,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #afad  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bj1     
#bjag,ms4 ,duckworth introduced the     
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide for  
the regulation of video visitation      
services and inmate calling services by 
the ,federal ,communications ,commission
 generally1 to establish criteria for   
the provision of video visitation       
services by the ,bureau of ,prisons1 and
 for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,video   
,visitation and ,inmate ,calling in     
,prisons ,act of #bjag4  #b4 ,,fcc      
regulation of video visitation service  
and inmate calling service  7a7         
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,ancillary service charge ,the term     
ancillary service charge means any      
charge that a consumer may be assessed  
for the use of inmate calling services  
that is not included in the per-minute  

charges assessed for the individual     
call4  7#b7 ,call ,the term call-- 7,a7 
means a voice or video call using a     
covered service2 and  7,b7 includes any 
other session of use that is similar to 
a telephone call4  7#c7 ,commission ,the
 term ,commission means the ,federal    
,communications ,commission4  7#d7      
,consumer ,the term consumer means the  
party paying a provider of inmate       
calling services4  7#e7 ,correctional   
facility ,the term correctional facility
 means a jail or prison4  7#f7 ,covered 
service ,the term covered service means 
an inmate calling service or a video    
visitation service4  7#g7 ,inmate ,the  
term inmate means an individual detained
 in a correctional facility1 regardless 
of the duration of the detention4  7#h7 
,inmate calling service ,the term inmate
 calling service means a service that   
allows inmates to make calls to         
individuals outside the correctional    
facility where the inmate is detained1  
regardless of the technology used to    

deliver the service4  7#i7 ,site        
,commission ,the term site commission   
means any form of monetary payment1     
in-kind payment1 gift1 exchange of      
services or goods1 fee1 technology      
allowance1 or product that a provider of
 inmate calling services or affiliate of
 such a provider may pay1 give1 donate1 
or otherwise provide to--  7,a7 an      
entity that operates a correctional     
institution2  7,b7 an entity with which 
the provider of inmate calling services 
enters into an agreement to provide such
 services2  7,c7 an agency that oversees
 a correctional facility2  7,d7 the     
city1 county1 or ,state in which a      
correctional facility is located2 or    
7,e7 an agent of any such correctional  
facility4  7#aj7 ,video visitation      
service ,the term video visitation      
service means a service that allows     
inmates to make video calls to          
individuals outside the correctional    
facility where the inmate is being held1
 regardless of the technology used to   

deliver the service4 ,a video visitation
 service may be classified as an inmate 
calling service1 as the ,commission     
considers appropriate4  7b7 ,regulations
 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
date of enactment of this ,act1 the     
,commission shall--  7#a7 promulgate    
regulations with respect to video       
visitation service2 and  7#b7 amend the 
regulations of the ,commission with     
respect to inmate calling service 7as   
necessary71 to ensure that all charges1 
practices1 classifications1 and         
regulations for and in connection with  
video visitation service and inmate     
calling service are just and reasonable4
  7c7 ,requirements for regulations ,the
 regulations promulgated under          
subsection 7b7 shall include the        
following3 7#a7 ,video visitation       
services may be used only to supplement1
 not supplant1 in-person visitation4    
7#b7 ,caps on the rates 7and any related
 fees or charges7 that a provider of a  
covered service may charge for such     

service4  7#c7 ,a prohibition against a 
provider of a covered service charging a
 flat rate for a call1 regardless of the
 duration of the call4  7#d7 ,a         
prohibition against a provider of a     
covered service requiring a correctional
 facility to restrict in-person         
visitation as a condition of providing  
such service in such facility4  7#e7 ,a 
requirement that a provider of a covered
 service certify annually to the        
,commission that such provider is in    
compliance with the prohibition under   
paragraph 7#d74  7#f7 ,a requirement    
that the provider of a covered service  
submit an annual report to the          
,commission regarding interstate1       
intrastate1 and international inmate    
calling services for the prior calendar 
year1 which shall--  7,a7 be categorized
 both by facility type and size2 and    
7,b7 contain--  7i7 current interstate1 
intrastate1 and international rates for 
inmate calling services2  7ii7 current  
ancillary service charge amounts and the

