HR 3426
· 119th Congress
· Government Operations and Politics
Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025
Sponsor
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Action timeline
Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.
Dec 01, 2025
introduced
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Environment and Public Works Committee
Nov 20, 2025
floor
Senate returned papers to the House.
Nov 20, 2025
floor
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Nov 19, 2025
committee
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Environment and Public Works Committee
Nov 19, 2025
floor
Senate returned papers to House by by Unanimous Consent.
Sep 19, 2025
floor
House requested return of papers pursuant to H.Res. 747
Sep 16, 2025
introduced
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Environment and Public Works Committee
Sep 15, 2025
floor
Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Sep 15, 2025
floor
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4278)
Sep 15, 2025
floor
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3426.
Sep 15, 2025
passed
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4278)
Sep 15, 2025
passed
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4278)
Sep 15, 2025
passed
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Sep 08, 2025
committee
Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 119-240.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Sep 08, 2025
other
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 197.
Jun 11, 2025
committee
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Discharged
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Jun 11, 2025
committee
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Jun 11, 2025
committee
Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
May 16, 2025
committee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee
May 15, 2025
introduced
Introduced in House
May 15, 2025
introduced
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Text versions
Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.
CRS summaries
Plain-English summaries written by the Congressional Research Service — neutral, nonpartisan staff who summarize bills as they advance through stages. The authoritative description of what each version of the bill does.
00
Introduced in House
May 15, 2025
Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency (CASE) Act of 2025
This bill provides statutory authority for the General Services Administration (GSA) courtroom sharing policy and limits construction of new courthouses.
Under the bill, GSA must ensure courtroom sharing by magistrate, bankruptcy, and senior district judges. Specifically
in courthouses with 10 or more active district judges, GSA must provide two courtrooms per 3 active district judges (except such courthouses may contain not less than 9 courtrooms for active district judges);
in courthouses with 3 or more bankruptcy judges, GSA must provide one courtroom per 2 bankruptcy judges;
in courthouses with 3 or more senior district judges, GSA must provide one courtroom per 2 senior district judges; and
in courthouses with 3 or more magistrate judges, GSA must provide one courtroom per 2 magistrate judges.
GSA is prohibited from constructing a new courthouse that does not comply with the courtroom sharing requirements. Additionally, if a new courthouse will add capacity in the GSA inventory, existing space in the same courthouse complex must be fully utilized or relinquished from such inventory.
GSA must update the U.S. Courts Design Guide to reflect these requirements within 180 days after the bill's enactment. (The Design Guide sets forth the federal judiciary’s requirements for the design, construction, and renovation of court facilities and is intended for use by individuals involved in federal court construction projects.)
via Congressional Research Service · published through congress.gov
Changelog
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih / is — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh / rfs — Referred to a committee for review.rh / rs — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs / pch — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh / es — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh / rds — Received by the other chamber.eah / eas — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath / ats — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih/is— Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh/rfs— Referred to a committee for review.rh/rs— Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs/pch— Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh/es— Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh/rds— Received by the other chamber.eah/eas— Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath/ats— Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr— Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl— Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp— Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.
+7
−20
30 unchanged
--- Referred (Senate, revised)
+++ Reported (House, unanimous consent)
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
-[H.R. 3426 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
+[H.R. 3426 rhuc (RHUC)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
@@ -20,11 +20,6 @@
Committee discharged; returned to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent
-December 1, 2025
-
-Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
-Public Works
-
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
@@ -38,7 +33,7 @@
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Courthouse Affordability and Space
-Efficiency Act of 2025'' or the ``CASE Act''.
+Efficiency (CASE) Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. REDUCING COSTS RELATED TO COURTHOUSES.
@@ -49,7 +44,7 @@
``(a) Limitation on New Courthouses.--The Administrator of General
Services may not commence construction of any new courthouse if--
``(1) construction has not begun on or before the date of
-enactment of this section; or
+enactment of this section; and
``(2) the design and construction of the new courthouse
fails to comply, at a minimum, with the courtroom sharing
requirements described in subsection (b).
@@ -59,20 +54,12 @@
judges, 2 courtrooms per 3 active district judges, except such
courthouses may contain not less than 9 courtrooms for active
district judges;
-``(2) in courthouses with 3 or more bankruptcy judges--
-``(A) 1 courtroom per 2 bankruptcy judges;
-``(B) 1 courtroom for emergency matters; and
-``(C) if there is an odd number of bankruptcy
-judges, the number of courtrooms required pursuant to
-subparagraph (A) shall be rounded down;
+``(2) in courthouses with 3 or more bankruptcy judges, 1
+courtroom per 2 bankruptcy judges;
``(3) in courthouses with 3 or more senior district judges,
1 courtroom per 2 senior district judges; and
-``(4) in courthouses with 3 or more magistrate judges--
-``(A) 1 courtroom per 2 magistrate judges;
-``(B) 1 criminal duty courtroom; and
-``(C) if there is an odd number of magistrate
-judges, the number of courtrooms required pursuant to
-subparagraph (A) shall be rounded down.
+``(4) in courthouses with 3 or more magistrate judges, 1
+courtroom per 2 magistrate judges.
``(c) United States Courts Design Guide.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this section, the Design Guide for
courthouses shall be updated to incorporate courtroom sharing
Cosponsors (1)
Members who signed on to support this bill.