I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 994 
To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MENG, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CARSON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. SMITH of 
Washington, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. 
POCAN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. JONES, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 
BASS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. WELCH, 
Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Ms. 
ESCOBAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 
and Commerce, Financial Services, and Homeland Security, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention 
centers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice is Not For 
Sale Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘core correctional services’’ means 
the housing, transporting, safeguarding, protecting, 
and disciplining of individuals— 
(A) charged with or convicted of an of-
fense; or 
(B) who are in custody for purposes of en-
forcing the immigration laws, as defined in sec-
tion 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)); 
(2) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a city, 
county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or 
other general purpose political subdivision of a 
State; 
(3) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, or another common-
wealth, territory, or possession of the United States; 
and 
(4) the term ‘‘facility housing adult prisoners or 
detainees in the custody of a State or local govern-
ment’’ includes for-profit civil commitment centers, 
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return to custody units, community corrections and 
treatment centers, halfway houses and re-entry pro-
grams, restitution or day reporting centers, transi-
tional centers, mental health facilities, or other fa-
cilities or programs that are under contract with a 
government entity to provide custody, control, super-
vision, treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners or 
detainees. 
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR PRI-
VATELY RUN PRISONS WITHIN 2 YEARS. 
(a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (b), not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act— 
(1) each facility housing adult prisoners or de-
tainees in the custody of the Federal Government 
shall be under the direct, operational control of the 
Federal Government; and 
(2) core correctional services at each such facil-
ity shall be performed by employees of the Federal 
Government. 
(b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 
determines that the Federal Government is unable to com-
ply with subsection (a) by the date that is 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
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may waive the application of subsection (a) for not more 
than 1 year. 
(c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER-
SONS.—Electronic monitoring of the location of a person 
released from the custody of the Federal Government may 
be conducted only by a public entity under the supervision 
and control of the Federal Government or a non-profit en-
tity that has a contract with the Federal Government to 
perform such monitoring. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES 
RUNNING STATE AND LOCAL PRISONS OR DE-
TENTION ALTERNATIVES AFTER 2 YEARS. 
(a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (b), on and after the date that is 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act— 
(1) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af-
fecting interstate commerce shall own or have direct, 
operational control over a facility housing adult pris-
oners or detainees in the custody of the State or 
local government; and 
(2) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af-
fecting interstate commerce shall perform core cor-
rectional services at such a facility. 
(b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 
determines that a State or local government requires serv-
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ices from a private for-profit entity that are described in 
subsection (a) after the date that is 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may waive 
the application of subsection (a) as to that private for- 
profit entity for not more than 1 year. 
(c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER-
SONS.—No private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 
interstate commerce may operate electronic monitoring of 
the location of a person released from the custody of a 
State or local government. 
(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General may 
bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 
United States for such declaratory or injunctive relief as 
is necessary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 5. CFPB OVERSIGHT OF PROVIDERS OF MONEY 
TRANSFER SERVICES FOR CORRECTIONAL 
AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection; 
(2) the term ‘‘correctional facility’’ means a jail, 
prison, or other detention facility used to house peo-
ple who have been arrested, detained, held, or con-
victed by a criminal justice agency or a court; 
(3) the term ‘‘covered inmate’’ means— 
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(A) an individual who is being held, de-
tained, or incarcerated in a correctional facility; 
and 
(B) an individual who is being held in an 
immigration detention facility; 
(4) the term ‘‘covered provider’’ means a pro-
vider of a service, including a money transfer serv-
ice, that— 
(A) facilitates the electronic transfer of 
funds from an individual who is not a covered 
inmate to a covered inmate; 
(B) provides a payment to a covered in-
mate who is being released from a correctional 
facility or an immigration detention facility; or 
(C) provides a payment on behalf of a cov-
ered inmate; and 
(5) the term ‘‘immigration detention facility’’ 
means a Federal, State, or local government facility, 
or a privately owned and operated facility, that is 
used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under 
the authority of the Director of U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that 
hold such individuals under a contract or agreement 
with the Department of Homeland Security. 
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(b) REASONABLE
AND
PROPORTIONAL
FEE
OR 
CHARGE.—The amount of any fee or charge that a cov-
ered provider may impose with respect to a service de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection 
(a)(4) shall be reasonable and proportional to the relative 
cost or value of the service. 
(c) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau shall 
issue final rules to establish standards for assessing 
whether the amount of any fee or charge described 
in subsection (b) is reasonable and proportional to 
the relative cost or value of the service provided by 
a covered provider. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the final 
rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall con-
sider— 
(A) whether there are alternative means 
for transferring funds into correctional facilities 
and immigration detention facilities; 
(B) whether those alternatives can reason-
ably be considered comparable; 
(C) differing cost structures for transfer-
ring funds into correctional facilities and immi-
gration detention facilities; and 
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(D) such other factors as the Bureau may 
determine necessary or appropriate. 
