Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8008 To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 11, 2020 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Ms. MENG, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. WELCH, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and Mr. VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice is Not For 4 Sale Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8008 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act— 2 (1) the term ‘‘core correctional services’’ means 3 the housing, transporting, safeguarding, protecting, 4 and disciplining of individuals— 5 (A) charged with or convicted of an of- 6 fense; or 7 (B) who are in custody for purposes of en- 8 forcing the immigration laws, as defined in sec- 9 tion 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)); 11 (2) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a city, 12 county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or 13 other general purpose political subdivision of a 14 State; 15 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the 16 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 17 monwealth of Puerto Rico, or another common- 18 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States; 19 and 20 (4) the term ‘‘facility housing adult prisoners or 21 detainees in the custody of a State or local govern- 22 ment’’ includes for-profit civil commitment centers, 23 return to custody units, community corrections and 24 treatment centers, halfway houses and re-entry pro- 25 grams, restitution or day reporting centers, transi- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8008 IH tional centers, mental health facilities, or other fa- 1 cilities or programs that are under contract with a 2 government entity to provide custody, control, super- 3 vision, treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners or 4 detainees. 5 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR PRI- 6 VATELY RUN PRISONS WITHIN 2 YEARS. 7 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 8 subsection (b), not later than 2 years after the date of 9 enactment of this Act— 10 (1) each facility housing adult prisoners or de- 11 tainees in the custody of the Federal Government 12 shall be under the direct, operational control of the 13 Federal Government; and 14 (2) core correctional services at each such facil- 15 ity shall be performed by employees of the Federal 16 Government. 17 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 18 determines that the Federal Government is unable to com- 19 ply with subsection (a) by the date that is 2 years after 20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 21 may waive the application of subsection (a) for not more 22 than 1 year. 23 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER- 24 SONS.—Electronic monitoring of the location of a person 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8008 IH released from the custody of the Federal Government may 1 be conducted only by a public entity under the supervision 2 and control of the Federal Government or a non-profit en- 3 tity that has a contract with the Federal Government to 4 perform such monitoring. 5 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES 6 RUNNING STATE AND LOCAL PRISONS OR DE- 7 TENTION ALTERNATIVES AFTER 2 YEARS. 8 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 9 subsection (b), on and after the date that is 2 years after 10 the date of enactment of this Act— 11 (1) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af- 12 fecting interstate commerce shall own or have direct, 13 operational control over a facility housing adult pris- 14 oners or detainees in the custody of the State or 15 local government; and 16 (2) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af- 17 fecting interstate commerce shall perform core cor- 18 rectional services at such a facility. 19 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 20 determines that a State or local government requires serv- 21 ices from a private for-profit entity that are described in 22 subsection (a) after the date that is 2 years after the date 23 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may waive 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8008 IH the application of subsection (a) as to that private for- 1 profit entity for not more than 1 year. 2 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER- 3 SONS.—No private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 4 interstate commerce may operate electronic monitoring of 5 the location of a person released from the custody of a 6 State or local government. 7 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General may 8 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 9 United States for such declaratory or injunctive relief as 10 is necessary to carry out this section. 11 SEC. 5. CFPB OVERSIGHT OF PROVIDERS OF MONEY 12 TRANSFER SERVICES FOR CORRECTIONAL 13 AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES. 14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 15 (1) the term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of 16 Consumer Financial Protection; 17 (2) the term ‘‘correctional facility’’ means a jail, 18 prison, or other detention facility used to house peo- 19 ple who have been arrested, detained, held, or con- 20 victed by a criminal justice agency or a court; 21 (3) the term ‘‘covered inmate’’ means— 22 (A) an individual who is being held, de- 23 tained, or incarcerated in a correctional facility; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8008 IH (B) an individual who is being held in an 1 immigration detention facility; 2 (4) the term ‘‘covered provider’’ means a pro- 3 vider of a service, including a money transfer serv- 4 ice, that— 5 (A) facilitates the electronic transfer of 6 funds from an individual who is not a covered 7 inmate to a covered inmate; 8 (B) provides a payment to a covered in- 9 mate who is being released from a correctional 10 facility or an immigration detention facility; or 11 (C) provides a payment on behalf of a cov- 12 ered inmate; and 13 (5) the term ‘‘immigration detention facility’’ 14 means a Federal, State, or local government facility, 15 or a privately owned and operated facility, that is 16 used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under 17 the authority of the Director of U.S. Immigration 18 and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that 19 hold such individuals under a contract or agreement 20 with the Department of Homeland Security. 21 (b) REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL FEE OR 22 CHARGE.