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Senate Bill S6276

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to providing telephone service to inmates at no cost

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

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2019-S6276 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:
Correction Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §623, Cor L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2021-2022: S3512
2023-2024: S1942
2025-2026: S4160

2019-S6276 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the department of corrections and community supervision to provide telephone services to individuals within the custody of the department in correctional facilities at no cost to the individuals or the receiving parties for domestic telephone calls.

2019-S6276 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6276 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6276
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 31, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
   Correction
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the correction law, in relation to providing telephone
   service to inmates at no cost
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  1, 2 and 3 of section 623 of the correction
 law, as added by chapter 240 of the laws of 2007, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1. Telephone services contracts  for  inmates  in  state  correctional
 facilities  shall  be subject to the procurement provisions as set forth
 in article eleven of the state finance law [provided, however, that when
 determining the best value of such telephone service, the lowest  possi-
 ble cost to the telephone user shall be emphasized].
   2. The department shall [make available either a "prepaid" or "collect
 call" system, or a combination thereof, for telephone service. Under the
 "prepaid" system, funds may be deposited into an account in order to pay
 for  station-to-station calls, provided that nothing in this subdivision
 shall require the department to provide or administer a prepaid  system.
 Under  a  "collect call" system, call recipients are billed for the cost
 of an accepted  telephone  call  initiated  by  an  inmate.  Under  such
 "collect  call"  system, the provider of inmate telephone service, as an
 additional means of payment, must permit the recipient of  inmate  calls
 to  establish an account with such provider in order to deposit funds to
 pay for such collect calls in advance]  PROVIDE  TELEPHONE  SERVICES  TO
 INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT IN CORRECTIONAL FACILI-
 TIES AT NO COST TO THE INDIVIDUALS OR THE RECEIVING PARTIES FOR DOMESTIC
 TELEPHONE CALLS.
   3.  The  department  shall not accept or receive revenue [in excess of
 its reasonable operating cost] for establishing and  administering  such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

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