IB 

Union Calendar No. 342 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7132 

[Report No. 117–438] 

To preserve safe access to communications services for survivors of domestic 

violence and other crimes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2022 

Ms. KUSTER (for herself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

JULY 26, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. WALBERG, Mr. WELCH, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, 

Ms. TITUS, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, and 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS

JULY 26, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 17, 2022] 


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A BILL 

To preserve safe access to communications services for survivors of domestic violence and other crimes, and for 

other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Connections Act 

5 of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, terms used 

8 in this Act that are defined in section 345(a) of the Commu9 nications Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this Act, 

10 have the meanings given those terms in such section 345(a). 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds the following: 

13 (1) Domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, 

14 sexual assault, human trafficking, and related crimes 

15 are life-threatening issues and have lasting and harm16 ful effects on individuals, families, and entire commu17 nities. 

18 (2) Survivors often lack meaningful support and 

19 options when establishing independence from an 

20 abuser, including barriers such as financial insecu21 rity and limited access to reliable communications 

22 tools to maintain essential connections with family, 

23 social safety networks, employers, and support serv24 ices. 


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1 (3) Perpetrators of violence and abuse described 

2 in paragraph (1) increasingly use technological and 

3 communications tools to exercise control over, mon4 itor, and abuse their victims. 

5 (4) Communications law can play a public in6 terest role in the promotion of safety, life, and prop7 erty with respect to the types of violence and abuse 

8 described in paragraph (1). For example, independent 

9 access to a wireless phone plan can assist survivors 

10 in establishing security and autonomy. 

11 (5) Safeguards within communications services 

12 can serve a role in preventing abuse and narrowing 

13 the digital divide experienced by survivors of abuse. 

14 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS 

15 WITHIN COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 

16 Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 

17 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 345. PROTECTION OF SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIO20 LENCE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, AND RELATED 

21 CRIMES. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) ABUSER.—The term ‘abuser’ means an in24 dividual who has committed or allegedly committed a 

25 covered act against— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an individual who seeks relief under 

2 subsection (b); or 

3 ‘‘(B) an individual in the care of an indi4 vidual who seeks relief under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(2) COVERED ACT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered act’ 

7 means conduct that constitutes— 

8 ‘‘(i) a crime described in section 

9 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women 

10 Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), including 

11 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

12 assault, stalking, and sex trafficking; 

13 ‘‘(ii) an act or practice described in 

14 paragraph (11) or (12) of section 103 of the 

15 Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

16 (22 U.S.C. 7102) (relating to severe forms of 

17 trafficking in persons and sex trafficking, 

18 respectively); or 

19 ‘‘(iii) an act under State law, Tribal 

20 law, or the Uniform Code of Military Jus21 tice that is similar to an offense described 

22 in clause (i) or (ii). 

23 ‘‘(B) CONVICTION NOT REQUIRED.—Nothing 

24 in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to re25 quire a criminal conviction or any other deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jul 27, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7132.RH H7132

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1 mination of a court in order for conduct to con2 stitute a covered act. 

3 ‘‘(3) COVERED PROVIDER.—The term ‘covered 

4 provider’ means a provider of a private mobile service 

5 or commercial mobile service, as those terms are de6 fined in section 332(d). 

7 ‘‘(4) PRIMARY ACCOUNT HOLDER.—The term 

8 ‘primary account holder’ means an individual who is 

9 a party to a mobile service contract with a covered 

10 provider. 

11 ‘‘(5) SHARED MOBILE SERVICE CONTRACT.—The 

12 term ‘shared mobile service contract’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means a mobile service contract for an 

14 account that includes not less than 2 consumers; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) does not include enterprise services of17 fered by a covered provider. 

18 ‘‘(6) SURVIVOR.—The term ‘survivor’ means an 

19 individual who is not less than 18 years old and— 

20 ‘‘(A) against whom a covered act has been 

21 committed or allegedly committed; or 

22 ‘‘(B) who cares for another individual 

23 against whom a covered act has been committed 

24 or allegedly committed (provided that the indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jul 27, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7132.RH H7132

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1 vidual providing care did not commit or alleg2 edly commit the covered act). 

