NY State Senate Bill 2021-S2790

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

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Jan 25, 2021	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2021-S2790 (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:: 2019-2020: S7727
2023-2024: S4917

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides electronic mail services to an incarcerated individual which allows an incarcerated individual to send up to ten electronic mail letters a day at no charge.

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2790

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to providing electronic
mail services to an incarcerated individual

 
PURPOSE:

To require free email services for incarcerated individuals.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Correction Law 623.

Section 2 provides an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2007, NYS changed correction law 623 to instruct DOCCS to provide

telephone services to incarcerated people at the lowest cost possible
and prohibited the department from receiving telephone revenues beyond
its operating costs. The intent behind that bill was to keep incarcerat-
ed people connected to their families without undue financial burden. In
2019, DOCCS distributed electronic tablets to individuals in its custo-
dy. The tablets, were provided "free of charge" by the telephone
services provider contracting with the department. The catch to the free
tablets is that the provider charges up to 33 cents per email to incar-
cerated individuals, which cost is borne by their families or friends to
whom they are sending emails. The profit from emails goes to the service
provider, currently Securus. An incarcerated person sending five emails
per day would pay $49.50 per month, making the "free" tablets quite
expensive.

The general public is accustomed to sending free emails. Even if you pay
for an internet service provider, there is no incremental cost for each
email sent. Families of incarcerated people are generally not wealthy
and already spend scarce family resources going to visit their loved
ones in prison, sending them food packages and accepting collect phone
calls. This bill gives each person in a correctional facility up to ten
free emails per day, allowing them to communicate with family, friends
and attorneys at no charge to those receiving the emails much like with
any other instant communication program. Requiring payment per message
on an electronic messaging system is predatory toward low-income indi-
viduals within the corrections system.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.7727 of 2020; Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2790
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 25, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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  electronic
   mail services to an incarcerated individual

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 623 of the correction law, as added by chapter  240
 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
   §  623. [Inmate] INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL telephone AND ELECTRONIC MAIL
 services. 1.  Telephone  AND  ELECTRONIC  MAIL  services  contracts  for
 [inmates]  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUALS  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 AND ELECTRONIC MAIL service, the lowest
 possible  cost to the telephone AND ELECTRONIC MAIL user shall be empha-
 sized.
   2. A. 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] INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL. Under such "collect call" system,  the
 provider  of  [inmate]  INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL telephone service, as an
 additional means of payment,  must  permit  the  recipient  of  [inmate]
 INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL calls to establish an account with such provider
 in order to deposit funds to pay for such collect calls in advance.
   B.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE A "PREPAID" SYSTEM FOR ELEC-
 TRONIC MAIL SERVICE. UNDER THE "PREPAID" SYSTEM, FUNDS MAY BE  DEPOSITED
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05951-01-1

 S. 2790                             2
 
 INTO  AN ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO PAY FOR ADDITIONAL ELECTRONIC MAIL PURSUANT
 TO SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION,  PROVIDED  THAT  NOTHING  IN  THIS
 SUBDIVISION  SHALL  REQUIRE  THE  DEPARTMENT  TO PROVIDE OR ADMINISTER A
 PREPAID SYSTEM.
   3.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  PROVIDE SECURE ELECTRONIC MAIL SERVICES TO
 INDIVIDUALS IN ITS CUSTODY. AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL MAY  SEND  UP  TO
 TEN  ELECTRONIC  MAIL  LETTERS A DAY AT NO CHARGE. ADDITIONAL ELECTRONIC
 MAIL LETTERS SENT BY SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL MAY INCUR A CHARGE  OF
 NO  MORE  THAN TWENTY-FIVE CENTS PER ELECTRONIC MAIL LETTER ON A PREPAID
 ACCOUNT ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVISION TWO  OF  THIS
 SECTION.    NO  PERSON  SHALL BE CHARGED FOR SENDING A SECURE ELECTRONIC
 MAIL LETTER TO AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL.
   4. The department shall not accept or receive revenue in excess of its
 reasonable operating cost for establishing and administering such  tele-
 phone  AND  ELECTRONIC  MAIL system services as provided in subdivisions
 one, TWO and [two] THREE of this section.
   [4.] 5. The  department  shall  establish  rules  and  regulations  or
 departmental  procedures  to ensure that any [inmate] INCARCERATED INDI-
 VIDUAL phone call AND ELECTRONIC MAIL system established by this section
 provides reasonable security measures to preserve the safety and securi-
 ty of each correctional facility, all staff and all  persons  outside  a
 facility who may receive [inmate] INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL phone calls OR
 ELECTRONIC MAIL LETTERS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S2790

Sponsored By

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

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S2790

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Luis R. Sepúlveda

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

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S2790 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments