§ 64.6000 - Definitions.

§ 64.6000 Definitions.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 77362, Sept. 20, 2024.

As used in this subpart:

(a) Ancillary Service Charge means any charge Consumers may be assessed for, or in connection with, the interstate or international use of Inmate Calling Services that are not included in the per-minute charges assessed for such individual calls. Ancillary Service Charges that may be assessed are limited only to those listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (5) of this section. All other Ancillary Service Charges are prohibited. For purposes of this definition, “interstate” includes any Jurisdictionally Mixed Charge, as defined in paragraph (u) of this section.

(1) Automated Payment Fees means credit card payment, debit card payment, and bill processing fees, including fees for payments made by interactive voice response (IVR), web, or kiosk;

(2) Fees for Single-Call and Related Services means billing arrangements whereby an Inmate's collect calls are billed through a third party on a per-call basis, where the called party does not have an account with the Provider of Inmate Calling Services or does not want to establish an account;

(3) Live Agent Fee means a fee associated with the optional use of a live operator to complete Inmate Calling Services transactions;

(4) Paper Bill/Statement Fees means fees associated with providing customers of Inmate Calling Services an optional paper billing statement;

(5) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees means the exact fees, with no markup, that Providers of Inmate Calling Services are charged by third parties to transfer money or process financial transactions to facilitate a Consumer's ability to make account payments via a third party.

(b) Authorized Fee means a government authorized, but discretionary, fee which a Provider must remit to a federal, state, or local government, and which a Provider is permitted, but not required, to pass through to Consumers for or in connection with interstate or international Inmate Calling Service. An Authorized Fee may not include a markup, unless the markup is specifically authorized by a federal, state, or local statute, rule, or regulation.

(c) Average Daily Population (ADP) means the sum of all Inmates in a facility for each day of the preceding calendar year, divided by the number of days in the year.

(d) Collect Calling means an arrangement whereby the called party takes affirmative action clearly indicating that it will pay the charges associated with a call originating from an Inmate Telephone;

(e) Consumer means the party paying a Provider of Inmate Calling Services;

(f) Correctional Facility or Correctional Institution means a Jail or a Prison;

(g) Debit Calling means a presubscription or comparable service which allows an Inmate, or someone acting on an Inmate's behalf, to fund an account set up through a Provider that can be used to pay for Inmate Calling Services calls originated by the Inmate;

(h) Flat Rate Calling means a calling plan under which a Provider charges a single fee for an Inmate Calling Services call, regardless of the duration of the call;

(i) Inmate means a person detained at a Jail or Prison, regardless of the duration of the detention;

(j) Inmate Calling Service means a service that allows Inmates to make calls to individuals outside the Correctional Facility where the Inmate is being held, regardless of the technology used to deliver the service;

(k) Inmate Telephone means a telephone instrument, or other device capable of initiating calls, set aside by authorities of a Correctional Facility for use by Inmates;

(l) International Calls means calls that originate in the United States and terminate outside the United States;

(m) Jail means a facility of a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency that is used primarily to hold individuals who are;

(1) Awaiting adjudication of criminal charges;

(2) Post-conviction and committed to confinement for sentences of one year or less; or

(3) Post-conviction and awaiting transfer to another facility. The term also includes city, county, or regional facilities that have contracted with a private company to manage day-to-day operations; privately owned and operated facilities primarily engaged in housing city, county or regional Inmates; facilities used to detain individuals, operated directly by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or pursuant to a contract with those agencies; juvenile detention centers; and secure mental health facilities.

(n) Mandatory Tax or Mandatory Fee means a fee that a Provider is required to collect directly from consumers, and remit to federal, state, or local governments. A Mandatory Tax or Fee that is passed through to a consumer for, or in connection with, interstate or international Inmate Calling Services may not include a markup, unless the markup is specifically authorized by a federal, state, or local statute, rule, or regulation;

(o) Per-Call, or Per-Connection Charge means a one-time fee charged to a Consumer at call initiation;

(p) Prepaid Calling means a presubscription or comparable service in which a Consumer, other than an Inmate, funds an account set up through a Provider of Inmate Calling Services. Funds from the account can then be used to pay for Inmate Calling Services, including calls that originate with an Inmate;

(q) Prepaid Collect Calling means a calling arrangement that allows an Inmate to initiate an Inmate Calling Services call without having a pre-established billing arrangement and also provides a means, within that call, for the called party to establish an arrangement to be billed directly by the Provider of Inmate Calling Services for future calls from the same Inmate;

(r) Prison means a facility operated by a territorial, state, or Federal agency that is used primarily to confine individuals convicted of felonies and sentenced to terms in excess of one year. The term also includes public and private facilities that provide outsource housing to other agencies such as the State Departments of Correction and the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and facilities that would otherwise fall under the definition of a Jail but in which the majority of inmates are post-conviction and are committed to confinement for sentences of longer than one year.

(s) Provider of Inmate Calling Services, or Provider means any communications service provider that provides Inmate Calling Services, regardless of the technology used;

(t) Site Commission means any form of monetary payment, in-kind payment, gift, exchange of services or goods, fee, technology allowance, or product that a Provider of Inmate Calling Services or affiliate of a Provider of Inmate Calling Services may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide to an entity that operates a correctional institution, an entity with which the Provider of Inmate Calling Services enters into an agreement to provide Inmate Calling Services, a governmental agency that oversees a correctional facility, the city, county, or state where a facility is located, or an agent of any such facility.

(u) Jurisdictionally Mixed Charge means any charge Consumers may be assessed for use of Inmate Calling Services that are not included in the per-minute charges assessed for individual calls and that are assessed for, or in connection with, uses of Inmate Calling Service to make such calls that have interstate or international components and intrastate components that are unable to be segregated at the time the charge is incurred.

(v) Provider-Related Rate Component means the interim per-minute rate specified in either § 64.6030(b) or (c) that Providers at Jails with Average Daily Populations of 1,000 or more Inmates and all Prisons may charge for interstate Collect Calling, Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling.

(w) Facility-Related Rate Component means either the Legally Mandated Facility Rate Component or the Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component identified in § 64.6030(d).

(x) International Destination means the rate zone in which an international call terminates. For countries that have a single rate zone, International Destination means the country in which an international call terminates.

(y) Controlling Judicial or Administrative Mandate means:

(1) A final court order requiring an incarcerated person to pay restitution;

(2) A fine imposed as part of a criminal sentence;

(3) A fee imposed in connection with a criminal conviction; or

(4) A final court or administrative agency order adjudicating a valid contract between the provider and the account holder, entered into prior to September 30, 2022, that allows or requires that an Inmate Calling Services Provider act in a manner that would otherwise violate § 64.6130.

(z) Jurisdiction means:

(1) The state, city, county, or territory where a law enforcement authority is operating or contracting for the operation of a Correctional Facility; or

(2) The United States for a Correctional Facility operated by or under the contracting authority of a Federal law enforcement agency.

[80 FR 79178, Dec. 18, 2015, as amended at 81 FR 62825, Sept. 13, 2016; 85 FR 67461, Oct. 23, 2020; 86 FR 40731, July 28, 2021; 87 FR 75514, Dec. 9, 2022]