 instances of use of each2  7iii7 the   
monthly amount of each site commission  
paid2  7iv7 minutes of use1 per-minute  
rates1 and ancillary service charges for
 video visitation services2  7v7 the    
number of ,,tty-based inmate calling    
services calls provided per facility    
during the reporting period2  7vi7 the  
number of dropped calls the reporting   
provider experienced with ,,tty-based   
calls2 and  7vii7 the number of         
complaints that the reporting provider  
received relating to issues such as     
dropped calls1 poor call quality1 and   
the number of incidences of each by     
,,tty and telecommunications relay      
service 7,,trs7 users4  7#g7 ,a         
prohibition against a provider of a     
covered service offering or entering    
into an agreement to provide a covered  
service as part of a bundle of services 
that includes any service that is not a 
communications service4  7#h7           
,requirements for the offering or       
entering into an agreement to provide a 

covered service as part of a bundle of  
services that ensure that correctional  
facilities are able to review each      
service separately during the request   
for proposals process4  7#i7 ,with      
respect to video visitation service1    
quality standards that are the best     
commercially available for effective    
human communication by video1 which     
shall be developed by the ,commission   
after seeking comments that review the  
academic literature regarding the       
appropriate thresholds for effective    
human communication by video4  7d7      
,applicability  7#a7 ,in general ,the   
regulations promulgated under subsection
 7b7 shall apply to interstate service1 
intrastate service1 and international   
service4  7#b7 ,different requirements  
,in promulgating regulations under      
subsection 7b71 the ,commission may     
provide for different requirements for  
interstate service1 intrastate service1 
and international service4  #c4 ,bureau 
of ,prisons ,oversight  7a7 ,in general 

,chapter #cja of title #ah1 ,united     
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following3  #djae4 ,video   
visitation  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,director of the ,bureau of ,prisons    
shall take such actions as may be       
necessary to ensure that1 in the case of
 any prisoner in the custody of the     
,bureau of ,prisons1 video visitation   
services are available subject to the   
following3  7#a7 ,video visitation      
services may be used only to supplement1
 not supplant1 in-person visitation4    
7#b7 ,any equipment or area made        
available for purposes of video         
visitation shall maximize privacy to the
 extent practicable1 and shall include  
measures to ensure the operability of   
the equipment by visitors1 including    
children4  7#c7 ,in entering into any   
agreement to provide covered services1  
the ,director-- 7,a7 shall give priority
 to bids submitted that require the     
purchase of equipment for video         
visitation2  7,b7 may not enter into any

 agreement including a term providing   
for-- 7i7 any services other than those 
that are minimally required by the      
,director2  7ii7 any authority to a     
person other than a corrections officer 
to make a determination that affects the
 terms of a prisoner's imprisonment1    
including visitation schedules or       
ability of a person to move about within
 a correctional facility2 or  7iii7 a   
covered service as part of a bundle of  
services that includes any service that 
is not a covered service2 and  7,c7 may 
not enter into any agreement that does  
not include terms requiring-- 7i7 that  
the service provider provide a list of  
each video visitation and each          
individual fee charged to the visitor   
and the prisoner2  7ii7 that the service
 provider offer a minimum number of free
 visits each month based on good        
behavior 7as determined by the head of  
the correctional facility wherein the   
service is provided72 and  7iii7 that   
the service provider submit quarterly   

reports including such information as   
the ,director may require to ensure     
compliance with the terms of this       
section4  7b7 ,definition ,in this      
section1 terms used have the meanings   
given such terms in section #b of the   
,video ,visitation and ,inmate ,calling 
in ,prisons ,act of #bjag1 except that1 
for purposes of this section1 the term  
video visitation service includes a     
service that allows the use of          
videoconferencing or analog closed      
circuit television systems and software 
to allow inmates and visitors to visit  
at a distance with an inmate in a       
correctional facility4  4  7b7 ,table of
 sections ,the table of sections for    
chapter #cja of title #ah1 ,united      
,states ,code1 is amended by inserting  
after the item relating to section #djad
 the following3  #djae4 ,video          
visitation4  4