HR-8365 — Monitor Accountability Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Transparency & Accountability

Courts would take public comment before picking a monitor for a city or state — and cap each one at 5 years.

Transparency & Accountability

Public comment on court monitor appointments — notice required first

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.

Yearly public report of monitor fees — courts must publish it

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.

Cap on court monitor fees — top rates set nationally

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.

Conflict rules for court monitors — only one job at a time

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.

New judge on long-running court oversight — required after 6 years

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.

Court monitors' time overseeing a government — capped at 5 years

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.

Court power to change monitor terms — only where rules go unmet

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.

Long-running monitors already in place — replaced within 180 days

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.

More about this bill

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. The 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.

Congressional Summary

Monitor Accountability ActThis bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish conditions on the appointment of monitors to oversee state and local governmental entities. A monitor is an independent official appointed to oversee corrective reforms as part of a civil settlement agreement or consent decree, such as to remedy a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing.Among the conditions, this bill requires notice and an opportunity for public comment prior to the appointment of a monitor, limits an individual to one monitor appointment at a time, sets a five-year term limit for monitors, and requires a public accounting of the fees charged and services provided by the monitor. It also caps fees and explicitly authorizes the use of pro bono services.In 2021, the Department of Justice began implementing a set of principles and specific recommendations regarding the use of monitors in civil settlement agreements and consent decrees involving state and local governmental entities, including recommendations relating to term limits, capping fees, and public accountability.

Legislative Subjects

Federal district courtsGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementGovernment information and archivesJudicial procedure and administrationLegal fees and court costs

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Reported to House
Action Date: 2026-05-04
Date Added: 2026-05-12
Source: Congress.gov →

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