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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3949 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3949
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for additional
prohibitions and enhanced penalties for providing or possessing
wireless communications devices in detention facilities, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2023
Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Dunn of Florida, Mr. Carter of Georgia,
Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. Walberg) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for additional
prohibitions and enhanced penalties for providing or possessing
wireless communications devices in detention facilities, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminate Non-approved Devices and
Contraband Electronics Limiting Links to Society in Confined
Environments for Longer Lasting Safety Act'' or the ``END CELLS in
CELLS Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
Title V of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 501 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 512. PROVIDING OR POSSESSING WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES IN
DETENTION FACILITIES.
``(a) Prohibited Acts.--It shall be unlawful for any person--
``(1) in violation of any Federal or State statute or rule,
or order issued under such statute or rule, to provide or
attempt to provide to a person held in a detention facility a
wireless communications device;
``(2) to willfully and knowingly facilitate the
introduction, in violation of any Federal or State statute or
rule, or order issued under such statute or rule, of a wireless
communications device into a detention facility; or
``(3) being a person held in a detention facility, to
possess or obtain, or attempt to obtain, a wireless
communications device in violation of a Federal or State
statute or rule, or order issued under such statute or rule.
``(b) Penalties.--
``(1) Civil forfeiture.--
``(A) Amount.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of
section 503(b), the amount of any forfeiture penalty
determined or imposed under such section for a
violation of subsection (a) shall not exceed $50,000
for each violation or each day of a continuing
violation, except that the amount assessed for any
continuing violation shall not exceed a total of
$1,000,000 for any single act or failure to act.
``(B) No citation required.--Paragraph (5) of
section 503(b) shall not apply in the case of a
violation of subsection (a).
``(C) 2-year statute of limitations.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (6) of section 503(b), no
forfeiture penalty for violation of subsection (a)
shall be determined or imposed against any person if
the violation charged occurred more than 2 years prior
to the date of issuance of the notice required by
paragraph (3) of section 503(b) or the notice of
apparent liability required by paragraph (4) of section
503(b) (as the case may be).
``(2) Criminal fine.--Any person who willfully and
knowingly violates subsection (a) shall upon conviction thereof
be fined not more than $50,000 for each violation, in lieu of
the fine provided by section 501 for such a violation. Nothing
in this section shall be construed to supersede the provisions
of section 501 relating to imprisonment or the imposition of a
penalty of both fine and imprisonment.
``(c) Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to--
``(1) prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative,
protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement
agency of the United States, a State, or a political
subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the
United States; or
``(2) prevent the chief legal officer, or any other
officer, of a State from exercising the powers conferred on
such officer by the laws of such State to enforce State law,
including punishing those found guilty of violating State law.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Detention facility.--The term `detention facility'
means a correctional, detention, or penal facility located
within the United States.
``(2) Wireless communications device.--The term `wireless
communications device' means--
``(A) a device that enables the user to send or
receive a radio communication, regardless of whether a
license from the Commission is required for the use or
operation of such device; or
``(B) a component that provides identification or
authentication to enable a device described in
subparagraph (A) to connect to a communications
network.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to conduct
that occurs after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
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