3 ‘‘(b) SEPARATION OF LINES FROM SHARED MOBILE

4 SERVICE CONTRACT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 business 

6 days after receiving a completed line separation re7 quest from a survivor pursuant to subsection (c), a 

8 covered provider shall, as applicable, with respect to 

9 a shared mobile service contract under which the sur10 vivor and the abuser each use a line— 

11 ‘‘(A) separate the line of the survivor, and 

12 the line of any individual in the care of the sur13 vivor, from the shared mobile service contract; or 

14 ‘‘(B) separate the line of the abuser from the 

15 shared mobile service contract. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON PENALTIES, FEES, AND

17 OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Except as provided in 

18 paragraphs (5) through (7), a covered provider may 

19 not make separation of a line from a shared mobile 

20 service contract under paragraph (1) contingent on 

21 any requirement other than the requirements under 

22 subsection (c), including— 

23 ‘‘(A) payment of a fee, penalty, or other 

24 charge; 


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1 ‘‘(B) maintaining contractual or billing re2 sponsibility of a separated line with the pro3 vider; 

4 ‘‘(C) approval of separation by the primary 

5 account holder, if the primary account holder is 

6 not the survivor; 

7 ‘‘(D) a prohibition or limitation, including 

8 one described in subparagraph (A), on number 

9 portability, provided such portability is tech10 nically feasible, or a request to change phone 

11 numbers; 

12 ‘‘(E) a prohibition or limitation on the sep13 aration of lines as a result of arrears accrued by 

14 the account; 

15 ‘‘(F) an increase in the rate charged for the 

16 mobile service plan of the primary account hold17 er with respect to service on any remaining line 

18 or lines; or 

19 ‘‘(G) any other limitation or requirement 

20 not listed under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

22 paragraph (2) shall be construed to require a covered 

23 provider to provide a rate plan for the primary ac24 count holder that is not otherwise commercially avail25 able. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REMOTE OPTION.—A covered provider shall 

2 offer a survivor the ability to submit a line separa3 tion request under subsection (c) through secure re4 mote means that are easily navigable, provided that 

5 remote options are commercially available and tech6 nically feasible. 

7 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRANSFERRED TELE8 PHONE NUMBERS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), 

9 beginning on the date on which a covered provider 

10 transfers billing responsibilities for and use of a tele11 phone number or numbers to a survivor under para12 graph (1)(A) in response to a line separation request 

13 submitted by the survivor under subsection (c), unless 

14 ordered otherwise by a court, the survivor shall as15 sume financial responsibility, including for monthly 

16 service costs, for the transferred telephone number or 

17 numbers. 

18 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRANSFERRED TELE19 PHONE NUMBERS FROM A SURVIVOR’S ACCOUNT.— 

20 Notwithstanding paragraph (2), upon the transfer of 

21 a telephone number under paragraph (1)(B) in re22 sponse to a line separation request submitted by a 

23 survivor under subsection (c), the survivor shall have 

24 no further financial responsibilities to the transfer25 ring covered provider for the services provided by the 


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1 transferring covered provider for the telephone num2 ber or for any mobile device associated with the tele3 phone number. 

4 ‘‘(7) RESPONSIBILITY FOR MOBILE DEVICE.— 

5 Notwithstanding paragraph (2), beginning on the 

6 date on which a covered provider transfers billing re7 sponsibilities for and rights to a telephone number or 

8 numbers to a survivor under paragraph (1)(A) in re9 sponse to a line separation request submitted by the 

10 survivor under subsection (c), unless otherwise ordered 

11 by a court, the survivor shall not assume financial re12 sponsibility for any mobile device associated with the 

13 separated line, unless the survivor purchased the mo14 bile device, or affirmatively elects to maintain posses15 sion of the mobile device. 

16 ‘‘(8) NOTICE TO SURVIVOR.—If a covered pro17 vider separates a line from a shared mobile service 

18 contract under paragraph (1) and the primary ac19 count holder is not the survivor, the covered provider 

20 shall notify the survivor of the date on which the cov21 ered provider intends to give any formal notice to the 

22 primary account holder. 

23 ‘‘(c) LINE SEPARATION REQUEST.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a survivor 

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1 ice contract, the survivor shall submit to the covered 

2 provider a line separation request that— 

3 ‘‘(A) verifies that an individual who uses a 

4 line under the shared mobile service contract has 

5 committed or allegedly committed a covered act 

6 against the survivor or an individual in the sur7 vivor’s care, by providing— 

8 ‘‘(i) a copy of a signed affidavit from 

9 a licensed medical or mental health care 

10 provider, licensed military medical or men11 tal health care provider, licensed social 

12 worker, victim services provider, or licensed 

13 military victim services provider, or an em14 ployee of a court, acting within the scope of 

15 that person’s employment; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a copy of a police report, state17 ments provided by police, including mili18 tary police, to magistrates or judges, charg19 ing documents, protective or restraining or20 ders, military protective orders, or any 

21 other official record that documents the cov22 ered act; 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of relief sought under sub24 section (b)(1)(A), with respect to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a line used by the survivor that 

2 the survivor seeks to have separated, states 

3 that the survivor is the user of that specific 

4 line; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) a line used by an individual in 

6 the care of the survivor that the survivor 

7 seeks to have separated, includes an affi8 davit setting forth that the individual— 

9 ‘‘(I) is in the care of the survivor; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) is the user of that specific 

12 line; and 

13 ‘‘(C) requests relief under subparagraph (A) 

14 or (B) of subsection (b)(1) and identifies each 

15 line that should be separated. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATIONS FROM COVERED PRO17 VIDERS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered provider 

19 shall notify a survivor seeking relief under sub20 section (b) in clear and accessible language that 

21 the covered provider may contact the survivor, or 

22 designated representative of the survivor, to con23 firm the line separation, or if the covered pro24 vider is unable to complete the line separation 


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1 for any reason, pursuant to subparagraphs (B) 

2 and (C). 

3 ‘‘(B) REMOTE MEANS.—A covered provider 

4 shall notify a survivor under subparagraph (A) 

5 through remote means, provided that remote 

6 means are commercially available and tech7 nically feasible. 

8 ‘‘(C) ELECTION OF MANNER OF CONTACT.— 

9 When completing a line separation request sub10 mitted by a survivor through remote means 

11 under paragraph (1), a covered provider shall 

12 allow the survivor to elect in the manner in 

13 which the covered provider may— 

14 ‘‘(i) contact the survivor, or designated 

15 representative of the survivor, in response to 

16 the request, if necessary; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) notify the survivor, or designated 

18 representative of the survivor, of the inabil19 ity of the covered provider to complete the 

20 line separation. 

21 ‘‘(3) ENHANCED PROTECTIONS UNDER STATE

22 LAW.—This subsection shall not affect any law or reg23 ulation of a State providing communications protec24 tions for survivors (or any similar category of indi25 viduals) that has less stringent requirements for proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jul 27, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7132.RH H7132

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1 viding evidence of a covered act (or any similar cat2 egory of conduct) than this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIAL AND SECURE TREATMENT OF

4 PERSONAL INFORMATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

6 222(c)(2), a covered provider and any officer, direc7 tor, employee, vendor, or agent thereof shall treat any 

8 information submitted by a survivor under subsection 

9 (c) as confidential and securely dispose of the infor10 mation not later than 90 days after receiving the in11 formation. 

12 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 paragraph (1) shall be construed to prohibit a covered 

14 provider from maintaining, for longer than the period 

15 specified in that paragraph, a record that verifies 

16 that a survivor fulfilled the conditions of a line sepa17 ration request under subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO CON19 SUMERS.—A covered provider shall make information about 

20 the options and process described in subsections (b) and (c) 

21 readily available to consumers— 

22 ‘‘(1) on the website and the mobile application of 

23 the provider; 

24 ‘‘(2) in physical stores; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) in other forms of public-facing consumer 

2 communication. 

3 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL INFEASIBILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement to effectuate 

5 a line separation request pursuant to subsection 

6 (b)(1) shall not apply to a covered provider if the cov7 ered provider cannot operationally or technically ef8 fectuate the request. 

9 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—If a covered provider can10 not operationally or technically effectuate a line sepa11 ration request as described in paragraph (1), the cov12 ered provider shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) notify the survivor who submitted the 

14 request of that infeasibility— 

15 ‘‘(i) at the time of the request; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a survivor who has 

17 submitted the request using remote means, 

18 not later than 2 business days after receiv19 ing the request; and 

20 ‘‘(B) provide the survivor with information 

21 about other alternatives to submitting a line sep22 aration request, including starting a new line of 

23 service. 

