,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ddce  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bc1      
#bjbd,mr4 ,booker 7for himself and ,ms4 
,warren7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and 
,transportation  ,a ,,bill  ,to limit   
and eliminate excessive1 hidden1 and    
unnecessary fees imposed on incarcerated
 individuals and their families1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,families     
,over ,fees ,act of #bjbd4  #b4         
,protecting ,consumers ,against         
,excessive and ,hidden ,fees  7a7 ,in   
general  7#a7 ,hidden fees ,a covered   
entity shall clearly and conspicuously  
display the total price 7inclusive of   
any mandatory fees7 of any good or      
service provided by the covered entity--
 7,a7 in each advertisement for the good
 or service to a consumer2 or  7,b7     
whenever presenting the price of such   
good or service to a consumer4  7#b7    

,excessive fees  7,a7 ,in general ,a    
covered entity may not advertise or     
charge to a consumer any mandatory fees 
that are excessive with respect to any  
good or service provided by the covered 
entity4  7,b7 ,considerations ,in       
determining whether a mandatory fee     
advertised by or charged to a consumer  
by a covered entity is excessive1 the   
,commission shall consider-- 7i7 whether
 the fee is reasonable and proportional 
to the cost of the good or service      
provided by the covered entity2  7ii7   
the reason for which the covered entity 
charges such fee2  7iii7 the cost of a  
similar good or service provided to     
individuals who are not incarcerated2   
and  7iv7 the degree of available       
consumer choice for the good or service1
 including whether there are viable     
alternatives available that provide the 
consumer with the opportunity to avoid  
an excessive fee4  7#c7 ,early          
termination ,a covered entity may not   
advertise or charge to a consumer any   

mandatory fees that are excessive for   
the early termination of a contract for 
any good or service provided by the     
covered entity4  7#d7 ,refunds ,a       
covered entity shall-- 7,a7 clearly and 
conspicuously disclose any guarantee or 
refund policy prior to the completion of
 a transaction by a consumer2 and  7,b7 
in the event of a request by a consumer 
for a refund1 provide to the consumer a 
refund in the amount of the total cost  
7including any mandatory fees7 of the   
good or service provided by the covered 
entity or any good or service that is   
undelivered or defective4  7#e7 ,rule of
 construction ,nothing in this          
subsection shall apply to any-- 7,a7    
tax1 duty1 or custom levied by any      
local1 ,state1 ,federal1 or other       
governmental entity2 or  7,b7 fee       
covering the cost of delivery of goods1 
the amount of which is based upon the   
delivery method selected by the         
consumer1 so long as the covered entity 
discloses the amount of the delivery fee

 prior to accepting payment from the    
consumer4  7b7 ,enforcement  7#a7       
,enforcement by the ,commission  7,a7   
,unfair or deceptive acts or practices  
,a violation of this section or a       
regulation promulgated thereunder shall 
be treated as a violation of a rule     
defining an unfair or deceptive act or  
practice under section #ah7;a77#a77;,b7 
of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 
7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #eg;a7a77#a77;,b774  7,b7
 ,powers of the ,commission  7i7 ,in    
general ,the ,commission shall enforce  
this section in the same manner1 by the 
same means1 and with the same           
jurisdiction1 powers1 and duties as     
though all applicable terms and         
provisions of the ,federal ,trade       
,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #da et  
seq47 were incorporated into and made a 
part of this section4  7ii7 ,privileges 
and immunities ,any person who violates 
this section or a regulation promulgated
 thereunder shall be subject to the     
penalties and entitled to the privileges

 and immunities provided in the ,federal
 ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 
#da et seq474  7iii7 ,authority         
preserved ,nothing in this section shall
 be construed to limit the authority of 
the ,commission under any other         
provision of law4  7iv7 ,rulemaking ,the
 ,commission may promulgate in          
accordance with section #eec of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code1 such rules as
 may be necessary to carry out this     
section4  7,c7 ,notice to ,states       
,whenever the ,commission has brought an
 action for a violation of this ,act and
 has reason to believe that the attorney
 general of a ,state1 ,territory1 or the
 ,district of ,columbia would be        
entitled to bring an action under this  
,act based substantially on the same    
alleged violation1 the ,commission shall
 promptly give written notification     
thereof to such attorney general4  7#b7 
,enforcement by the ,states  7,a7 ,in   
general ,if the attorney general of a   
,state has reason to believe that a     

