3.0.0 1614 2023-01-11T13:37:03Z 2023-01-11T13:37:03Z Senate S 2017-07-20 115 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2017-07-20T20:42:04Z 2017-07-20 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. IntroReferral 2017-07-20 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress D000622 Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] Tammy Duckworth D IL N Science, Technology, Communications Administrative law and regulatory procedures Consumer affairs Contracts and agency Correctional facilities and imprisonment Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Government information and archives Internet and video services Internet, web applications, social media Right of privacy Telecommunication rates and fees Telephone and wireless communication Science, Technology, Communications 00 2017-07-20 Introduced in Senate 2017-11-16T14:18:08Z Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations for video visitation services that allow inmates to make video calls to individuals outside a correctional facility, and amend its regulations on inmate calling services as necessary to ensure that all charges and practices are just and reasonable.

The regulations must include:

  • video visitation cannot replace in-person visits;
  • caps on rates charged by service providers;
  • a prohibition against charging flat rates;
  • a prohibition against a provider requiring a correctional facility to restrict in-person visitation as a condition to providing a calling or video visitation service;
  • a requirement for a provider to submit an annual report about interstate, intrastate, and international inmate calling services;
  • a prohibition against the provider offering bundled services that include non-communications services; and
  • video quality standards.

The federal criminal code is amended to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that:

  • video visitation does not supplant in-person visitation;
  • privacy is maximized in the video areas and equipment;
  • no persons other than corrections officers have authority over the terms of a prisoner's imprisonment, including visitation schedules or the ability to move within a correctional facility; and
  • service providers provide a list of each video visitation and each fee charged to visitors and prisoners, offer free visits based on good behavior if authorized by the correctional facility, and submit quarterly compliance reports.
]]> Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017 Display Title Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017 Official Title as Introduced A bill to provide for the regulation of video visitation services and inmate calling services by the Federal Communications Commission generally, to establish criteria for the provision of video visitation services by the Bureau of Prisons, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017 Introduced in Senate 2017-07-20T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115s1614is/xml/BILLS-115s1614is.xml 2017-07-20 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.