24 ‘‘(g) LIABILITY PROTECTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered provider and any 

2 officer, director, employee, vendor, or agent thereof 

3 shall not be subject to liability for any claims deriv4 ing from an action taken or omission made with re5 spect to compliance with this section and the rules 

6 adopted to implement this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

8 subsection shall limit the authority of the Commission 

9 to enforce this section or any rules or regulations pro10 mulgated by the Commission pursuant to this sec11 tion.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING ON PROTECTIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF 

13 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

15 (1) the term ‘‘Affordable Connectivity Program’’ 

16 means the program established under section 904(b) of 

17 division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

18 2021 (Public Law 116–260), as amended by section 

19 60502 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

20 (Public Law 117–58), or any successor program; 

21 (2) the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit22 tees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

24 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa25 tives; 


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1 (3) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

2 Communications Commission; 

3 (4) the term ‘‘covered hotline’’ means a hotline 

4 related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

5 assault, stalking, sex trafficking, severe forms of traf6 ficking in persons, or any other similar act; 

7 (5) the term ‘‘designated program’’ means the 

8 program designated by the Commission under sub9 section (b)(2)(A)(i) to provide emergency communica10 tions support to survivors; 

11 (6) the term ‘‘Lifeline program’’ means the pro12 gram set forth in subpart E of part 54 of title 47, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regula14 tion); 

15 (7) the term ‘‘text message’’ has the meaning 

16 given the term in section 227(e)(8) of the Commu17 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)); and 

18 (8) the term ‘‘voice service’’ has the meaning 

19 given such term in section 4(a) of the Pallone-Thune 

20 Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and 

21 Deterrence Act (47 U.S.C. 227b(a)). 

22 (b) RULEMAKINGS.— 

23 (1) LINE SEPARATIONS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Commission shall adopt rules to implement 

2 section 345 of the Communications Act of 1934, 

3 as added by section 4 of this Act. 

4 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In adopting rules 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 

6 consider— 

7 (i) privacy protections; 

8 (ii) account security and fraud detec9 tion; 

10 (iii) account billing procedures; 

11 (iv) procedures for notification of sur12 vivors about line separation processes; 

13 (v) notice to primary account holders; 

14 (vi) situations in which a covered pro15 vider cannot operationally or technically 

16 separate a telephone number or numbers 

17 from a shared mobile service contract such 

18 that the provider cannot effectuate a line 

19 separation request; 

20 (vii) the requirements for remote sub21 mission of a line separation request, includ22 ing how that option facilitates submission 

23 of verification information and meets the 

24 other requirements of section 345 of the 


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1 Communications Act of 1934, as added by 

2 section 4 of this Act; 

3 (viii) feasibility of remote options for 

4 small covered providers; 

5 (ix) implementation timelines, includ6 ing those for small covered providers; 

7 (x) financial responsibility for trans8 ferred telephone numbers; 

9 (xi) whether and how the survivor can 

10 affirmatively elect to take financial respon11 sibility for the mobile device associated with 

12 the separated line; 

13 (xii) compliance with subpart U of 

14 part 64 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula15 tions, or any successor regulations (relating 

16 to customer proprietary network informa17 tion) or any other legal or law enforcement 

18 requirements; and 

19 (xiii) ensuring covered providers have 

20 the necessary account information to com21 ply with the rules and with section 345 of 

22 the Communications Act of 1934, as added 

23 by section 4 of this Act. 

24 (2) EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FOR

25 SURVIVORS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 or as part of a general rulemaking proceeding 

4 relating to the Lifeline program or the Affordable 

5 Connectivity Program, whichever occurs earlier, 

6 the Commission shall adopt rules that— 

7 (i) designate a single program, which 

8 shall be either the Lifeline program or the 

9 Affordable Connectivity Program, to provide 

10 emergency communications support to sur11 vivors in accordance with this paragraph; 

12 and 

13 (ii) allow a survivor who is suffering 

14 from financial hardship and meets the re15 quirements under section 345(c)(1) of the 

16 Communications Act of 1934, as added by 

17 section 4 of this Act, without regard to 

18 whether the survivor meets the otherwise ap19 plicable eligibility requirements of the des20 ignated program, to— 

21 (I) enroll in the designated pro22 gram as quickly as is feasible; and 

23 (II) participate in the designated 

24 program based on such qualifications 

25 for not more than 6 months. 


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1 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In adopting rules 

2 under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 

3 consider— 

4 (i) how survivors who are eligible for 

5 relief and elected to separate a line under 

6 section 345(c)(1) of the Communications 

7 Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this 

8 Act, but whose lines could not be separated 

9 due to operational or technical infeasibility, 

10 can participate in the designated program; 

11 and 

12 (ii) confidentiality in the transfer and 

13 retention of any necessary documentation 

14 regarding the eligibility of a survivor to en15 roll in the designated program. 

