Official Summaries

FCC Legal Enforcement Act

This bill authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pursue certain unpaid fines related to unauthorized telemarketing calls.

Under current law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits certain telemarketing calls made without the recipient’s consent and using automatic dialing technology or artificial or prerecorded voice messages. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has authority to pursue unpaid fines for TCPA violations.

Under the bill, if DOJ does not pursue an unpaid fine related to a TCPA violation within a specified period, the FCC may do so. The bill directs the FCC to prioritize the collection of unpaid fines over $25 million.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1025 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1025

 To authorize the Federal Communications Commission to enforce its own 
forfeiture penalties with respect to violations of restrictions on the 
          use of telephone equipment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2025

  Mr. Lujan (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Welch, Mr. Schatz, Mr. 
  Durbin, and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following bill; which was 
  read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Federal Communications Commission to enforce its own 
forfeiture penalties with respect to violations of restrictions on the 
          use of telephone equipment, 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 ``FCC Legal Enforcement Act''.

SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF FORFEITURE PENALTIES BY FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 
              COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--Title V of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 501 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 503(b)(3)(B) (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(3)(B)), by 
        striking ``In such action,'' and inserting the following: ``If, 
        during the 120-day period beginning on the date of a referral 
        of an unpaid forfeiture penalty imposed for a violation of 
        section 227 (relating to restrictions on the use of telephone 
        equipment), the Attorney General does not commence an action to 
        recover the amount assessed, the Commission may commence and 
        supervise the litigation of such an action and any appeal of 
        such an action in its own name by any of its attorneys 
        designated by it for such purpose. In any action under this 
        subparagraph,''; and
            (2) in section 504(a) (47 U.S.C. 504(a))--
                    (A) by striking ``It shall be the duty'' and 
                inserting ``Except as provided in the subsequent 
                sentence, it shall be the duty''; and
                    (B) by striking ``The costs and expenses of such 
                prosecutions'' and inserting the following: ``If, 
                during the 120-day period beginning on the date on 
                which the Commission refers an unpaid forfeiture 
                penalty imposed for a violation of section 227 
                (relating to restrictions on the use of telephone 
                equipment) to the Attorney General for prosecution 
                under this subsection, the Attorney General does not 
                commence such a prosecution, the Commission may 
                prosecute for the recovery of the forfeiture penalty. 
                The costs and expenses of a prosecution under this 
                subsection''.
    (b) Priority.--In carrying out the amendments made by subsection 
(a) of this section, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
prioritize enforcement of unpaid forfeiture penalties imposed for a 
violation of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227) (relating to restrictions on the use of telephone equipment) that 
are greater than $25,000,000.

SEC. 3. REGULATIONS FOR RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF AUTOMATED TELEPHONE 
              EQUIPMENT.

    Section 227(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227(b)(2)) is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
inserting before the period the following: ``as necessary in the 
judgment of the Commission to protect subscribers from unwanted 
calls''.
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