[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 269-271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28765]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 12-375; FCC 22-76; FR ID 193391]


Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection 
associated with the Commission's 2022 ICS Order, FCC 22-76 (September 
30, 2022), in which the Commission, among other actions, adopted rules 
to improve access to communications services for incarcerated people 
with communication disabilities that expand the requirements for 
advanced Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). This document is 
consistent with the 2022 ICS Order, which stated that the Commission 
would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the 
effective date of this rule.

DATES: The addition of 47 CFR 64.6040(c) (amendatory instruction 11), 
published at 87 FR 75496 on December 9, 2022, and delayed indefinitely, 
is effective on January 9, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Kehoe, Pricing Policy 
Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, (202) 418-7122, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on December 
14, 2023, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements relating to Sec.  64.6040(c) of the 
Commission's rules, as contained in the Commission's 2022 ICS Order, 
FCC 22-76, published at 87 FR 75496 on December 9, 2022. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1222. In the 2022 ICS Order, the Commission 
stated that the amendments to the rules were effective on January 9, 
2023, except for the amendments to Sec. Sec.  64.611(k)(1)(i) through 
(iii), 64.6040(c), and 64.6060(a)(5) through (7), which were delayed 
pending OMB approval. The Commission publishes this document as an 
announcement of the effective date of Sec.  64.6040(c) only.
    If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or 
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens 
caused thereby, please contact Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications 
Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Please include the 
OMB Control Number, 3060-1222, in your correspondence. The Commission 
will also accept your comments via email at [email protected]. To request 
materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, 
large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to 
[email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
(202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
December 14, 2023, for the information collection requirements 
contained in Sec.  64.6040(c) of the Commission's rules.
    Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB 
Control Number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing 
to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act that does not display a current, valid OMB Control 
Number. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1222.
    The foregoing notification is required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The data collection burdens and costs for the respondents are as 
follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
    OMB Approval Date: December 14, 2023.

[[Page 270]]

    OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 2026.
    Title: Inmate Calling Services (ICS) Provider Annual Reporting, 
Certification, and Other Requirements, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, DA 
23-656.
    Form Numbers: FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
    Respondents: Business or other for profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 30 respondents; 33 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-1,200 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification 
requirements, third party disclosure and waiver requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
collection of information is contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i)-(j), 
5(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 716 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i)-(j), 
155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 617, and the Martha 
Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, Public Law 
117-338, 136 Stat. 6156.
    Total Annual Burden: 6,690 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: In 2015, the Commission released the Second Report 
and Order and Third Notice of Further Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket 
No. 12-375, 30 FCC Rcd 12763 (2015 ICS Order), in which it required 
that inmate calling services (ICS) providers file Annual Reports 
providing data and other information on their ICS operations, as well 
as Annual Certifications that reported data are complete and accurate 
and comply with the Commission's ICS rules. Pursuant to the authority 
delegated it by the Commission in the 2015 ICS Order, the Wireline 
Competition Bureau (WCB) created a standardized reporting template (FCC 
Form No. 2301(a)) and a related certification of accuracy (FCC Form No. 
2301(b)), as well as instructions to guide providers through the 
reporting process. See ICS Annual Reporting Form Word Template 
(Current), WC Docket No. 12-375 https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited December 18, 2023) (Word Template); ICS 
Annual Reporting Form Excel Template (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375, 
https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited December 
18, 2023) (Excel Template); ICS Annual Reporting and Certification 
Instructions (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375 https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited December 18, 2023) 
(Instructions) (Certification Instructions); ICS Annual Report 
Certification Form (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited December 18, 
2023) (Certification Form).
    In 2021, the Commission released the Third Report and Order, Order 
on Reconsideration, and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(FNPRM) WC Docket No. 12-375, 36 FCC Rcd 9519 (2021). The Commission 
revised its rules by adopting, among other things, lower interim rate 
caps for interstate calls, new interim rate caps for international 
calls, and a new rate cap structure that requires ICS providers to 
differentiate between legally mandated and contractually required site 
commissions. The revisions also included expanded consumer disclosure 
requirements, as well as new reporting requirements for providers 
seeking waivers of the Commission's interstate and international rates.
    In 2022, the Commission released the Fourth Report and Order and 
Sixth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 
22-76 (September 30, 2022). The Commission adopted numerous 
requirements to improve access to communications services for 
incarcerated people with communication disabilities and expanded the 
scope of the Annual Reports to reflect these new requirements. Pursuant 
to Sec.  64.6040(c), the Commission required, among other things, that, 
as part of its obligation to provide access to telecommunications relay 
services (TRS), when an incarcerated person who has individually 
registered to use video relay service (VRS), internet protocol (IP) 
Relay, or internet protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS) is 
released from incarceration or transferred to another correctional 
facility, the ICS provider must notify the TRS provider(s) with which 
the incarcerated person has registered. Under section Sec.  
64.6060(a)(5) through (7), the Commission amended the annual reporting 
and certification requirement to include, among other things, that ICS 
providers report, for each facility served, the types of TRS that can 
be accessed from the facility and the number of completed calls and 
complaints for TTY-to-TTY calls, American Sign Language (SL) point-to-
point video calls, and each type of TRS for which access is provided.
    On January 5, 2023, the President signed into law the Martha 
Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, Public Law 
117-338, 136 Stat. 6156 (the Martha Wright-Reed Act or the Act), 
expanding the Commission's statutory authority over communications 
services between incarcerated people and the non-incarcerated to 
include ``any audio or video communications service used by inmates . . 
. regardless of the technology used.'' The new Act also amends section 
2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Communications 
Act) to make clear that the Commission's authority extends to 
intrastate as well as interstate and international communications 
services used by incarcerated people.
    The Act directs the Commission to ``promulgate any regulations 
necessary to implement'' the statutory provisions, including its 
mandate that the Commission establish a ``compensation plan'' ensuring 
that all rates and charges for IPCS ``are just and reasonable,'' not 
earlier than 18 months and not later than 24 months after its January 
5, 2023, enactment. The Act also requires the Commission to consider, 
as part of its implementation, the costs of ``necessary'' safety and 
security measures, as well as ``differences in costs'' based on 
facility size, or ``other characteristics.'' It also allows the 
Commission to ``use industry-wide average costs of telephone service 
and advanced communications services and the average costs of service 
of a communications service provider'' in determining just and 
reasonable rates.
    On March 17, 2023, pursuant to the directive that the Commission 
implement the new Act and establish just and reasonable rates for 
incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS), the Commission 
released Incarcerated People's Communications Services; Implementation 
of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling 
Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
and Order, FCC 23-19, 88 FR 20804 (2023 IPCS Notice) and 88 FR 19001 
(Order) (2023 IPCS Order). The Commission sought comment on how to 
interpret the Act's language to ensure that the Commission implements 
the statute in a manner that fulfills Congress's intent. Because the 
Commission is now required or allowed to consider certain types of 
costs, the Act contemplates that it would undertake an additional data 
collection. To ensure that it has the data necessary to meet its 
substantive and procedural responsibilities under the Act, the 
Commission adopted the 2023 IPCS Order delegating authority to WCB and 
the Office of Economics and Analytics

