HR 3426 United States House · 119th Congress

Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025

Summary
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.)
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2025
Committee Review
Dec 2025
House Passage
Sep 2025
Senate Passage
President
Introduced May 15, 2025 Last action Dec 1, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House Engrossed in House · 5 edits · Sep 15, 2025
MODERATE
The engrossed version of the CASE Act broadens the restriction on new courthouse construction by changing a conjunctive condition to a disjunctive one, making it easier to block new projects. It also adds specific courtroom requirements for bankruptcy and magistrate judges, including dedicated courtrooms for emergency matters and criminal duty, plus rounding rules for odd numbers of judges.
SCOPE

The condition blocking GSA from commencing new courthouse construction changed from 'and' to 'or,' meaning a new courthouse is now blocked if EITHER construction has not begun before enactment OR the design fails to meet courtroom sharing requirements, rather than requiring both conditions to be met simultaneously.

REQUIREMENT

Courthouses with 3 or more bankruptcy judges must now include 1 dedicated courtroom for emergency matters in addition to the standard 1 courtroom per 2 bankruptcy judges ratio.

Courthouses with 3 or more magistrate judges must now include 1 dedicated criminal duty courtroom in addition to the standard 1 courtroom per 2 magistrate judges ratio.

TECHNICAL

New rounding rules: if there is an odd number of bankruptcy judges or magistrate judges, the required number of courtrooms under the per-judge ratio shall be rounded down.

The short title now includes 'or the CASE Act' as an alternative citation name.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
21
Key actions
5
Committee
8
Amendments
2
Dec 1, 2025
Committee
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
upper
Nov 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent.
upper
Sep 16, 2025
Committee
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
upper
Sep 15, 2025
Introduced
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4278)
lower
Sep 15, 2025
Lower · 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)
lower
Sep 15, 2025
Introduced
Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
lower
Sep 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 119-240.
lower
Jun 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
lower
Jun 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Discharged
lower
May 16, 2025
Committee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
lower
May 15, 2025
Committee
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
lower
May 15, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors