What This Bill Does
This Senate bill would amend title 28 of the U.S. Code so certain federal jurisdiction thresholds keep pace with inflation. In practical terms, it would affect when some cases can be heard in federal court by adjusting dollar-based cutoff amounts that have not kept up with rising prices. The main people touched would be litigants, lawyers, businesses, and consumers whose disputes sit near those jurisdictional lines. The goal is to preserve the original value of those thresholds instead of letting inflation slowly expand or shrink federal court access over time.
- Amends title 28 of the U.S. Code.
- Adjusts jurisdiction thresholds for inflation.
- Applies to dollar-based federal court cutoff amounts.
- Could change when certain disputes qualify for federal jurisdiction.
Who This Bill Affects
If you are involved in a lawsuit that turns on a federal jurisdiction dollar threshold, this bill could change whether your case can be brought in federal court. For people and businesses whose disputes are near one of those cutoff amounts, the filing venue, litigation costs, and procedural rules could shift depending on how the inflation adjustment is implemented.
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- Bill
- S 4850
- Congress
- 119th Congress
- Official title
- A bill to amend title 28, United States Code, to adjust thresholds relating to jurisdiction for inflation.
- Policy area
- Government & Elections
- Latest action
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (June 22, 2026)
- Last updated
- June 23, 2026
Who Supports & Opposes This
- Litigators and court practitioners They often want jurisdiction rules to reflect the real value of money over time. Indexing the thresholds can make forum rules more predictable and reduce the chance that old dollar figures quietly change the scope of federal jurisdiction.
- Businesses and commercial defendants Clear inflation-adjusted thresholds can make it easier to predict where disputes will be heard and reduce arguments over outdated jurisdiction amounts. That can lower uncertainty in planning for litigation exposure.
- State court advocates If inflation has made federal thresholds easier to satisfy, updating them can help keep more routine disputes in the courts originally meant to handle them. That can preserve the balance between federal and state judicial systems.
- Plaintiffs with cases near the cutoff amount Changing the thresholds can alter which court hears a case, which may affect costs, timing, and leverage in settlement talks. People with modest claims could lose or gain access to a federal forum depending on the revised amounts.
- Federal court administrators Any change that shifts more cases into or out of federal court can affect workload and resource planning. Even a technical inflation adjustment can have operational effects if many filings sit near the jurisdiction line.
- Consumer and small-claims advocates Raising or resetting jurisdiction thresholds may make some disputes harder to bring in federal court, especially where federal procedures are viewed as more protective or uniform. That can matter for small parties seeking a neutral forum.
Key Implications
-
““adjust thresholds relating to jurisdiction for inflation””
This means the bill would update dollar-based court access rules so they do not lose value over time. In practice, the same type of dispute may end up in a different court once the numbers are refreshed.
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““amend title 28, United States Code””
Title 28 is the main federal judicial code, so the bill targets the rules that determine how cases enter the federal court system. That can affect plaintiffs, defendants, and attorneys handling civil litigation.
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““jurisdiction for inflation””
Inflation indexing generally prevents old statutory thresholds from becoming outdated. The real-world effect is to preserve the intended boundary between state and federal cases.
Latest Status
June 22, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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