[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1303 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 1303

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To amend the E-Government Act of 2002 with respect to rulemaking 
                 authority of the Judicial Conference.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1303

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To amend the E-Government Act of 2002 with respect to rulemaking 
                 authority of the Judicial Conference.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF JUDICIAL CONFERENCE.

    Section 205(c) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-347; 
44 U.S.C. 3501 note) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 
the following:
            ``(3) Privacy and security concerns.--
                    ``(A)(i) The Supreme Court shall prescribe rules, 
                in accordance with sections 2072 and 2075 of title 28, 
                United States Code, to protect privacy and security 
                concerns relating to electronic filing of documents and 
                the public availability under this subsection of 
                documents filed electronically or converted to 
                electronic form.
                    ``(ii) Such rules shall provide to the extent 
                practicable for uniform treatment of privacy and 
                security issues throughout the Federal courts.
                    ``(iii) Such rules shall take into consideration 
                best practices in Federal and State courts to protect 
                private information or otherwise maintain necessary 
                information security.
                    ``(iv) Except as provided in clause (v), to the 
                extent that such rules provide for the redaction of 
                certain categories of information in order to protect 
                privacy and security concerns, such rules shall provide 
                that a party that wishes to file an otherwise proper 
                document containing such protected information may file 
                an unredacted document under seal, which shall be 
                retained by the court as part of the record, and which, 
                at the discretion of the court and subject to any 
                applicable rules issued in accordance with chapter 131 
                of title 28, United States Code, shall be either in 
                lieu of, or in addition to, a redacted copy in the 
                public file.
                    ``(v) Such rules may require the use of appropriate 
                redacted identifiers in lieu of protected information 
                described in clause (iv) in any pleading, motion, or 
                other paper filed with the court (except with respect 
                to a paper that is an exhibit or other evidentiary 
                matter, or with respect to a reference list described 
                in this subclause), or in any written discovery 
                response--
                            ``(I) by authorizing the filing under seal, 
                        and permitting the amendment as of right under 
                        seal, of a reference list that--
                                    ``(aa) identifies each item of 
                                unredacted protected information that 
                                the attorney or, if there is no 
                                attorney, the party, certifies is 
                                relevant to the case; and
                                    ``(bb) specifies an appropriate 
                                redacted identifier that uniquely 
                                corresponds to each item of unredacted 
                                protected information listed; and
                            ``(II) by providing that all references in 
                        the case to the redacted identifiers in such 
                        reference list shall be construed, without 
                        more, to refer to the corresponding unredacted 
                        item of protected information.
                    ``(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the Judicial 
                Conference of the United States may issue interim 
                rules, and interpretive statements relating to the 
                application of such rules, which conform to the 
                requirements of this paragraph and which shall cease to 
                have effect upon the effective date of the rules 
                required under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(ii) Pending issuance of the rules required under 
                subparagraph (A), any rule or order of any court, or of 
                the Judicial Conference, providing for the redaction of 
                certain categories of information in order to protect 
                privacy and security concerns arising from electronic 
                filing or electronic conversion shall comply with, and 
                be construed in conformity with, subparagraph (A)(iv).
                    ``(C) Not later than 1 year after the rules 
                prescribed under subparagraph (A) take effect, and 
                every 2 years thereafter, the Judicial Conference shall 
                submit to Congress a report on the adequacy of those 
                rules to protect privacy and security.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives October 7, 2003.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.