Constitution Index · H.R. 5201 · 2025-09-08
Kari's Law Reporting Act
Latest official status (2026-04-22): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Constitutional grade
A
Constitutional
HR 5201 is a narrow reporting bill. It directs the Federal Communications Commission to report on compliance with and enforcement of Kari's Law, an existing federal telecommunications requirement. The bill imposes no new penalties, no new obligations on individuals, and no restriction on speech, property, or privacy. Because it operates within Congress's interstate commerce power and merely requires agency transparency, it is fully constitutional.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 Amendment I Amendment II Amendment III Amendment IV Amendment V Amendment VI Amendment VII Amendment VIII
SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com
The five checks
Enumerated powers · passes
Congress has authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. Multiline telephone systems and 9-1-1 routing are part of the nation's communications infrastructure. Requiring the FCC to report on enforcement of Kari's Law is a reasonable and necessary incident of that commerce power under Article I, Section 8, Clause 18.
Bill of Rights · passes
The bill does not touch First Amendment speech, assembly, press, or religion; Second Amendment arms; Third Amendment quartering; Fourth Amendment search or seizure; Fifth Amendment self-incrimination, due process, or takings; Sixth Amendment trial rights; Seventh Amendment juries; Eighth Amendment punishments; or unenumerated rights. It is purely a federal reporting requirement.
Individual liberty · passes
The bill restricts nothing that any person may do with their own person, property, speech, labor, or beliefs. It merely directs the FCC to compile and publish information and recommendations about existing law. No individual is placed under any new legal duty.
Decentralization · passes
This is not a case of upward consolidation. An individual, local community, or state cannot produce the FCC's report on enforcement of a federal telecommunications statute; the reporting function is tied to the federal agency that administers the law. The action does not move decision-making higher than the minimum necessary because the subject matter—interstate communications systems and uniform 9-1-1 access—is already within federal jurisdiction.
Due process and takings · passes
The bill creates no administrative enforcement action, no civil or criminal penalty, no licensing scheme, and no seizure or taking of property. It does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property. Therefore no procedural or substantive due process issue, and no Fifth Amendment takings issue, arises.
Provenance
- Congress.gov: HR 5201 summary · fetched 2026-10-07 · official page ↗
Version history · never overwritten
| Grade | Graded | Rubric | Source hash | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · #326 | 2026-10-09 | vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 | a6c4d6533ecd | current |
Cite this
Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.R. 5201, Kari's Law Reporting Act.” VFA Constitution Index, grade 326 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 9, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/326. Accessed 2026-10-19.
Permalink: https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/326
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