H.R. 3577

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3577 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3577

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

May 23, 2025

Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. Balderson) 
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 Act'' or the ``END 
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.
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