I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 185
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish procedures for
the discontinuance of mobile radio services to persons engaged in drug
trafficking, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish
procedures for the discontinuance of mobile radio services
to persons engaged in drug trafficking, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Telecommunications
Drug Enforcement Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. DISCONTINUANCE OF MOBILE RADIO SERVICE.
Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 336. DISCONTINUANCE OF MOBILE RADIO SERVICE
PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER.
‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—An application for an order re-
quiring a public or private mobile radio services licensee
to discontinue service to a mobile radio unit may be made,
in writing under oath or equivalent affirmation, to a court
of competent jurisdiction by—
‘‘(1) an attorney for the Government; or
‘‘(2) unless prohibited by State law, a State in-
vestigative or law enforcement officer.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application
under subsection (a) of this section shall include—
‘‘(1) the identity of the attorney for the Govern-
ment or the State law enforcement or investigative
officer making the application and the identity of the
law enforcement agency investigating the user of the
mobile radio unit; and
‘‘(2) a full and complete statement of the facts
and circumstances relied upon by the applicant to
justify his belief that an order should be issued, the
identity, if known, of the user of the mobile radio
unit, the telephone number assigned to the mobile
radio unit, and the electronic serial number, if
known, of the mobile radio unit.
‘‘(c) ISSUANCE
OF
AN ORDER TO DISCONTINUE
SERVICE TO A MOBILE RADIO UNIT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Upon an application
made under this section, the court shall enter an ex
parte order requiring a public or private mobile
radio services licensee to discontinue service to a mo-
bile radio unit if the court determines, on the basis
of the facts submitted by the applicant, that there
is probable cause to believe that the mobile radio
unit is being used for the purpose of transmitting or
receiving information in connection with the manu-
facture, distribution, importation, exportation, or
sale of a controlled substance in violation of Federal,
State, or local law.
‘‘(B) The court may require the applicant to
furnish additional testimony or documentary evi-
dence in support of the application.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS
OF
THE
ORDER.—An order
under this section shall specify—
‘‘(A) the identity, if known, of the person
whose mobile radio service is to be discontinued;
‘‘(B) the telephone number assigned to the
mobile radio unit;
‘‘(C) the electronic serial number, if
known, of the mobile radio unit; and
‘‘(D) the effective date of the discontinu-
ance of service, no earlier than 10 days after
the order is issued.
‘‘(d) CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION.—Notice to the per-
son whose mobile radio service is being discontinued shall
be made by the law enforcement agency which made the
application under this section within three days of the
court’s issuing its order.
‘‘(e) PRESERVATION OF REMEDIES.—Nothing in sub-
section (c) of this section shall be deemed to prejudice the
right of any person affected thereby to secure an appro-
priate determination, as otherwise provided by law, in a
Federal court or a State court, that mobile radio service
to such person should not be discontinued or refused or
should be restored.
‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—No cause of action
shall lie in any court against any public or private mobile
radio services licensee, its officers, employees, agents, or
other specified persons for discontinuing or refusing mo-
bile radio services in accordance with a court order speci-
fied in subsection (c) of this section.
‘‘(g) DEFENSE.—A good faith reliance by any public
or private mobile radio service licensee on a court order
specified in subsection (b) is a complete defense against
any civil or criminal action brought under any law.
‘‘(h) OPERATION STANDARDS FOR LICENSEES.—The
Federal Communications Commission shall, within 180
days after the date of enactment of this section, prescribe
regulations—
‘‘(1) establishing minimum operating standards
to ensure compliance with the requirements of this
section by public or private mobile radio service li-
censees;
‘‘(2) establishing, consistent with the public in-
terest, standards regarding cooperation by such li-
censees with law enforcement authorities for the de-
tection of activities described in subsection (c)(1)(A);
‘‘(3) including minimum recordkeeping require-
ments for the purposes described in paragraphs (1)
and (2); and
‘‘(4) prescribing procedures for the Commission
to verify compliance with such regulations.’’.
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