Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act
Bill: H.R.2489 | Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. (D-IL)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act
This bill establishes requirements related to certain charges, practices, classifications, or regulations in connection with confinement facility (i.e., jail or prison) communications services.
Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish maximum rates and charges that a provider of prison communications services may charge for such services. The bill provides interim rate caps until the FCC establishes such rates and charges.
The bill requires a provider of prison communications services to assess all charges for communications on a per-minute basis for the actual duration of the communication, and it prohibits a provider from charging a per-communication or per-connection charge. A provider also may not charge an ancillary service charge except in certain circumstances.
Further, the bill prohibits a provider from assessing a site commission, which is a payment or donation made to certain entities that operate or oversee a confinement facility.

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure just and reasonable 
charges for confinement facility communications services, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Prison, jails, and other confinement facilities in the 
        United States have unique telecommunications needs due to 
        safety and security concerns.
            (2) Unjust and unreasonable charges for telephone and 
        advanced communications services in confinement facilities 
        negatively impact the safety and security of communities in the 
        United States by damaging relationships between incarcerated 
        persons and their support systems, thereby exacerbating 
        recidivism.
            (3) All people in the United States, including anyone who 
        pays for confinement facility communications services, should 
        have access to communications services at charges that are just 
        and reasonable.
            (4) Certain markets for confinement facility communications 
        services are distorted due to reverse competition, in which the 
        financial interests of the entity making the buying decision 
        (the confinement facility) are aligned with the seller (the 
        provider of confinement facility communications services) and 
        not the consumer (the incarcerated person or a member of his or 
        her family). This reverse competition occurs because site 
        commission payments to the confinement facility from the 
        provider of confinement facility communications services are 
        the chief criterion many facilities use to select their 
        provider of confinement facility communications services.
            (5) Charges for confinement facility communications 
        services that have been shown to be unjust and unreasonable are 
        often a result of site commission payments that far exceed the 
        costs incurred by the confinement facility in accommodating 
        these services.
            (6) Unjust and unreasonable charges have been assessed for 
        both audio and video services and for both intrastate and 
        interstate communications from confinement facilities.
            (7) Mrs. Martha Wright-Reed led a campaign for just 
        communications rates for incarcerated people for over a decade.
            (8) Mrs. Wright-Reed was the lead plaintiff in Wright v. 
        Corrections Corporation of America, CA No. 00-293 (GK) (D.D.C. 
        2001).
            (9) That case ultimately led to the Wright Petition at the 
        Federal Communications Commission, CC Docket No. 96-128 
        (November 3, 2003).
            (10) As a grandmother, Mrs. Wright-Reed was forced to 
        choose between purchasing medication and communicating with her 
        incarcerated grandson.
            (11) Mrs. Wright-Reed passed away on January 18, 2015, 
        before fully realizing her dream of just communications rates 
        for all people.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Section 276 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Additional Requirements for Confinement Facility 
Communications Services.--
            ``(1) Authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--All charges, practices, 
                classifications, and regulations for and in connection 
                with confinement facility communications services shall 
                be just and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, 
                classification, or regulation that is unjust or 
                unreasonable is declared 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 facility 
                communications services, rates and ancillary service 
                charges that are just and reasonable, which shall be 
                the maximum such rates and charges that a provider of 
                confinement facility 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 services using data 
                collected from providers of confinement facility 
                communications services.
                    ``(C) Biennial review.--Not less frequently 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 remain 
                        just and reasonable; and
                            ``(ii) if the Commission determines under 
                        clause (i) that any such rate or charge does 
                        not remain just and reasonable, revise such 
                        rules so that such rate or charge is just and 
                        reasonable.
            ``(2) Interim rate caps.--Until the Commission 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 
        communications 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.--Except as provided 
        in paragraph (4), a provider of confinement facility 
        communications services--
                    ``(A) shall assess all charges for a communication 
                using such services on a per-minute basis for the 
                actual duration of the communication, measured from 
                communication acceptance to termination, rounded up to 
                the next full minute, except in the case of charges for 
                services that the confinement facility offers free of 
                charge or for amounts below the amounts permitted 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.--
                    ``(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 paragraph (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 payment 
                        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.
                            ``(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 
                        financial 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 provision having the force or 
        effect of law relating to confinement 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 setting up or use of a 
                confinement facility communications service that is not 
                included in the per-minute charges assessed for 
                individual communications.
