U.S. Congress legislation · 119th Congress
HB7491: Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act
Status: In committee, February 11, 2026
To regulate monitoring of electronic communications between an incarcerated person in a Bureau of Prisons facility and that person's attorney or other legal representative, and for other purposes.
What the bill says
To regulate monitoring of electronic communications between an incarcerated person in a Bureau of Prisons facility and that person's attorney or other legal representative, and for other purposes.
From the introduced text, February 11, 2026:
A BILL To regulate monitoring of electronic communications between an incarcerated person in a Bureau of Prisons facility and that person's attorney or other legal representative, and for other purposes. SECTION 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act . SECTION 2. Electronic communications between an incarcerated person and the person's attorney (a) Prohibition on monitoring Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall create a program or system, or modify any program or system that exists on the date of enactment of this Act, through which an incarcerated person sends or receives an electronic communication, to exclude from monitoring the contents of any privileged electronic communication. In the case that the Attorney General creates a program or system in accordance with this subsection, the Attorney General shall, upon implementing such system, discontinue using any program or system that exists on the date of enactment of this Act through which an incarcerated person sends or receives a privileged electronic communication, except that any program or system that exists on such date may continue to be used for any other electronic communication. (b) Retention of contents A program or system or a modification to a program or system under subsection …
Sponsors
- Madeleine Dean (D, HD-PA-4) · primary sponsor
- Hakeem Jeffries (D, HD-008)
- Laurel Lee (R, HD-FL-15)
- Don Bacon (R, HD-NE-2)
Latest actions
- : Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- : Introduced in House
Subjects: Crime and Law Enforcement
Common questions
- What is HB7491?
- HB7491 is a bill in Congress (119th Congress): Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act.
- What does HB7491 do?
- In its own words: To regulate monitoring of electronic communications between an incarcerated person in a Bureau of Prisons facility and that person's attorney or other legal representative, and for other purposes.
- What is the status of HB7491?
- In committee as of February 11, 2026. Latest action: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. (February 11, 2026).
- Who sponsored HB7491?
- Madeleine Dean (D, HD-PA-4), with 3 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for HB7491?
- On the Congress website: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7491
Source: official Congress record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.