Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017
Official Titles
Official Titles - Senate
Official Titles as Introduced
A bill to provide for the regulation of video visitation services and inmate calling services by the Federal Communications Commission generally, to establish criteria for the provision of video visitation services by the Bureau of Prisons, and for other purposes.
Actions Overview (1)
Date
Actions Overview
07/20/2017
Introduced in Senate
07/20/2017 Introduced in Senate
All Actions (1)
Date
All Actions
07/20/2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Action By: Senate
07/20/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Cosponsors (0)
No cosponsors.
Committees (1)
Committees, subcommittees and links to reports associated with this bill are listed here, as well as the nature and date of committee activity and Congressional report number.
Committee / Subcommittee
Date
Activity
Related Documents
Senate Judiciary
07/20/2017
Referred to
Related Bills (0)
No related bill information was received for S.1614.
Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations for video visitation services that allow inmates to make video calls to individuals outside a correctional facility, and amend its regulations on inmate calling services as necessary to ensure that all charges and practices are just and reasonable.
The regulations must include:
video visitation cannot replace in-person visits;
caps on rates charged by service providers;
a prohibition against charging flat rates;
a prohibition against a provider requiring a correctional facility to restrict in-person visitation as a condition to providing a calling or video visitation service;
a requirement for a provider to submit an annual report about interstate, intrastate, and international inmate calling services;
a prohibition against the provider offering bundled services that include non-communications services; and
video quality standards.
The federal criminal code is amended to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that:
video visitation does not supplant in-person visitation;
privacy is maximized in the video areas and equipment;
no persons other than corrections officers have authority over the terms of a prisoner's imprisonment, including visitation schedules or the ability to move within a correctional facility; and
service providers provide a list of each video visitation and each fee charged to visitors and prisoners, offer free visits based on good behavior if authorized by the correctional facility, and submit quarterly compliance reports.
All Summaries (1)
Shown Here: Introduced in Senate (07/20/2017)
Video Visitation and Inmate Calling in Prisons Act of 2017
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations for video visitation services that allow inmates to make video calls to individuals outside a correctional facility, and amend its regulations on inmate calling services as necessary to ensure that all charges and practices are just and reasonable.
The regulations must include:
video visitation cannot replace in-person visits;
caps on rates charged by service providers;
a prohibition against charging flat rates;
a prohibition against a provider requiring a correctional facility to restrict in-person visitation as a condition to providing a calling or video visitation service;
a requirement for a provider to submit an annual report about interstate, intrastate, and international inmate calling services;
a prohibition against the provider offering bundled services that include non-communications services; and
video quality standards.
The federal criminal code is amended to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that:
video visitation does not supplant in-person visitation;
privacy is maximized in the video areas and equipment;
no persons other than corrections officers have authority over the terms of a prisoner's imprisonment, including visitation schedules or the ability to move within a correctional facility; and
service providers provide a list of each video visitation and each fee charged to visitors and prisoners, offer free visits based on good behavior if authorized by the correctional facility, and submit quarterly compliance reports.