(3) DIFFERENTIATION PERMITTED.—In issuing 
the final rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau may 
establish different standards for different types of 
fees and charges, as appropriate. 
SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY 
COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 276 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
FOR CONFINE-
MENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All charges, practices, 
classifications, and regulations for and in con-
nection with confinement facility communica-
tions services shall be just and reasonable, and 
any such charge, practice, classification, or reg-
ulation that is unjust or unreasonable is de-
clared to be unlawful. 
‘‘(B) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later 
than 18 months after the date of the enactment 
of this subsection, the Commission shall issue 
rules to adopt, for the provision of confinement 
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facility communications services, rates and an-
cillary service charges that are just and reason-
able, which shall be the maximum such rates 
and charges that a provider of confinement fa-
cility communications services may charge for 
such services. In determining rates and charges 
that are just and reasonable, the Commission 
shall adopt such rates and charges based on the 
average industry costs of providing such serv-
ices using data collected from providers of con-
finement facility communications services. 
‘‘(C) BIENNIAL
REVIEW.—Not less fre-
quently than every 2 years following the 
issuance of rules under subparagraph (B), the 
Commission shall— 
‘‘(i) determine whether the rates and 
ancillary service charges authorized by the 
rules issued under such subparagraph re-
main just and reasonable; and 
‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines 
under clause (i) that any such rate or 
charge does not remain just and reason-
able, revise such rules so that such rate or 
charge is just and reasonable. 
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‘‘(2) INTERIM RATE CAPS.—Until the Commis-
sion issues the rules required by paragraph (1)(B), 
a provider of confinement facility communications 
services may not charge a rate for any voice service 
communication using confinement facility commu-
nications services that exceeds the following: 
‘‘(A) For debit calling or prepaid calling, 
$0.04 per minute. 
‘‘(B) For collect calling, $0.05 per minute. 
‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT ON PER-MINUTE BASIS.—Ex-
cept as provided in paragraph (4), a provider of con-
finement facility communications services— 
‘‘(A) shall assess all charges for a commu-
nication using such services on a per-minute 
basis for the actual duration of the communica-
tion, measured from communication acceptance 
to termination, rounded up to the next full 
minute, except in the case of charges for serv-
ices that the confinement facility offers free of 
charge or for amounts below the amounts per-
mitted under this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) may not charge a per-communication 
or per-connection charge for a communication 
using such services. 
‘‘(4) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGES.— 
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‘‘(A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A provider 
of confinement facility communications services 
may not charge an ancillary service charge 
other than— 
‘‘(i) if the Commission has not yet 
issued the rules required by paragraph 
(1)(B), a charge listed in subparagraph 
(B) of this paragraph; or 
‘‘(ii) a charge authorized by the rules 
adopted by the Commission under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(B) PERMITTED CHARGES AND RATES.— 
If the Commission has not yet issued the rules 
required by paragraph (1)(B), a provider of 
confinement facility communications services 
may not charge a rate for an ancillary service 
charge in excess of the following: 
‘‘(i) In the case of an automated pay-
ment fee, 2.9 percent of the total charge 
on which the fee is assessed. 
‘‘(ii) In the case of a fee for single-call 
and related services, the exact transaction 
fee charged by the third-party provider, 
with no markup. 
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‘‘(iii) In the case of a live agent fee, 
$5.95 per use. 
‘‘(iv) In the case of a paper bill or 
statement fee, $2 per use. 
‘‘(v) In the case of a third-party fi-
nancial transaction fee, the exact fee, with 
no markup, charged by the third party for 
the transaction. 
‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON SITE COMMISSIONS.—A 
provider of confinement facility communications 
services may not assess a site commission. 
‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—A State 
or political subdivision of a State may not enforce 
any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provi-
sion having the force or effect of law relating to con-
finement facility communications services that allows 
for higher rates or other charges to be assessed for 
such services than is permitted under any Federal 
law or regulation relating to confinement facility 
communications services. 
‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGE.—The 
term ‘ancillary service charge’ means any 
charge a consumer may be assessed for the set-
ting up or use of a confinement facility commu-
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nications service that is not included in the per- 
minute charges assessed for individual commu-
nications. 
‘‘(B) AUTOMATED
PAYMENT
FEE.—The 
term ‘automated payment fee’ means a credit 
card payment, debit card payment, or bill proc-
essing fee, including a fee for a payment made 
by means of interactive voice response, the 
internet, or a kiosk. 
‘‘(C) COLLECT CALLING.—The term ‘col-
lect calling’ means an arrangement whereby a 
credit-qualified party agrees to pay for charges 
associated with a communication made to such 
party using confinement facility communica-
tions services and originating from within a 
confinement facility. 
‘‘(D) CONFINEMENT FACILITY.—The term 
‘confinement facility’— 
‘‘(i) means a jail or a prison; and 
‘‘(ii) includes any juvenile, detention, 
work release, or mental health facility that 
is used primarily to hold individuals who 
are— 
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