Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 994 To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LEE of Cali- fornia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MENG, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CARSON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. POCAN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. JONES, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BASS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. WELCH, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Ms. ESCOBAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 994 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice is Not For 2 Sale Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act— 5 (1) the term ‘‘core correctional services’’ means 6 the housing, transporting, safeguarding, protecting, 7 and disciplining of individuals— 8 (A) charged with or convicted of an of- 9 fense; or 10 (B) who are in custody for purposes of en- 11 forcing the immigration laws, as defined in sec- 12 tion 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)); 14 (2) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a city, 15 county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or 16 other general purpose political subdivision of a 17 State; 18 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the 19 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 20 monwealth of Puerto Rico, or another common- 21 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States; 22 and 23 (4) the term ‘‘facility housing adult prisoners or 24 detainees in the custody of a State or local govern- 25 ment’’ includes for-profit civil commitment centers, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 994 IH return to custody units, community corrections and 1 treatment centers, halfway houses and re-entry pro- 2 grams, restitution or day reporting centers, transi- 3 tional centers, mental health facilities, or other fa- 4 cilities or programs that are under contract with a 5 government entity to provide custody, control, super- 6 vision, treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners or 7 detainees. 8 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR PRI- 9 VATELY RUN PRISONS WITHIN 2 YEARS. 10 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 11 subsection (b), not later than 2 years after the date of 12 enactment of this Act— 13 (1) each facility housing adult prisoners or de- 14 tainees in the custody of the Federal Government 15 shall be under the direct, operational control of the 16 Federal Government; and 17 (2) core correctional services at each such facil- 18 ity shall be performed by employees of the Federal 19 Government. 20 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 21 determines that the Federal Government is unable to com- 22 ply with subsection (a) by the date that is 2 years after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 994 IH may waive the application of subsection (a) for not more 1 than 1 year. 2 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER- 3 SONS.—Electronic monitoring of the location of a person 4 released from the custody of the Federal Government may 5 be conducted only by a public entity under the supervision 6 and control of the Federal Government or a non-profit en- 7 tity that has a contract with the Federal Government to 8 perform such monitoring. 9 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES 10 RUNNING STATE AND LOCAL PRISONS OR DE- 11 TENTION ALTERNATIVES AFTER 2 YEARS. 12 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 13 subsection (b), on and after the date that is 2 years after 14 the date of enactment of this Act— 15 (1) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af- 16 fecting interstate commerce shall own or have direct, 17 operational control over a facility housing adult pris- 18 oners or detainees in the custody of the State or 19 local government; and 20 (2) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af- 21 fecting interstate commerce shall perform core cor- 22 rectional services at such a facility. 23 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 24 determines that a State or local government requires serv- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 994 IH ices from a private for-profit entity that are described in 1 subsection (a) after the date that is 2 years after the date 2 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may waive 3 the application of subsection (a) as to that private for- 4 profit entity for not more than 1 year. 5 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER- 6 SONS.—No private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 7 interstate commerce may operate electronic monitoring of 8 the location of a person released from the custody of a 9 State or local government. 10 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General may 11 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 12 United States for such declaratory or injunctive relief as 13 is necessary to carry out this section. 14 SEC. 5. CFPB OVERSIGHT OF PROVIDERS OF MONEY 15 TRANSFER SERVICES FOR CORRECTIONAL 16 AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES. 17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 18 (1) the term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of 19 Consumer Financial Protection; 20 (2) the term ‘‘correctional facility’’ means a jail, 21 prison, or other detention facility used to house peo- 22 ple who have been arrested, detained, held, or con- 23 victed by a criminal justice agency or a court; 24 (3) the term ‘‘covered inmate’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 994 IH (A) an individual who is being held, de- 1 tained, or incarcerated in a correctional facility; 2 and 3 (B) an individual who is being held in an 4 immigration detention facility; 5 (4) the term ‘‘covered provider’’ means a pro- 6 vider of a service, including a money transfer serv- 7 ice, that— 8 (A) facilitates the electronic transfer of 9 funds from an individual who is not a covered 10 inmate to a covered inmate; 11 (B) provides a payment to a covered in- 12 mate who is being released from a correctional 13 facility or an immigration detention facility; or 14 (C) provides a payment on behalf of a cov- 15 ered inmate; and 16 (5) the term ‘‘immigration detention facility’’ 17 means a Federal, State, or local government facility, 18 or a privately owned and operated facility, that is 19 used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under 20 the authority of the Director of U.S. Immigration 21 and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that 22 hold such individuals under a contract or agreement 23 with the Department of Homeland Security. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 994 IH (b) REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL FEE OR 1 CHARGE.—The amount of any fee or charge that a cov- 2 ered provider may impose with respect to a service de- 3 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection 4 (a)(4) shall be reasonable and proportional to the relative 5 cost or value of the service. 6 (c) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau shall 9 issue final rules to establish standards for assessing 10 whether the amount of any fee or charge described 11 in subsection (b) is reasonable and proportional to 12 the relative cost or value of the service provided by 13 a covered provider. 14 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the final 15 rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall con- 16 sider— 17 (A) whether there are alternative means 18 for transferring funds into correctional facilities 19 and immigration detention facilities; 20 (B) whether those alternatives can reason- 21 ably be considered comparable; 22 (C) differing cost structures for transfer- 23 ring funds into correctional facilities and immi- 24 gration detention facilities; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 994 IH (D) such other factors as the Bureau may 1 determine necessary or appropriate. 2 (3) DIFFERENTIATION PERMITTED.—In issuing 3 the final rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau may 4 establish different standards for different types of 5 fees and charges, as appropriate. 6 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY 7 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 276 of the Communica- 9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding 10 at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINE- 12 MENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.— 13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All charges, practices, 15 classifications, and regulations for and in con- 16 nection with confinement facility communica- 17 tions services shall be just and reasonable, and 18 any such charge, practice, classification, or reg- 19 ulation that is unjust or unreasonable is de- 20 clared to be unlawful. 21 ‘‘(B) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later 22 than 18 months after the date of the enactment 23 of this subsection, the Commission shall issue 24 rules to adopt, for the provision of confinement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 994 IH facility communications services, rates and an- 1 cillary service charges that are just and reason- 2 able, which shall be the maximum such rates 3 and charges that a provider of confinement fa- 4 cility communications services may charge for 5 such services. In determining rates and charges 6 that are just and reasonable, the Commission 7 shall adopt such rates and charges based on the 8 average industry costs of providing such serv- 9 ices using data collected from providers of con- 10 finement facility communications services. 11 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not less fre- 12 quently than every 2 years following the 13 issuance of rules under subparagraph (B), the 14 Commission shall— 15 ‘‘(i) determine whether the rates and 16 ancillary service charges authorized by the 17 rules issued under such subparagraph re- 18 main just and reasonable; and 19 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines 20 under clause (i) that any such rate or 21 charge does not remain just and reason- 22 able, revise such rules so that such rate or 23 charge is just and reasonable. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 994 IH ‘‘(2) INTERIM RATE CAPS.—Until the Commis- 1 sion issues the rules required by paragraph (1)(B), 2 a provider of confinement facility communications 3 services may not charge a rate for any voice service 4 communication using confinement facility commu- 5 nications services that exceeds the following: 6 ‘‘(A) For debit calling or prepaid calling, 7 $0.04 per minute. 8 ‘‘(B) For collect calling, $0.05 per minute. 9 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT ON PER-MINUTE BASIS.—Ex- 10 cept as provided in paragraph (4), a provider of con- 11 finement facility communications services— 12 ‘‘(A) shall assess all charges for a commu- 13 nication using such services on a per-minute 14 basis for the actual duration of the communica- 15 tion, measured from communication acceptance 16 to termination, rounded up to the next full 17 minute, except in the case of charges for serv- 18 ices that the confinement facility offers free of 19 charge or for amounts below the amounts per- 20 mitted under this subsection; and 21 ‘‘(B) may not charge a per-communication 22 or per-connection charge for a communication 23 using such services. 24 ‘‘(4) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 994 IH ‘‘(A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A provider 1 of confinement facility communications services 2 may not charge an ancillary service charge 3 other than— 4 ‘‘(i) if the Commission has not yet 5 issued the rules required by paragraph 6 (1)(B), a charge listed in subparagraph 7 (B) of this paragraph; or 8 ‘‘(ii) a charge authorized by the rules 9 adopted by the Commission under para- 10 graph (1). 11 ‘‘(B) PERMITTED CHARGES AND RATES.— 12 If the Commission has not yet issued the rules 13 required by paragraph (1)(B), a provider of 14 confinement facility communications services 15 may not charge a rate for an ancillary service 16 charge in excess of the following: 17 ‘‘(i) In the case of an automated pay- 18 ment fee, 2.9 percent of the total charge 19 on which the fee is assessed. 20 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a fee for single-call 21 and related services, the exact transaction 22 fee charged by the third-party provider, 23 with no markup. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H994.IH H994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 994 IH ‘‘(iii) In the case of a live agent fee, 1 $5.95 per use. 2 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a paper bill or 3 statement fee, $2 per use. 4 ‘‘(v) In the case of a third-party fi- 5 nancial transaction fee, the exact fee, with 6 no markup, charged by the third party for 7 the transaction. 8 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON SITE COMMISSIONS.—A 9 provider of confinement facility communications 10 services may not assess a site commission. 11 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—A State 12 or political subdivision of a State may not enforce 13 any l [Text truncated for display. 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