The "Monitor Accountability Act" imposes restrictions on individuals appointed by courts to monitor government entities. The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts is required to establish rules within 180 days of the Act's effective date. These rules will include limitations on the fees that appointed monitors can charge, ensuring they do not exceed maximum rates set by the Administrator. This bill aims to regulate the fees imposed by court-appointed monitors overseeing the conduct of state or local governments.
Monitor Accountability Act
This 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.