H.R. 3426: Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025
Sponsor
Jefferson Shreve
Republican · IN-6
A courtroom for every judge shouldn't be the default
Why it matters
A 2010 Government Accountability Office review of 33 federal courthouses estimated their extra space cost $835 million to build and $51 million a year to operate. H.R. 3426 would write courtroom sharing into law: no new federal courthouse could break ground unless its design has judges sharing courtrooms at set ratios.
The CASE Act is one section long and does one main thing. The General Services Administration, which builds federal courthouses, could not start construction on a new one unless the design meets the bill's courtroom-sharing requirements. Projects where construction has already begun by the time the bill becomes law are outside the rule.
The ratios depend on the type of judge. In a courthouse with 10 or more active district judges, the standard is 2 courtrooms for every 3 judges, with a floor of 9 courtrooms. Because of that floor, the ratio only starts to reduce the count at around 14 judges. A courthouse with 15 active district judges would be planned around 10 courtrooms rather than 15.
Bankruptcy, senior district, and magistrate judges are covered once a courthouse has 3 or more of them. Each group gets 1 courtroom for every 2 judges. Bankruptcy judges also get 1 courtroom for emergency matters, and magistrate judges get 1 criminal duty courtroom. For both, an odd number of judges is rounded down, so 5 magistrate judges would have 2 shared courtrooms plus the criminal duty courtroom.
The bill says nothing about courthouses with fewer than 10 active district judges, so it sets no sharing ratio for those judges.
Two other pieces follow. The U.S. Courts Design Guide, the judiciary's own standard for how court buildings are laid out, would have to be updated within 180 days to build in courtroom sharing to the maximum extent practicable. And when a new courthouse adds space to the federal inventory, the existing space in the same courthouse complex would have to be fully used or given up. That provision is aimed at the government paying to maintain an old building and its replacement at the same time.
The bill contains no findings and no cost estimate. The case for it comes from outside the text: the Government Accountability Office reported in 2010 that sharing could have eliminated 126 courtrooms, about 40% of the total, in the 33 courthouses it reviewed. In May 2025, it reported that the judiciary's 2021 design standards would increase courthouse size by 6% and cost by 12%.
For judges assigned to a new building, the practical change is scheduling: a courtroom would be booked as it is needed instead of reserved for one person. Existing courthouses are not required to be reconfigured.
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Dec 1, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
H.R. 3426 Bill Summary
What H.R. 3426 actually does.
No sharing plan, no groundbreaking
The General Services Administration could not begin construction on a new federal courthouse unless its design meets the bill's courtroom-sharing requirements. Projects already under construction when the bill becomes law are not covered.
Large courthouses get 2 courtrooms per 3 district judges
In courthouses with 10 or more active district judges, the standard is 2 courtrooms for every 3 judges, with a floor of 9 courtrooms. A courthouse with 15 active district judges would be planned around 10.
Bankruptcy, senior, and magistrate judges share one-for-two
Where a courthouse has 3 or more judges in any of these groups, that group gets 1 courtroom for every 2 judges. Bankruptcy judges also get 1 courtroom for emergency matters and magistrate judges get 1 criminal duty courtroom. Odd numbers are rounded down for both.
The judiciary's design standards get rewritten
The U.S. Courts Design Guide would have to be updated within 180 days of enactment to incorporate courtroom sharing to the maximum extent practicable.
Old space must be filled or given up
If a new courthouse adds capacity to the General Services Administration's inventory, existing space in the same courthouse complex would have to be fully used or relinquished.
Who benefits from H.R. 3426?
Taxpayers who fund federal buildings
Courthouses are built and maintained with federal money. The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2010 that extra space in 33 courthouses cost $835 million to build and $51 million a year to operate — the spending this bill is written to prevent in future projects.
Cities waiting on a new federal courthouse
A design with fewer courtrooms is a smaller building. For a community whose project is competing for limited construction funding, a lower price can make the project easier to fund.
Members of Congress who approve courthouse projects
Sharing ratios would be written into law rather than left to policy, giving the committees that authorize each project a fixed number to measure a design against.
The General Services Administration
The agency would have statutory backing for a courtroom-sharing standard when it negotiates the size of a new building with the courts that will occupy it.
Who is affected by H.R. 3426?
Federal judges in newly built courthouses
Active district judges in courthouses with 10 or more of them, and bankruptcy, senior district, and magistrate judges in courthouses with 3 or more, would share courtrooms at the bill's ratios instead of each having one assigned.
People with cases in federal court
Lawyers, parties, jurors, and witnesses in a new courthouse would have hearings and trials scheduled across shared rooms. The bill sets no rules for how courts manage that scheduling.
The federal judiciary's planners
The Design Guide would have to be rewritten within 180 days, and future courthouse requests would be sized to the sharing ratios.
The General Services Administration
The agency would have to hold back any new courthouse that does not meet the ratios, and make sure existing space in a courthouse complex is fully used or given up when a new building adds capacity.
Architects and builders of federal courthouses
Designs for projects not yet under construction would need to meet the sharing ratios before work could start, which can mean fewer courtrooms and a smaller building.
What Congress Is Saying
H.R. 3426 has come up 9 times in the Congressional Record so far.
H.R. 3426 also appeared in 1 more Senate floor reference and 3 routine cosponsor filings.