—The amount of any fee or charge that a cov- 23 ered provider may impose with respect to a service de- 24 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8008 IH (a)(4) shall be reasonable and proportional to the relative 1 cost or value of the service. 2 (c) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau shall 5 issue final rules to establish standards for assessing 6 whether the amount of any fee or charge described 7 in subsection (b) is reasonable and proportional to 8 the relative cost or value of the service provided by 9 a covered provider. 10 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the final 11 rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall con- 12 sider— 13 (A) whether there are alternative means 14 for transferring funds into correctional facilities 15 and immigration detention facilities; 16 (B) whether those alternatives can reason- 17 ably be considered comparable; 18 (C) differing cost structures for transfer- 19 ring funds into correctional facilities and immi- 20 gration detention facilities; and 21 (D) such other factors as the Bureau may 22 determine necessary or appropriate. 23 (3) DIFFERENTIATION PERMITTED.—In issuing 24 the final rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8008 IH establish different standards for different types of 1 fees and charges, as appropriate. 2 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY 3 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 276 of the Communica- 5 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding 6 at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINE- 8 MENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.— 9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All charges, practices, 11 classifications, and regulations for and in con- 12 nection with confinement facility communica- 13 tions services shall be just and reasonable, and 14 any such charge, practice, classification, or reg- 15 ulation that is unjust or unreasonable is de- 16 clared to be unlawful. 17 ‘‘(B) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later 18 than 18 months after the date of the enactment 19 of this subsection, the Commission shall issue 20 rules to adopt, for the provision of confinement 21 facility communications services, rates and an- 22 cillary service charges that are just and reason- 23 able, which shall be the maximum such rates 24 and charges that a provider of confinement fa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8008 IH cility communications services may charge for 1 such services. In determining rates and charges 2 that are just and reasonable, the Commission 3 shall adopt such rates and charges based on the 4 average industry costs of providing such serv- 5 ices using data collected from providers of con- 6 finement facility communications services. 7 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not less fre- 8 quently than every 2 years following the 9 issuance of rules under subparagraph (B), the 10 Commission shall— 11 ‘‘(i) determine whether the rates and 12 ancillary service charges authorized by the 13 rules issued under such subparagraph re- 14 main just and reasonable; and 15 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines 16 under clause (i) that any such rate or 17 charge does not remain just and reason- 18 able, revise such rules so that such rate or 19 charge is just and reasonable. 20 ‘‘(2) INTERIM RATE CAPS.—Until the Commis- 21 sion issues the rules required by paragraph (1)(B), 22 a provider of confinement facility communications 23 services may not charge a rate for any voice service 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8008 IH communication using confinement facility commu- 1 nications services that exceeds the following: 2 ‘‘(A) For debit calling or prepaid calling, 3 $0.04 per minute. 4 ‘‘(B) For collect calling, $0.05 per minute. 5 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT ON PER-MINUTE BASIS.—Ex- 6 cept as provided in paragraph (4), a provider of con- 7 finement facility communications services— 8 ‘‘(A) shall assess all charges for a commu- 9 nication using such services on a per-minute 10 basis for the actual duration of the communica- 11 tion, measured from communication acceptance 12 to termination, rounded up to the next full 13 minute, except in the case of charges for serv- 14 ices that the confinement facility offers free of 15 charge or for amounts below the amounts per- 16 mitted under this subsection; and 17 ‘‘(B) may not charge a per-communication 18 or per-connection charge for a communication 19 using such services. 20 ‘‘(4) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGES.— 21 ‘‘(A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A provider 22 of confinement facility communications services 23 may not charge an ancillary service charge 24 other than— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8008 IH ‘‘(i) if the Commission has not yet 1 issued the rules required by paragraph 2 (1)(B), a charge listed in subparagraph 3 (B) of this paragraph; or 4 ‘‘(ii) a charge authorized by the rules 5 adopted by the Commission under para- 6 graph (1). 7 ‘‘(B) PERMITTED CHARGES AND RATES.— 8 If the Commission has not yet issued the rules 9 required by paragraph (1)(B), a provider of 10 confinement facility communications services 11 may not charge a rate for an ancillary service 12 charge in excess of the following: 13 ‘‘(i) In the case of an automated pay- 14 ment fee, 2.9 percent of the total charge 15 on which the fee is assessed. 16 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a fee for single-call 17 and related services, the exact transaction 18 fee charged by the third-party provider, 19 with no markup. 20 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a live agent fee, 21 $5.95 per use. 22 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a paper bill or 23 statement fee, $2 per use. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:27 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8008.IH H8008 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8008 IH ‘‘(v) In the case of a third-party fi- 1 nancial transaction fee, the exact fee, with 2 no markup, charged by the third party for 3 the transaction. 4 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON SITE COMMISSIONS.—A 5 provider of confinement facility communications 6 services may not assess a site commission. 7 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—A State 8 or political subdivision of a State may not enforce 9 any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provi- 10 sion having the force or effect of law relating to con- 11 finement facility communications services that allows 12 for higher rates [Text truncated for display. 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