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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 10, 2023 11:01 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Providing Cost Free Telephone Calls to Incarcerated People |
| In the near future, I plan to offer legislation that would require that a state prison, or a state, county, or city youth residential placement or detention center provide voice communication services free of charge to incarcerated persons initiating or receiving communications. Phone services in prisons and jails are currently operated by for-profit companies that pay commission to the county, with the amount of commission dependent on the rate set by counties. While these funds are supposed to be allocated for inmate benefit, they are often directed exclusively toward the benefit of facility employees and sheriff’s departments. In Dauphin County, for example, over $3.4 million has been spent on expensive gun range memberships, new uniforms, officer appreciation meals, fitness trackers, and new vehicles, among other purchases, since 2019. To afford these unnecessary expenditures, the county charges inmates the maximum rate of 21¢ per minute. Placing communications funding under the purview of the state instead of for-profit companies would eliminate incentives for law enforcement to collect additional commission by charging higher rates and ensure that inmates and their families are relieved of what can amount to an extreme financial burden. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation that will provide much-needed reform to a critical facet of the criminal justice system here in Pennsylvania. |