S. 4857: Open Meetings Act of 2026

This bill would make meetings of certain judicial conferences and councils more transparent by adding new notice and recording rules.

What it would require

• Advance notice: For covered meetings, the Judicial Conference would have to post notice on its website at least 30 days in advance. The notice would need to include the date, time, place, and agenda.
• Public live audio: These meetings would have to be live audio streamed so the public can listen for free and without registering.
• Audio archive: The Judicial Conference would have to keep a recording of each live audio stream and post it on its website within 7 days after the meeting, again free and without registration.

Closed-session exceptions

• The bill would allow a meeting to go into closed session if the matter being discussed is legally prohibited from being made public.
• It would also allow a majority vote to close a session for a sensitive or confidential matter if the conference or council decides that is appropriate.
• Before closing a session, the group would have to state the reason for doing so.

Other details

• The bill defines a “covered meeting” as a meeting of a conference or council conducted under this chapter of federal law.
• If the Judicial Conference cannot meet the 30-day notice rule for good cause, it may waive the requirement, but it would have to post an explanation on its website.
• The bill also makes a technical change to the law’s table of contents to add the new section.

Relevant Companies

None found