16 (C) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after completing the rulemaking under subpara18 graph (A), the Commission shall— 

19 (i) evaluate the effectiveness of the 

20 Commission’s provision of support to sur21 vivors through the designated program; 

22 (ii) assess the detection and elimi23 nation of fraud, waste, and abuse with re24 spect to the support described in clause (i); 

25 and 


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1 (iii) submit to the appropriate congres2 sional committees a report that includes the 

3 evaluation and assessment described in 

4 clauses (i) and (ii), respectively. 

5 (D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

6 this paragraph shall be construed to limit the 

7 ability of a survivor who meets the requirements 

8 under section 345(c)(1) of the Communications 

9 Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this Act, 

10 to participate in the designated program indefi11 nitely if the survivor otherwise qualifies for the 

12 designated program under the rules of the des13 ignated program. 

14 (E) NOTIFICATION.—A covered provider 

15 that receives a line separation request pursuant 

16 to section 345 of the Communications Act of 

17 1934, as added by section 4 of this Act, shall in18 form the survivor who submitted the request of— 

19 (i) the existence of the designated pro20 gram; 

21 (ii) who qualifies to participate in the 

22 designated program under the rules adopted 

23 under subparagraph (A) that are specially 

24 applicable to survivors; and 


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1 (iii) how to participate in the des2 ignated program under the rules described 

3 in clause (ii). 

4 (3) HOTLINE CALLS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com7 mission shall commence a rulemaking proceeding 

8 to consider whether to, and how the Commission 

9 should— 

10 (i) establish, and update on a monthly 

11 basis, a central database of covered hotlines 

12 to be used by a covered provider or a 

13 wireline provider of voice service; and 

14 (ii) require a covered provider or a 

15 wireline provider of voice service to omit 

16 from consumer-facing logs of calls or text 

17 messages any records of calls or text mes18 sages to covered hotlines in the central data19 base described in clause (i), while maintain20 ing internal records of those calls and mes21 sages. 

22 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The rulemaking 

23 conducted under subparagraph (A) shall include 

24 consideration of— 


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1 (i) the ability of law enforcement agen2 cies or survivors to access a log of calls or 

3 text messages in a criminal investigation or 

4 civil proceeding; 

5 (ii) the ability of a covered provider or 

6 a wireline provider of voice service to— 

7 (I) identify logs that are con8 sumer-facing; and 

9 (II) omit certain consumer-facing 

10 logs, while maintaining internal 

11 records of such calls and text messages; 

12 and 

13 (iii) any other factors associated with 

14 the implementation of clauses (i) and (ii) to 

15 protect survivors, including factors that 

16 may impact smaller providers. 

17 (C) NO EFFECT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed 

19 to— 

20 (i) limit or otherwise affect the ability 

21 of a law enforcement agency to access a log 

22 of calls or text messages in a criminal in23 vestigation; or 

24 (ii) alter or otherwise expand provider 

25 requirements under the Communications 


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1 Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (Public 

2 Law 103–414; 108 Stat. 4279) or the 

3 amendments made by that Act. 

4 (D) COMPLIANCE.—If the Commission es5 tablishes a central database through the rule6 making under subparagraph (A) and a covered 

7 provider updates its own databases to match the 

8 central database not less frequently than once 

9 every 30 days, no cause of action shall lie or be 

10 maintained in any court against the covered 

11 provider or its officers, employees, or agents for 

12 claims deriving from omission from consumer13 facing logs of calls or text messages of any 

14 records of calls or text messages to covered hot15 lines in the central database. 

16 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 The requirements under section 345 of the Commu18 nications Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this Act, 

19 shall take effect 60 days after the date on which the Federal 

20 Communications Commission adopts the rules imple21 menting that section pursuant to section 5(b)(1) of this Act. 

22 SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

23 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

24 Act shall be construed to abrogate, limit, or otherwise affect 

25 the provisions set forth in the Communications Assistance 


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1 for Law Enforcement Act (Public Law 103–414; 108 Stat. 

2 4279) and the amendments made by that Act, any authority 

3 granted to the Federal Communications Commission pursu4 ant to that Act or the amendments made by that Act, or 

5 any regulations promulgated by the Federal Communica6 tions Commission pursuant to that Act or the amendments 

7 made by that Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 342 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7132 

[Report No. 117–438] 

A BILL 

To preserve safe access to communications services 

crimes, and for other purposes. for survivors of domestic violence and other 

JULY 26, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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