H.R. 7738 requires the federal government to be more transparent about criminal surveillance activities by establishing new rules for wiretaps, GPS tracking, pen registers, and other investigative tools. The bill generally prohibits courts from sealing surveillance orders after they're executed, instead requiring them to be made public with limited exceptions, and mandates that law enforcement notify surveillance targets of investigations against them once they are complete. Courts must maintain publicly searchable databases of all surveillance cases with standardized information and annual reports, and anyone can request the unsealing of redacted documents. The legislation includes a two-to-four year implementation timeline for federal, state, and tribal courts and authorizes $26 million in funding to help courts meet the new requirements, with $1 million for federal courts and $25 million in grants to state and tribal systems over five years.
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