Senate committee approves judicial transparency bill after trimming livestream plan

Representative Monson told the committee the second substitute of HB 540 removes a proposed cooling‑off period for judges (work the sponsor said he coordinated with the courts) and focuses instead on three core changes: expedited audio access to parties in cases (not full live streaming to the public), a legislative request that the judicial council create a rule on judges’ financial disclosures, and a publicly searchable court‑records website offering an initial low number of free searches and then charging per existing fee schedules.

Committee members pressed the sponsor about fiscal impacts tied to fulfilling audio requests; Michael Drexel (a court representative) said meeting demand could require additional FTEs under current structures but courts have published draft rules on cooling‑off language. Several public commenters, including Linda Smith (former law professor), discussed ethics rules and ABA standards; online and in-person commenters emphasized both access and confidentiality concerns. After motions to delete & replace the first substitute and adopt the second, the committee voted to favorably recommend the second substitute (voice vote recorded as 6–1). The sponsor said the changes represent compromise language developed with courts and stakeholders.