‘‘(I) awaiting adjudication of 
criminal charges or an immigration 
matter; or 
‘‘(II) serving a sentence for a 
criminal conviction. 
‘‘(E) CONFINEMENT
FACILITY
COMMU-
NICATIONS
SERVICE.—The term ‘confinement 
facility communications service’ means a service 
that allows incarcerated persons to make elec-
tronic communications (whether intrastate, 
interstate, or international and whether made 
using video, audio, or any other communicative 
method, including advanced communications 
services) to individuals outside the confinement 
facility, or to individuals inside the confinement 
facility, where the incarcerated person is being 
held, regardless of the technology used to de-
liver the service. 
‘‘(F) CONSUMER.—The term ‘consumer’ 
means the party paying a provider of confine-
ment facility communications services. 
‘‘(G) DEBIT
CALLING.—The term ‘debit 
calling’ means a presubscription or comparable 
service which allows an incarcerated person, or 
someone acting on an incarcerated person’s be-
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half, to fund an account set up through a pro-
vider that can be used to pay for confinement 
facility communications services originated by 
the incarcerated person. 
‘‘(H) FEE
FOR
SINGLE-CALL
AND
RE-
LATED SERVICES.—The term ‘fee for single-call 
and related services’ means a billing arrange-
ment whereby communications made by an in-
carcerated person using collect calling are billed 
through a third party on a per-communication 
basis, where the recipient does not have an ac-
count with the provider of confinement facility 
communications services. 
‘‘(I) INCARCERATED
PERSON.—The term 
‘incarcerated person’ means a person detained 
at a confinement facility, regardless of the du-
ration of the detention. 
‘‘(J) JAIL.—The term ‘jail’— 
‘‘(i) means a facility of a law enforce-
ment agency of the Federal Government or 
of a State or political subdivision of a 
State that is used primarily to hold indi-
viduals who are— 
‘‘(I) awaiting adjudication of 
criminal charges; 
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‘‘(II) post-conviction and com-
mitted to confinement for sentences of 
one year or less; or 
‘‘(III) post-conviction and await-
ing transfer to another facility; and 
‘‘(ii) includes— 
‘‘(I) city, county, or regional fa-
cilities that have contracted with a 
private company to manage day-to- 
day operations; 
‘‘(II) privately-owned and oper-
ated facilities primarily engaged in 
housing city, county, or regional in-
carcerated persons; and 
‘‘(III) facilities used to detain in-
dividuals pursuant to a contract with 
U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement. 
‘‘(K) LIVE
AGENT
FEE.—The term ‘live 
agent fee’ means a fee associated with the op-
tional use of a live operator to complete a con-
finement facility communications service trans-
action. 
‘‘(L) PAPER BILL OR STATEMENT FEE.— 
The term ‘paper bill or statement fee’ means a 
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fee associated with providing a consumer an op-
tional paper billing statement. 
‘‘(M) PER-COMMUNICATION
OR
PER-CON-
NECTION CHARGE.—The term ‘per-communica-
tion or per-connection charge’ means a one-time 
fee charged to a consumer at the initiation of 
a communication. 
‘‘(N) PREPAID CALLING.—The term ‘pre-
paid calling’ means a calling arrangement that 
allows a consumer to pay in advance for a spec-
ified amount of confinement facility commu-
nications services. 
‘‘(O) PRISON.—The term ‘prison’— 
‘‘(i) means a facility operated by a 
State or Federal agency that is used pri-
marily to confine individuals convicted of 
felonies and sentenced to terms in excess 
of one year; and 
‘‘(ii) includes— 
‘‘(I) public and private facilities 
that provide outsource housing to 
State or Federal agencies such as 
State Departments of Correction and 
the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and 
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‘‘(II) facilities that would other-
wise be jails but in which the majority 
of incarcerated persons are post-con-
viction or are committed to confine-
ment for sentences of longer than one 
year. 
‘‘(P) PROVIDER OF CONFINEMENT FACIL-
ITY
COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES.—The term 
‘provider of confinement facility communica-
tions services’ means any communications serv-
ice provider that provides confinement facility 
communications services, regardless of the tech-
nology used. 
‘‘(Q) SITE
COMMISSION.—The term ‘site 
commission’ means any monetary payment, in- 
kind payment, gift, exchange of services or 
goods, fee, technology allowance, or product 
that a provider of confinement facility commu-
nications services or an affiliate of a provider of 
confinement facility communications services 
may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide 
to— 
‘‘(i) an entity that operates a confine-
ment facility; 
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‘‘(ii) an entity with which the provider 
of confinement facility communications 
services enters into an agreement to pro-
vide confinement facility communications 
services; 
‘‘(iii) a governmental agency that 
oversees a confinement facility; 
‘‘(iv) the State or political subdivision 
of a State where a confinement facility is 
located; or 
‘‘(v) an agent or other representative 
of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 
through (iv). 
