[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1614 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1614

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 20, 2017

 Ms. Duckworth introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    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 ``Video Visitation and Inmate Calling 
in Prisons Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FCC REGULATION OF VIDEO VISITATION SERVICE AND INMATE CALLING 
              SERVICE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Ancillary service charge.--The term ``ancillary service 
        charge'' means any charge that a consumer may be assessed for 
        the use of inmate calling services that is not included in the 
        per-minute charges assessed for the individual call.
            (2) Call.--The term ``call''--
                    (A) means a voice or video call using a covered 
                service; and
                    (B) includes any other session of use that is 
                similar to a telephone call.
            (3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (4) Consumer.--The term ``consumer'' means the party paying 
        a provider of inmate calling services.
            (5) Correctional facility.--The term ``correctional 
        facility'' means a jail or prison.
            (6) Covered service.--The term ``covered service'' means an 
        inmate calling service or a video visitation service.
            (7) Inmate.--The term ``inmate'' means an individual 
        detained in a correctional facility, regardless of the duration 
        of the detention.
            (8) Inmate calling service.--The term ``inmate calling 
        service'' means a service that allows inmates to make calls to 
        individuals outside the correctional facility where the inmate 
        is detained, regardless of the technology used to deliver the 
        service.
            (9) Site commission.--The term ``site commission'' means 
        any form of monetary payment, in-kind payment, gift, exchange 
        of services or goods, fee, technology allowance, or product 
        that a provider of inmate calling services or affiliate of such 
        a provider may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide to--
                    (A) an entity that operates a correctional 
                institution;
                    (B) an entity with which the provider of inmate 
                calling services enters into an agreement to provide 
                such services;
                    (C) an agency that oversees a correctional 
                facility;
                    (D) the city, county, or State in which a 
                correctional facility is located; or
                    (E) an agent of any such correctional facility.
            (10) Video visitation service.--The term ``video visitation 
        service'' means a service that allows inmates to make video 
        calls to individuals outside the correctional facility where 
        the inmate is being held, regardless of the technology used to 
        deliver the service. A video visitation service may be 
        classified as an inmate calling service, as the Commission 
        considers appropriate.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall--
            (1) promulgate regulations with respect to video visitation 
        service; and
            (2) amend the regulations of the Commission with respect to 
        inmate calling service (as necessary), to ensure that all 
        charges, practices, classifications, and regulations for and in 
        connection with video visitation service and inmate calling 
        service are just and reasonable.
    (c) Requirements for Regulations.--The regulations promulgated 
under subsection (b) shall include the following:
            (1) Video visitation services may be used only to 
        supplement, not supplant, in-person visitation.
            (2) Caps on the rates (and any related fees or charges) 
        that a provider of a covered service may charge for such 
        service.
            (3) A prohibition against a provider of a covered service 
        charging a flat rate for a call, regardless of the duration of 
        the call.
            (4) A prohibition against a provider of a covered service 
        requiring a correctional facility to restrict in-person 
        visitation as a condition of providing such service in such 
        facility.
            (5) A requirement that a provider of a covered service 
        certify annually to the Commission that such provider is in 
        compliance with the prohibition under paragraph (4).
            (6) A requirement that the provider of a covered service 
        submit an annual report to the Commission regarding interstate, 
        intrastate, and international inmate calling services for the 
        prior calendar year, which shall--
                    (A) be categorized both by facility type and size; 
                and
                    (B) contain--
                            (i) current interstate, intrastate, and 
                        international rates for inmate calling 
                        services;
                            (ii) current ancillary service charge 
                        amounts and the instances of use of each;
                            (iii) the monthly amount of each site 
                        commission paid;
                            (iv) minutes of use, per-minute rates, and 
                        ancillary service charges for video visitation 
                        services;
                            (v) the number of TTY-based inmate calling 
                        services calls provided per facility during the 
                        reporting period;
                            (vi) the number of dropped calls the 
                        reporting provider experienced with TTY-based 
                        calls; and
                            (vii) the number of complaints that the 
                        reporting provider received relating to issues 
                        such as dropped calls, poor call quality, and 
                        the number of incidences of each by TTY and 
                        telecommunications relay service (TRS) users.
            (7) A prohibition against a provider of a covered service 
        offering or entering into an agreement to provide a covered 
        service as part of a bundle of services that includes any 
        service that is not a communications service.
            (8) Requirements for the offering or entering into an 
        agreement to provide a covered service as part of a bundle of 
        services that ensure that correctional facilities are able to 
        review each service separately during the request for proposals 
        process.
            (9) With respect to video visitation service, quality 
        standards that are the best commercially available for 
        effective human communication by video, which shall be 
        developed by the Commission after seeking comments that review 
        the academic literature regarding the appropriate thresholds 
        for effective human communication by video.
    (d) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--The regulations promulgated under 
        subsection (b) shall apply to interstate service, intrastate 
        service, and international service.
            (2) Different requirements.--In promulgating regulations 
        under subsection (b), the Commission may provide for different 
        requirements for interstate service, intrastate service, and 
        international service.

SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS OVERSIGHT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 301 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 4015. Video visitation
    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall take 
such actions as may be necessary to ensure that, in the case of any 
prisoner in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, video visitation 
services are available subject to the following:
            ``(1) Video visitation services may be used only to 
        supplement, not supplant, in-person visitation.
            ``(2) Any equipment or area made available for purposes of 
        video visitation shall maximize privacy to the extent 
        practicable, and shall include measures to ensure the 
        operability of the equipment by visitors, including children.
            ``(3) In entering into any agreement to provide covered 
        services, the Director--
                    ``(A) shall give priority to bids submitted that 
                require the purchase of equipment for video visitation;
                    ``(B) may not enter into any agreement including a 
                term providing for--
                            ``(i) any services other than those that 
                        are minimally required by the Director;
                            ``(ii) any authority to a person other than 
                        a corrections officer to make a determination 
                        that affects the terms of a prisoner's 
                        imprisonment, including visitation schedules or 
                        ability of a person to move about within a 
                        correctional facility; or
                            ``(iii) a covered service as part of a 
                        bundle of services that includes any service 
                        that is not a covered service; and
                    ``(C) may not enter into any agreement that does 
                not include terms requiring--
                            ``(i) that the service provider provide a 
                        list of each video visitation and each 
                        individual fee charged to the visitor and the 
                        prisoner;
                            ``(ii) that the service provider offer a 
                        minimum number of free visits each month based 
                        on good behavior (as determined by the head of 
                        the correctional facility wherein the service 
                        is provided); and
                            ``(iii) that the service provider submit 
                        quarterly reports including such information as 
                        the Director may require to ensure compliance 
                        with the terms of this section.
    ``(b) Definition.--In this section, terms used have the meanings 
given such terms in section 2 of the Video Visitation and Inmate 
Calling in Prisons Act of 2017, except that, for purposes of this 
section, the term `video visitation service' includes a service that 
allows the use of videoconferencing or analog closed circuit television 
systems and software to allow inmates and visitors to visit at a 
distance with an inmate in a correctional facility.''.
    (b) Table of Sections.--The table of sections for chapter 301 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 4014 the following:

``4015. Video visitation.''.
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