covered entity has violated or is       
violating this section or a regulation  
promulgated thereunder that affects the 
residents of that ,state1 the ,state1 as
 parens patriae1 may bring a civil      
action in any appropriate district court
 of the ,united ,states1 to-- 7i7 enjoin
 any further violation by the covered   
entity2  7ii7 enforce compliance with   
this section or such regulation2  7iii7 
obtain other remedies permitted under   
,state law2 and  7iv7 obtain damages1   
restitution1 or other compensation on   
behalf of residents of the ,state4  7,b7
 ,notice ,the attorney general of a     
,state shall provide prior written      
notice of any action under subparagraph 
7,a7 to the ,commission and provide the 
,commission with a copy of the complaint
 in the action1 except in any case in   
which such prior notice is not feasible1
 in which case the attorney general     
shall serve such notice immediately upon
 instituting such action4  7,c7         
,intervention by the ,commission ,upon  

receiving notice under subparagraph     
7,b71 the ,commission shall have the    
right-- 7i7 to intervene in the action2 
7ii7 upon so intervening1 to be heard on
 all matters arising therein2 and  7iii7
 to file petitions for appeal4  7,d7    
,limitation on ,state action while      
,federal action is pending ,if the      
,commission has instituted a civil      
action for a violation of this section  
or a regulation promulgated thereunder1 
no ,state attorney general1 or official 
or agency of a ,state1 may bring a      
separate action under subparagraph 7,a7 
during the pendency of that action      
against any defendant named in the      
complaint of the ,commission for any    
violation of this section or a          
regulation promulgated thereunder that  
is alleged in the complaint4  7,e7      
,venue2 service of process  7i7 ,venue  
,any action brought under subparagraph  
7,a7 may be brought in the district     
court of the ,united ,states that meets 
applicable requirements relating to     

venue under section #acia of title #bh1 
,united ,states ,code4  7ii7 ,service of
 process ,in an action brought under    
subparagraph 7,a71 process may be served
 in any district in which the           
defendant-- 7,i7 is an inhabitant2 or   
7,,ii7 may be found4  7,f7 ,rule of     
construction ,for purposes of bringing a
 civil action under subparagraph 7,a71  
nothing in this section shall be        
construed to prevent the chief law      
enforcement officer or official or      
agency of a ,state1 from exercising the 
powers conferred on such chief law      
enforcement officer or official or      
agency of a ,state1 by the laws of the  
,state to conduct investigations1       
administer oaths or affirmations1 or    
compel the attendance of witnesses or   
the production of documentary and other 
evidence4  7#c7 ,private right of action
  7,a7 ,in general ,an individual who is
 injured by a violation of this ,act or 
any regulation promulgated thereunder   
may bring a civil action in a district  

court of the ,united ,states to-- 7i7   
obtain damages1 restitution1 or other   
compensation2  7ii7 injunctive or       
declaratory relief2  7iii7 attorney's   
fees and litigation costs2 and  7iv7 any
 other relief the court deems proper4   
7,b7 ,venue ,in a civil action brought  
under subparagraph 7,a71 the venue shall
 be-- 7i7 a ,federal judicial district  
in which the defendant is found1 is an  
inhabitant1 or transacts business2 or   
7ii7 wherever venue is proper under     
section #acia of title #bh1 ,united     
,states ,code4  7,c7 ,class actions ,an 
individual entitled to bring an action  
under this paragraph may bring such     
action as a representative or class     
action under rule #bc of the ,federal   
,rules of ,civil ,procedure or any other
 provision of law4  7,d7 ,statute of    
limitations ,an action for a violation  
of this ,act may be commenced not later 
than the later of #d years after the    
date on which-- 7i7 the violation       
occurs2 or  7ii7 the violation is       

