I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3949 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for additional prohibi-
tions and enhanced penalties for providing or possessing wireless commu-
nications devices in detention facilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 9, 2023 
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, 
Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. WALBERG) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for 
additional prohibitions and enhanced penalties for pro-
viding or possessing wireless communications devices in 
detention facilities, 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 ‘‘Eliminate Non-ap-
proved Devices and Contraband Electronics Limiting 
Links to Society in Confined Environments for Longer 
Lasting Safety Act’’ or the ‘‘END CELLS in CELLS 
Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Jul 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3949.IH
H3949
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) 
AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding 
para-
graph (2) of section 503(b), the amount of any 
forfeiture penalty determined or imposed under 
such section for a violation of subsection (a) 
shall not exceed $50,000 for each violation or 
each day of a continuing violation, except that 
the amount assessed for any continuing viola-
tion shall not exceed a total of $1,000,000 for 
any single act or failure to act. 
‘‘(B) NO
CITATION
REQUIRED.—Para-
graph (5) of section 503(b) shall not apply in 
the case of a violation of subsection (a). 
‘‘(C) 2-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
Notwithstanding paragraph (6) of section 
503(b), no forfeiture penalty for violation of 
subsection (a) shall be determined or imposed 
against any person if the violation charged oc-
curred more than 2 years prior to the date of 
issuance of the notice required by paragraph 
(3) of section 503(b) or the notice of apparent 
liability required by paragraph (4) of section 
503(b) (as the case may be). 
‘‘(2) CRIMINAL FINE.—Any person who willfully 
and knowingly violates subsection (a) shall upon 
conviction thereof be fined not more than $50,000 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Jul 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3949.IH
H3949
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
for each violation, in lieu of the fine provided by sec-
tion 501 for such a violation. Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to supersede the provisions of sec-
tion 501 relating to imprisonment or the imposition 
of a penalty of both fine and imprisonment. 
‘‘(c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to— 
‘‘(1) prohibit any lawfully authorized investiga-
tive, protective, or intelligence activity of a law en-
forcement agency of the United States, a State, or 
a political subdivision of a State, or of an intel-
ligence agency of the United States; or 
‘‘(2) prevent the chief legal officer, or any other 
officer, of a State from exercising the powers con-
ferred on such officer by the laws of such State to 
enforce State law, including punishing those found 
guilty of violating State law. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘deten-
tion facility’ means a correctional, detention, or 
penal facility located within the United States. 
‘‘(2) WIRELESS
COMMUNICATIONS
DEVICE.— 
The term ‘wireless communications device’ means— 
‘‘(A) a device that enables the user to send 
or receive a radio communication, regardless of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Jul 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3949.IH
H3949
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
whether a license from the Commission is re-
quired for the use or operation of such device; 
or 
‘‘(B) a component that provides identifica-
tion or authentication to enable a device de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) to connect to a 
communications network.’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendment made by this Act shall apply with 
respect to conduct that occurs after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Jul 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3949.IH
H3949
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS