A bill to amend title 28 of the United States Code to make certain changes in the divisions within judicial districts and in the places of holding court, and to require the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to conduct a study of the judicial business of the Central District of California and the Eastern District of New York.
Public Law 95-573 · H.R. 14145 · 95th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Nov 2, 1978 · Law
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-WI-2)
Cosponsors (5): Rep. George Danielson, Rep. James Santini,
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Transfers Kankakee County from the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to the Central District of Illinois.
Eliminates the divisions of the judicial district of Maine.
Adds Johnstown to the list of places where the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania shall be held.
Adds White Plains to the list of places where the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York shall be held.
Requires the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to conduct a comprehensive study of the judicial business of the Central District of California and the Eastern District of New York and make recommendations to Congress with respect to the need for creating new judicial districts.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 13 actions.
- Nov 2, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-573.
- Oct 24, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 15, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 14, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Judiciary Committee
- Oct 12, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- Oct 11, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- Sep 21, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.