HR3426 Legislative Journey
Committee Action
Dec 1, 2025
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Action Taken
Nov 20, 2025
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Committee Action
Nov 19, 2025
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent.
House: Action Taken
Sep 19, 2025
House requested return of papers pursuant to H.Res. 747
Committee Action
Sep 16, 2025
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House: Vote Held
Sep 15, 2025
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4278)
House: Committee Action
Sep 8, 2025
Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 119-240.
House: Vote Held
Jun 11, 2025
Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
House: Committee Action
May 16, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
House: Committee Action
May 15, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
About the Sponsor
Jefferson Shreve
Republican, Indiana's 6th congressional district · 1 years in Congress
Committees: Appropriations
View full profile →
Cosponsors (1)
This bill has 1 cosponsor: 1 Democrat. Cosponsors represent 1 state: District of Columbia.
Committee Sponsors
Environment and Public Works Committee
0 of 18 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
1 of 67 committee members cosponsored
44 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 3426 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Environment and Public Works
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Government Operations and Politics
- Introduced
- May 15, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Dec 1, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with full text, cosponsors, actions, and committee referrals for the Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee report on the CASE Act, explaining the bill's purpose, legislative history, and committee findings.
The chapter of the U.S. Code this bill amends, governing how the General Services Administration acquires, builds, and alters federal buildings. The bill would add a new section 3320 after the current last section, 3319.
The Judicial Conference's official design standards for federal court facilities — the bill requires this guide to be updated within 180 days to reflect courtroom-sharing requirements.
PBS Commissioner Michael Peters's May 2025 testimony before the House subcommittee that produced this bill, covering GSA's courthouse program, deferred maintenance, and cost-saving efforts.
May 2025 GAO report finding the 2021 Design Guide would increase courthouse sizes by 6% and costs by 12% — the cost pressure driving this bill's courtroom-sharing mandate.
Landmark 2010 GAO report finding courtroom sharing could have eliminated 126 courtrooms (40% of total) across 33 courthouses, saving $835 million in construction and $51 million annually.
The Senate committee to which H.R. 3426 was referred after passing the House — the bill's next legislative hurdle.
H.R. 3426 Common Questions
What does the CASE Act do?
It stops the federal government from starting construction on a new courthouse unless the design has judges sharing courtrooms at set ratios. H.R. 3426 also orders the judiciary's design standards updated and requires old courthouse space to be fully used or given up.
How many courtrooms would a large federal courthouse get under H.R. 3426?
In a courthouse with 10 or more active district judges, the standard is 2 courtrooms for every 3 judges, with a floor of 9. That means 15 active district judges would share 10 courtrooms. Because of the floor, the ratio only reduces the count at around 14 judges.
Do bankruptcy and magistrate judges have to share courtrooms too?
Yes, in courthouses with 3 or more of them. Each group gets 1 courtroom per 2 judges, rounded down for odd numbers. Bankruptcy judges also get 1 emergency courtroom and magistrate judges get 1 criminal duty courtroom. Senior district judges share at 1 per 2 as well.
Would smaller federal courthouses have to share courtrooms?
Not for active district judges. The bill's ratio for them applies only to courthouses with 10 or more, and it says nothing about smaller ones. Bankruptcy, senior district, and magistrate judges are covered wherever a courthouse has 3 or more in the group.
Does the CASE Act change existing federal courthouses?
It does not require existing courthouses to be reconfigured. The construction limit covers new courthouses that have not started construction when the bill becomes law. Existing space is affected in one case: when a new building adds capacity to the same courthouse complex.
What happens to the old courthouse when a new one is built?
If the new courthouse adds space to the General Services Administration's inventory, existing space in the same courthouse complex has to be fully used or given up. The bill does not say what happens to space once it is given up.
How much money would courtroom sharing save?
The bill gives no estimate. The Government Accountability Office reported in 2010 that extra space in 33 federal courthouses cost $835 million to build and $51 million a year to operate, and that sharing could have eliminated 126 courtrooms in those buildings.
Has H.R. 3426 passed Congress?
Only the House. It passed by voice vote on September 15, 2025, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on December 1, 2025. The Senate would have to pass the same text before it could go to the President.
Based on H.R. 3426 bill text
H.R. 3426 Bill Text
“To amend title 40, United States Code, to limit the construction of new courthouses under certain circumstances, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
Get notified when H.R. 3426 moves
Committee votes, floor action, cosponsor changes — straight to your inbox.
Bill alerts + Legisletter's monthly briefing. Unsubscribe anytime.
Government Operations and Politics Bills
9 related bills we're tracking
Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Feb 6, 2025
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Mar 5, 2025
Washington, D.C. Admission Act
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, Armed Services, the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 3, 2025
Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.
Mar 11, 2025
DISCLOSE Act of 2026
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Mar 4, 2026
Federal Retirement Fairness Act
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Ms. Randall asked unanimous consent that she may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 1522, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Jul 22, 2025
FIND Act
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Jan 3, 2025
Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sep 30, 2025
Saving the Civil Service Act
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 492, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Sep 16, 2025
Trending Right Now
Bills gaining momentum across Congress
North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Feb 21, 2025
Fit to Serve Act
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
May 21, 2025
ASAP Act
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 40 - 0.
Sep 16, 2026
Tracking Government Operations and Politics in Congress? Monitor bills, track cosponsor momentum, and launch advocacy campaigns — all from one advocacy platform.