To impose a cap on the price of items sold at the immigration detention facility commissary, and for other purposes.

The Stop ICE Price Gouging Act places limits on the prices charged for items sold at commissaries in immigration detention facilities. It bans extra service fees and kickbacks, establishes a system to refund overcharged detainees, creates a dedicated fund for unrefunded money, and requires regular audits and reports to Congress on compliance.

* **Immigration Detainees:** Individuals held in facilities whose primary purpose is detaining people under U.S. immigration laws. * **Commissary Vendors and Contractors:** Businesses that supply goods, operate commissaries, or provide commissary services at immigration detention facilities. * **Federal Agencies:** U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the DHS Inspector General.

* **Price Caps on Goods:** * **Essential Items:** Prices may not be marked up more than 5% above the vendor's acquisition cost (after subtracting discounts, credits, or price reductions). Essential items include products needed for health, hygiene, dignity, and communication, such as menstrual products, soap, shampoo, moisturizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, toilet paper, tissues, diapers, baby wipes, laundry supplies, basic undergarments, socks, paper, pens, envelopes, and stamps. * **Nonessential Items:** Prices for any commissary items not defined as essential may not be marked up more than 35% above the acquisition cost. * **Prohibition of Fees and Revenue Sharing:** Vendors and facilities are prohibited from adding service fees, commissions, or additional costs to commissary transactions. Agencies and contractors are prohibited from taking kickbacks or sharing commissary revenue. * **Enforcement and Oversight:** * **Audits:** The DHS Inspector General is required to audit facility compliance, investigate alleged violations, and refer credible claims to the ICE Director. * **Penalties:** The ICE Director is authorized to require corrective action plans or mandate refunds. For repeated and willful violations by contractors, the ICE Director is authorized to withhold payments, terminate contracts, and bar contractors from future federal contracts. * **Reporting:** Starting 90 days after enactment, and every 90 days after that, the ICE Director must submit reports to the House and Senate Homeland Security committees detailing item acquisition costs, average markups, markup violations, and compliance certifications.

* **Refunds:** If ICE determines a detainee was overcharged, ICE must ensure the vendor refunds the excess amount. ICE must make reasonable efforts to refund individuals who have been transferred or released. * **Detainee Welfare Fund:** Overcharged funds that cannot be refunded to released or transferred individuals must be deposited into a new Treasury account called the "Detainee Welfare Fund." * **Permitted Uses:** The fund may only be spent on electronics, recreational or educational items, and other detainee benefit programs. * **Prohibited Uses:** Fund money cannot be used to pay for mandatory immigration detention standards or federal requirements.

* **State Laws:** The bill does not override (preempt) state laws that establish lower markup limits on commissary items. * **Free Items:** The bill clarifies that it does not allow commissaries to charge for items that are already required to be provided for free under federal or state law, detention standards, or contracts.

This bill caps the markup on commissary items sold to immigration detainees at 5% for essential personal items and 35% for nonessential items, eliminates extra fees and kickbacks, mandates refunds for overcharges, directs unclaimed money to a detainee welfare fund, and establishes mandatory DHS audits and congressional reporting.