[[Page 271]]

(OEA) to modify the template and instructions for the most recent data 
collection to the extent appropriate to timely collect such information 
to cover the additional services and providers now subject to the 
Commission's authority. On April 28, 2023, WCB and OEA issued a Public 
Notice seeking comment on all aspects of the proposed data collection. 
WCB and OEA Seek Comment on Proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection for 
Incarcerated People's Communication Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-
375, Public Notice, DA 23-355 (WCB/OEA April 28, 2023). On July 26, 
2023, WCB and OEA released an Order adopting instructions, a reporting 
template, and a certification form to implement the 2023 Mandatory Data 
Collection. Incarcerated People's Communications Services; 
Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act, Rates for Interstate 
Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, Order, DA 23-638 
(July 26, 2023). In the 2023 IPCS Order, the Commission also reaffirmed 
and updated its prior delegation of authority to WCB and the Consumer 
and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) (collectively, the Bureaus) to 
revise the instructions and reporting templates for the Annual Reports. 
Specifically, the Commission delegated to the Bureaus the authority to 
modify, supplement, and update the instructions and templates for the 
Annual Reports.
    On August 3, 2023, the Bureaus issued a Public Notice seeking 
comment on proposed revisions to the instructions, template, and 
certification form for the Annual Reports, https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-2023-ipcs-annual-reports, which are necessary to reflect the 
revised rules improving access to communications services for 
incarcerated people with communication disabilities adopted in the 2022 
ICS Order and to help implement the Martha Wright-Reed Act to ensure 
just and reasonable rates for consumers and fair compensation for 
providers. Wireline Competition Bureau and Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau Seek Comment on Revisions to IPCS Providers' Annual 
Reporting and Certification Requirements, Public Notice, WC Docket Nos. 
23-62, 12-375, DA 23-656 (August 3, 2023). https://www.fcc.gov/document/2023-incarcerated-peoples-communications-services-annual-reports-pn. Notice of this document was published in the Federal 
Register at 88 FR 53850 on August 9, 2023.
    The Bureaus have not yet issued an Order adopting revisions to the 
instructions, template, and certification form for the Annual Reports. 
To effectuate the improved access to communications services for 
incarcerated people with communication disabilities required by Sec.  
64.6040(c) of the Commission's rules, the Bureaus divided the 
information requirements and burdens of this information collection 
into two PRA submissions to OMB, with the first seeking approval of the 
new information requirements associated with Sec.  64.6040(c) of the 
Commission's rules. OMB approved the revised information collection on 
December 14, 2023. Upon release of an Order adopting revisions to the 
instructions, template, and certification form for the Annual Reports, 
the Bureaus will seek OMB approval of any revised information 
requirements adopted in that Order, as well as the new information 
requirements in Sec.  64.6060(a)(5) through (7), which expands the rule 
requiring the filing of Annual Reports to include additional data 
related to access to communications services for incarcerated people 
with communication disabilities.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-28765 Filed 1-2-24; 8:45 am]
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