‘‘(R) THIRD-PARTY
FINANCIAL
TRANS-
ACTION FEE.—The term ‘third-party financial 
transaction fee’ means the exact fee, with no 
markup, that a provider of confinement facility 
communications services is charged by a third 
party to transfer money or process a financial 
transaction to facilitate the ability of a con-
sumer to make an account payment via a third 
party. 
‘‘(S) VOICE
SERVICE.—The term ‘voice 
service’— 
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‘‘(i) means any service that is inter-
connected with the public switched tele-
phone network and that furnishes voice 
communications to an end user using re-
sources from the North American Num-
bering Plan or any successor to the North 
American Numbering Plan adopted by the 
Commission under section 251(e)(1); and 
‘‘(ii) includes— 
‘‘(I) transmissions from a tele-
phone facsimile machine, computer, or 
other device to a telephone facsimile 
machine; and 
‘‘(II) 
without 
limitation, 
any 
service that enables real-time, two-way 
voice communications, including any 
service that requires internet protocol- 
compatible customer premises equip-
ment (commonly known as ‘CPE’) 
and permits out-bound calling, wheth-
er or not the service is one-way or 
two-way voice over internet protocol.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 276(d) of 
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276(d)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘inmate telephone service in correc-
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pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
tional institutions’’ and inserting ‘‘confinement facility 
communications services (as defined in subsection 
(e)(7))’’. 
(c) EXISTING CONTRACTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a contract 
that was entered into and under which a provider of 
confinement facility communications services was 
providing such services at a confinement facility on 
or before the date of the enactment of this Act— 
(A) paragraphs (1) through (5) of sub-
section (e) of section 276 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) 
of this section, shall apply to the provision of 
confinement facility communications services by 
such provider at such facility beginning on the 
earlier of— 
(i) the date that is 60 days after such 
date of enactment; or 
(ii) the date of the termination of the 
contract; and 
(B) the terms of such contract may not be 
extended after such date of enactment, whether 
by exercise of an option or otherwise. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 
terms ‘‘confinement facility’’, ‘‘confinement facility 
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communications service’’, and ‘‘provider of confine-
ment facility communications services’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in paragraph (7) of sub-
section (e) of section 276 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this sec-
tion. 
(d) AUTHORITY.—Section 2(b) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 152(b)) is amended by in-
serting ‘‘section 276,’’ after ‘‘227, inclusive,’’. 
SEC. 7. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘ap-
plicable standards’’ means the most recent version of 
detention standards and detention-related policies 
issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
(2) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten-
tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov-
ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 
facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in-
dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including 
facilities that hold such individuals under a contract 
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or agreement with the Department of Homeland Se-
curity. 
(b) DETENTION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall ensure that all persons detained 
pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) are treated humanely and benefit 
from the protections set forth in this section. 
(c) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) ANNUAL INSPECTION.—All detention facili-
ties housing noncitizens in the custody of the De-
partment of Homeland Security shall be inspected, 
for compliance with applicable detention standards 
issued by the Secretary and other applicable regula-
tions, by— 
(A) the Immigration Detention Ombuds-
man at least biannually; and 
(B) an independent, third-party auditor at 
least biannually. 
(2) ROUTINE OVERSIGHT.—In addition to the 
inspections required under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall conduct routine oversight of the deten-
tion facilities described in paragraph (1), including 
unannounced inspections. 
(3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—All detention 
facility contracts, memoranda of agreement, audits, 
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inspections, evaluations and reviews, include those 
conducted by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties and the Office of Inspector General of the 
Department of Homeland Security, shall be consid-
ered public records for purposes of section 552(f)(2) 
of title 5, United States Code. 
(4) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall seek 
input from nongovernmental organizations regarding 
their independent opinion of specific facilities. 
(5) REPORT OF IMMIGRATION DETENTION OM-
BUDSMAN.—The Immigration Detention Ombuds-
man shall submit a report to Congress on a bi-an-
nual basis on its activities, findings, and rec-
ommendations, based on the inspections conducted 
under paragraph (1), including a copy of any com-
plaint form or mechanism created, the number and 
types of complaints received, the number of com-
plaints investigated, and the number of inspections 
under paragraph (1) that the Ombudsman con-
ducted during the previous 6-month period, includ-
ing any unannounced inspections. 
(d) COMPLIANCE MECHANISMS.— 
(1) AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) NEW AGREEMENTS.—Compliance with 
applicable standards of the Secretary of Home-
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