[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1303 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1303

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four


                                 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.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.