                    ``(B) Automated payment fee.--The term `automated 
                payment fee' means a credit card payment, debit card 
                payment, or bill processing fee, including a fee for a 
                payment made by means of interactive voice response, 
                the internet, or a kiosk.
                    ``(C) Collect calling.--The term `collect 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 communications 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--
                                    ``(I) awaiting adjudication of 
                                criminal charges or an immigration 
                                matter; or
                                    ``(II) serving a sentence for a 
                                criminal conviction.
                    ``(E) Confinement facility communications 
                service.--The term `confinement facility communications 
                service' means a service that allows incarcerated 
                persons to make electronic 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 deliver the service.
                    ``(F) Consumer.--The term `consumer' means the 
                party paying a provider of confinement 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 behalf, to fund an account set up 
                through a provider that can be used to pay for 
                confinement facility communications services originated 
                by the incarcerated person.
                    ``(H) Fee for single-call and related services.--
                The term `fee for single-call and related services' 
                means a billing arrangement whereby communications made 
                by an incarcerated person using collect calling are 
                billed through a third party on a per-communication 
                basis, where the recipient does not have an account 
                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 duration of the detention.
                    ``(J) Jail.--The term `jail'--
                            ``(i) means a facility of a law enforcement 
                        agency of the Federal Government or of a State 
                        or political subdivision of a State that is 
                        used primarily to hold individuals who are--
                                    ``(I) awaiting adjudication of 
                                criminal charges;
                                    ``(II) post-conviction and 
                                committed to confinement for sentences 
                                of one year or less; or
                                    ``(III) post-conviction and 
                                awaiting transfer to another facility; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) includes--
                                    ``(I) city, county, or regional 
                                facilities that have contracted with a 
                                private company to manage day-to-day 
                                operations;
                                    ``(II) privately-owned and operated 
                                facilities primarily engaged in housing 
                                city, county, or regional incarcerated 
                                persons; and
                                    ``(III) facilities used to detain 
                                individuals pursuant to a contract with 
                                U.S. Immigration and Customs 
                                Enforcement.
                    ``(K) Live agent fee.--The term `live agent fee' 
                means a fee associated with the optional use of a live 
                operator to complete a confinement facility 
                communications service transaction.
                    ``(L) Paper bill or statement fee.--The term `paper 
                bill or statement fee' means a fee associated with 
                providing a consumer an optional paper billing 
                statement.
                    ``(M) Per-communication or per-connection charge.--
                The term `per-communication or per-connection charge' 
                means a one-time fee charged to a consumer at the 
                initiation of a communication.
                    ``(N) Prepaid calling.--The term `prepaid calling' 
                means a calling arrangement that allows a consumer to 
                pay in advance for a specified amount of confinement 
                facility communications services.
                    ``(O) Prison.--The term `prison'--
                            ``(i) means a facility operated by a State 
                        or Federal agency that is used primarily 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
                                    ``(II) facilities that would 
                                otherwise be jails but in which the 
                                majority of incarcerated persons are 
                                post-conviction or are committed to 
                                confinement for sentences of longer 
                                than one year.
                    ``(P) Provider of confinement facility 
                communications services.--The term `provider of 
                confinement facility communications services' means any 
                communications service provider that provides 
                confinement facility communications services, 
                regardless of the technology 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 communications 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 confinement 
                        facility;
                            ``(ii) an entity with which the provider of 
                        confinement facility communications services 
                        enters into an agreement to provide 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 transaction 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 
                consumer to make an account payment via a third party.
                    ``(S) Voice service.--The term `voice service'--
                            ``(i) means any service that is 
                        interconnected with the public switched 
                        telephone network and that furnishes voice 
                        communications to an end user using resources 
                        from the North American Numbering 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 
                                telephone 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 
                                equipment (commonly known as `CPE') and 
                                permits out-bound calling, whether 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 correctional 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 subsection (e) of 
                section 276 of the Communications 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 communications 
        service'', and ``provider of confinement facility 
        communications services'' have the meanings given such terms in 
        paragraph (7) of subsection (e) of section 276 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this 
        section.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY.

    Section 2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 152(b)) 
is amended by inserting ``section 276,'' after ``227, inclusive,''.
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