district. The first judge would no longer handle it.","A court, a party, or a monitor could ask to change the terms, and the court would hold a hearing. But judges could only change requirements the government has not steadily met.","Oversight already running 6 years when the bill takes effect would get a new monitor within 180 days. Those cases would also move to a new judge within a year."]},"flagValence":{"transparency_accountability":["good","good","contested","contested","contested","contested","contested","contested"]},"needsResummary":false,"displaySummaryHtml":null,"rawStatusText":"Reported to House","chamber":"HOUSE","policyArea":"Law","legislativeSubjects":["Federal district courts","Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management","Government information and archives","Judicial procedure and administration","Legal fees and court costs"],"lawStatus":null,"lawNumber":null,"latestActionText":"Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.","latestTextVersion":"Referred in Senate","textVersionUsed":null,"dateAdded":"2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00","summarizedAt":"2026-08-18T00:00:00+00:00","recordId":"6e32030b-e0f3-495d-8901-3b0148d1ce18","feedIdentityKey":"119/hr/8365","websiteBillId":"HR-8365","yourvoiceSummary":"If your city or state is under a federal court order, you would get a say in who watches it. Federal judges sometimes name a monitor — an outside person paid to check whether a government is following that order. Courts would have to name the pick in advance and take public comment first. Monitor pay would be capped too. The Judicial Conference, the federal courts' national rule-making body, would set the top rate. Each monitor would file a yearly report on fees charged and work done. Courts would have to post those reports for the public.\n\nThe bill would also shorten how long one monitor stays. No monitor could serve more than 5 years, be brought back on the same case, or hold two of these jobs at once. After 6 years, the case would move to a different judge. Some monitors have already been in place 6 years. In those cases, a new monitor would step in within 180 days of the bill becoming law. A new judge would take over within a year. Courts could only change the parts of an order a government has not yet met.","updatedAt":"2026-10-25T02:32:15.042332+00:00"}