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TURNER BILL SETTING PRICING STANDARDS FOR INMATE PHONE CALLS ADVANCES

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 TRENTON Legislation sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner setting pricing standards for phone calls made by inmates in prisons was approved today by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

The bill (S-1880) would require all State or county correctional facilities to contract with the lowest responsible bidder for intrastate telephone service contracts for inmates in State or county correctional facilities and to make available either a prepaid or collect call system, or a combination of both, for inmate telephone services.  The maximum rate would be capped at 11 cents per minute which is the maximum rate allowed for State Prisons according to the Federal Communications Commission.

“The cost of intrastate phone calls from some facilities is as high as 33 cents per minute,” said Senator Turner (D-Hunterdon and Mercer).  “The burden of paying for these calls falls on the inmates’ families.  This bill will better ensure that those who are serving time have access to their family support system.  We should not make it unaffordable to keep families living with the strain of incarceration intact. The fact is, we need those incarcerated to feel they have the support they need to keep them grounded and giving them a sense of stability can keep them striving toward a better tomorrow.”  

According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections website the current rate for inmate calls is $0.04384 per minute. However, many counties do not adopt those price policies.  There are three mechanisms an inmate may utilize to place a call while incarcerated: 

  • collect – the called party has a contracted telephone company and can accept collect calls up to a threshold limit established by the Department of Corrections;
  • advance pay – where the called party sets up an account with the Department of Corrections current vendor, GTL at this time, because he is not authorized to receive collect calls or has blocks on his phone line; or
  • debit – for inmates to purchase calling time by submitting a business remit to the business office at their assigned facility.

The vendor would also not be allowed to impose a surcharge or collect a commission for each telephone call. Moreover, the State Treasurer, or appropriate person on behalf of the county correctional facility, would contract with the qualified vendor who proposes the lowest per minute rate but not exceeding the maximum rate allowed by the Federal Communications Commission (.25 cents per minute for collect calls and .21 cents per minute for debit or prepaid calls)

“The families of those who are incarcerated face a significant amount of emotional challenges and, in some cases, financial struggles. The last thing they need is more stress added when taking a phone call from their loved one,” said Senator Turner.

S-1880 cleared committee 13-0; and cleared the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee 4-0 last month. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

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