[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3998 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3998

  To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide relief for 
 servicemembers with respect to contracts for cellular phone service, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2006

 Mr. Feingold introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide relief for 
 servicemembers with respect to contracts for cellular phone service, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemembers' Cellular Phone 
Contract Fairness Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. TERMINATION UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT OF CONTRACTS 
              FOR CELLULAR PHONE SERVICES.

    (a) Termination of Contracts for Cellular Phone Services.--
            (1) Inclusion of contracts under termination authority.--
        Subsection (b) of section 305 of the Servicemembers Civil 
        Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 535) is amended by adding at the end 
        the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Contracts for cellular phone service.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and 
                (C), a contract for a cellular phone used, or intended 
                to be used, by a servicemember or a servicemember's 
                dependent for a personal or business purpose if--
                            ``(i) the contract is executed by or on 
                        behalf of a person who thereafter and during 
                        the term of the contract enters into military 
                        service under call or order specifying a period 
                        of not less than 90 days (or who enters 
                        military service under a call or order 
                        specifying a period of 90 days or less and who, 
                        without a break in service, receives orders 
                        extending the period of military service to a 
                        period not less than 90 days);
                            ``(ii) the servicemember, while in military 
                        service, executes the contract and thereafter 
                        receives military orders for a permanent change 
                        of station outside of the continental United 
                        States or to deploy with a military unit for a 
                        period of not less than 90 days; or
                            ``(iii) the servicemember, while in 
                        military service, executes the contract and 
                        thereafter receives military orders for a 
                        permanent change of station to a location 
                        within the continental United States where the 
                        contract cannot be transferred at the same 
                        rate, terms, and quality of service.
                    ``(B) Applicability to dependents.--Subparagraph 
                (A) shall apply with respect to a contract, or portion 
                of a contract, for a cellular phone used, or intended 
                to be used, by a servicemember's dependent only if the 
                dependent--
                            ``(i) relocates in accompanying the 
                        servicemember in the performance of the 
                        military service, or in a permanent change of 
                        station or deployment, described in that 
                        subparagraph; or
                            ``(ii) otherwise relocates as a consequence 
                        of such military service or change of station 
                        or deployment.
                    ``(C) Applicability to group plans.--If a 
                servicemember or a dependent to whom this paragraph 
                applies is not the primary account holder under a 
                contract described in subparagraph (A), that 
                subparagraph shall apply only to the extent of the 
                obligations of the servicemember or dependent, as the 
                case may be, in the contract.''.
            (2) Manner of termination.--Subsection (c)(1) of such 
        section is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(C) in the case of a contract for a cellular 
                phone, by delivery by the contractee of written notice 
                of such termination, and a copy of the servicemember's 
                military orders, to the contractor or to the 
                contractor's agent.''.
            (3) Effective date of termination.--Subsection (d) of such 
        section is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(3) Contract for cellular phone service.--In the case of 
        a contract for a cellular phone described in subsection (b)(3), 
        termination of the contract under subsection (a) is effective 
        on the day on which the requirements of subsection (c) are met 
        for such termination.''.
            (4) Arrearages.--Subsection (e) of such section is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(e) Arrearages and Other 
                Obligations and Liabilities.--Rents or lease amounts'' 
                and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Arrearages and Other Obligations and Liabilities.--
            ``(1) In general.--Rents or lease amounts'';
                    (B) by designating the second sentence as paragraph 
                (2), indenting such paragraph 4 ems from the left 
                margin, and inserting before ``In the case of the 
                lease'' the following:
            ``(2) Lease charges for motor
         vehicles.--''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(3) Termination charges for cellular phone contracts.--In 
        the case of a contract for a cellular phone, the contractor may 
        not impose an early termination charge, but may request the 
        return of equipment provided to the contractee as part of the 
        contract which would normally remain the property of the 
        contractee at the end of the contract term if the contractee is 
        given the option of paying a pro-rated amount to retain such 
        equipment based on the original retail price of such equipment, 
        the amount previously paid for such equipment by the 
        contractee, and the time remaining on the contract.
            ``(4) Reactivation fees.--In the event a contractor and 
        contractee jointly agree to treat the termination of a contract 
        for a cellular phone under this section as a suspension of such 
        contract, the contractor may not impose any fee for 
        reactivation of service under such contract at the completion 
        of suspension of such contract.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (a)(1)(B) of such section is 
amended by striking ``or (2)(B)'' and inserting ``, (2)(B), (3)(A)(ii), 
or (3)(A)(iii)''.
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Heading amendment.--The heading of such section is 
        amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 305. TERMINATION OF RESIDENTIAL OR MOTOR VEHICLE LEASES OR 
              CONTRACTS FOR CELLULAR PHONE SERVICE.''.

            (2) Table of contents amendment.--The table of contents for 
        such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 
        305 and inserting the following new item:

``Sec. 305. Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases or 
                            contracts for cellular phone service.''.
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