A searchable, sortable list of judges. The Guide to Judiciary Policy that sits on every judge’s desk. An accounting of contracts greater than $10,000.

These are among the pieces of information the federal judiciary should be required to make public but don’t for reasons that are beyond comprehension.

That’s why today Fix the Court is issuing what we call the Judicial Open Records Act, draft legislation that would compel proactive disclosure of the above items and 10 other categories of information that would bring the branch in line with the other two in terms of the types of data it makes public.

Two years ago, we joined with Free Law Project, who’s been pushing for this type of transparency for years, to work with then-Rep. Adam Schiff on legislation that would make parts of the judiciary — mostly its administrative functions carried out by the AO, FJC and Judicial Conference — subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

But we soon realized that that strategy had its challenges. FOIA itself doesn’t have a great track record of late, and we want to be clear that these efforts are not interested in copies of judges’ emails but rather seek run-of-the-mill information that can help better inform the public on the integrity of the branch, from data on complaints to info on spending.

FTC’s release coincides with Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of transparency in government that this year runs March 15-21.

Yesterday, FTC’s Gabe Roth presented the draft legislation while sitting on a Sunshine Fest panel. Co-presenters of the panel, who also discussed their experiences with court opacity, were journalist Megan Wyatt of The Advocate and Ryan Mulvey of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, with WBUR’s Ally Jarmanning moderating.

Earlier this month, FTC submitted the draft legislation to the FOIA Advisory Committee, a lay group of transparency advocates associated with the National Archives and Records Administration that “solicit[s] public comments, and develop[s] consensus recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive disclosures.”

It’s FTC’s hope that the Committee endorses the legislation in the spring or summer — and that that will help it gain momentum as we pitch it on Capitol Hill later this year.