discovered or should have been          
discovered through exercise of          
reasonable diligence4  7,e7 ,no         
arbitration agreement or waiver ,no     
pre-dispute arbitration agreement or    
pre-dispute joint-action waiver shall be
 valid or enforceable with respect to a 
dispute arising under this ,act4 ,any   
determination as to the scope or manner 
of applicability of this section shall  
be made by a court1 rather than an      
arbitrator1 without regard to whether   
such agreement purports to delegate such
 determination to an arbitrator4  7,f7  
,rule of construction ,any rights       
provided under this subsection are in   
addition to1 and not in lieu of1 any    
other rights or remedies provided by    
,state or ,federal law4  7c7            
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,commission ,the term ,commission means 
the ,federal ,trade ,commission4  7#b7  
,consumer ,the term consumer means--    
7,a7 an incarcerated individual who     
seeks or acquires1 by purchase or lease1

 any goods or services from a covered   
entity for personal1 family1 or         
household purposes2 or  7,b7 an         
individual seeking or acquiring such    
goods or services from a covered entity 
for the benefit of or in relation to an 
incarcerated individual4  7#c7          
,correctional facility ,the term        
correctional facility means a jail1     
prison1 immigration detention center1   
juvenile detention center1 or other     
facility used to house individuals who  
are accused of1 convicted of1 sentenced 
for1 or adjudicated delinquent for1     
violations of law or the terms and      
conditions of parole1 probation1        
pretrial release1 or a diversionary     
program4  7#d7 ,covered entity ,the term
 covered entity means an entity that    
knowingly provides goods or services1   
for compensation1 to consumers within a 
correctional facility or in connection  
to a consumer's release from a          
correctional facility4  7#e7 ,good ,the 
term good means any ware1 product1      

commodity1 merchandise1 or article sold 
or offered for sale in or affecting     
interstate commerce4  7#f7 ,incarcerated
 individual ,the term incarcerated      
individual means an individual housed at
 a correctional facility4  7#g7         
,mandatory fee ,the term mandatory fee  
means-- 7,a7 any fee or surcharge that a
 consumer is required to pay to purchase
 or use a good or service2 or  7,b7 a   
fee or surcharge that is not reasonably 
avoidable by a consumer4  7#h7          
,pre-dispute arbitration agreement ,the 
term pre-dispute arbitration agreement  
means an agreement to arbitrate a       
dispute that has not yet arisen at the  
time of the making of the agreement4    
7#i7 ,pre-dispute joint-action waiver   
,the term pre-dispute joint-action      
waiver means an agreement1 whether or   
not part of a pre-dispute arbitration   
agreement1 that would prohibit or waive 
the right of any or all of the parties  
to the agreement to participate in a    
joint1 class1 or collective action in a 

judicial1 arbitral1 administrative1 or  
other forum1 concerning a dispute that  
has not yet arisen at the time of the   
making of the agreement4  7#aj7 ,service
  7,a7 ,in general ,the term service    
means work or labor bought primarily for
 personal1 family1 or household         
purposes1 including-- 7i7 consumer      
financial services 7as defined in       
section #ajjb of the ,consumer          
,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj    
7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #edha772 and  7ii7       
services furnished in connection with   
the sale of goods in or affecting       
interstate commerce4  7,b7 ,exclusions  
,the term service shall not include3 7i7
 any service described in section       
#bgf7;d7 of the ,communications ,act of 
#aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bgf7;d772 or  7ii7
 market-dominant products offered by the
 ,united ,states ,postal ,service under 
subchapter ,i of chapter #cf of title   
#ci1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#aa7      
,state ,the term ,state means the #ej   
,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and

 any territory or possession of the     
,united ,states4  7#ab7 ,transaction    
,the term transaction means an agreement
 between a consumer and a covered       
entity1 whether or not the agreement is 
a contract enforceable by action1 and   
includes the making of1 and the         
performance pursuant to1 such agreement4
  7d7 ,severability ,if any provision of
 this section1 or the application of    
such provision to any person or         
circumstance1 is held to be             
unconstitutional1 the remainder of this 
section1 and the application of the     
provisions of such section to any person
 or circumstance1 shall not be affected4